Analysis of The Devil in the White City Book by Eric Larson - Assignment Example

Student’s Name Street Address City, ST ZIP Code e-mail phone fax The Devil In the White City By: Eric Larson Book Review Student’s Name This book serves as an interesting historical document presented in a very readable format. The book gives a good description of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago Illinois (1893). This book, written by Eric Larson, talks about the struggle of one man to build the exposition. It also tells the story of another man who quite possibly is responsible for murdering a lot of people (serial killer). Daniel Burnham was the architect who coordinated the design and building of the fair. Dr. H.H. Holmes was one of the aliases used by Herman Webster Mudgett, a notorious serial killer from New England. He opened a hotel in Chicago and is said to have used that hotel to capture and kill many people who came to see the Worlds Fair. The book reads like a novel rather than an historical document. Because of this format the book is open for wider readership. This book proves what a good story teller Eric Larson is. He outlines how Chicago was awarded the project of the World’s Fair and how elated the people of Chicago were that they now had the chance to show the world how cultured and civilized the city was. Most of the country believed Chicago was an uncivilized meat packing town. This was Chicago’s chance to prove all wrong. The book shows the beauty of the Fair and the horror of a serial killer. Larson provides factual information in the form of suspense. His technique used in his writing reveals good and evil and people’s perseverance despite what appear to be insurmountable odds. It also tells a story of a country striving to prove that it is a civilized as the rest of the world. The story told along side of the building of the White City is the story of a serial killer building his house of horrors called the Worlds Fair Hotel. On the corner of Wallace and 63rd streets H.H. Holmes built his hotel. He used many contractors so that no one knew for sure what the inside of the “Castle” (what local residents called the hotel) looked like. He had a whole floor with over a hundred rooms with no windows. This floor was well insulated (for sound) and was Holmes’ killing workshop. When Holmes found out that the Worlds Fair was coming to Chicago he was thrilled by the opportunity it presented. Most people were preparing to work and enjoy the Fair while Holmes was working to enjoy his version of the Fair. I would recommend this book as a “good read”. The greatness of the Columbian Exposition was marred by the discovery of murders and the serial killer. It is written in novel format and is an easy read. There were many characters that played important roles in the designing, development and creation of the “White City”. David Burnham was one of the main characters and his firm was awarded the contract to build the city for the 1893 Worlds Fair. After his great performance creating the White City Burnham went on to become a world renowned environmentalist and urban planner. Frederick L. Olmsted contributed greatly to the success of the 1893 Worlds Fair by designing New York’s Central Park within the grounds of the Fair in Chicago. He was a successful landscape architect. Holmes, the “devil” in the story, ended up being convicted of the murder of nine people. Many believed he murdered many more but only enough evidence was available for him to be tried and convicted of the nine. He was hung on May 7th of 1896. One of the most significant changes the White City influenced was the desire of other cities to be seen as clean cities. They also desired their cities to be pretty and felt that since the Chicago Fair’s had accomplished as much then so could other cities. "The fair was so perfect, its grace and beauty like an assurance that for as long as it lasted nothing truly bad could happen to anyone, anywhere." (Part 3, Page 289) “The Rookery, built in the middle 1880s, showed something of the wealth of Chicago's entrepreneurs: the "waste space" of the public areas and the flaunting of new building technologies made a building like the Rookery exemplary.”(Rebuilding Chicago) This building was built and designed by Burnham and Root (his partner) and served as the meeting place for those involved in the planning of the Chicago World’s Fair. It was one of the few skyscrapers of that time period. The Monadnock building is listed as one of the great buildings of that era. The building was done in the Richardson style and was built between 1889 and 1891. It was designed by Burnham and Root as an early skyscraper that functions as an office building. The building is primarily a masonry design. This 16 story building is on the Great Buildings Collections list (Great Buildings). The White City was built in Jackson Park in Chicago, Illinois. The “White City” was the unofficial name given to the 1893 World’s Fair. Notable attractions at the Fair were the Ferris Wheel, electricity as alternating current, and Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. Some firsts at the fair were the Ferris Wheel, Cracker Jacks, Shredded Wheat, and many more. By the 1880’s Chicago had earned the name “Black City”. The city was dirty, crime infested, and had the smell of the slaughterhouses throughout. Many felt the police force was not performing up to par and that lawlessness was the rule. This was the perfect city for Holmes to continue his career of crime. This was in direct contrast to the city built in Jackson Park. Burnham had overseen the creation of the “White City”. The World’s Fair was a clean, bright, and engaging place that hosted President Grover Cleveland on opening day. President Cleveland gave a short speech and then turned the key that turned on the electricity at the World’s Fair. When the Fair opened a lot of the projects had yet to be completed. The Ferris Wheel was 51 days late and one of the buildings on the grounds required a new roof because no one had foreseen a snow storm as a possibility and didn’t calculate that in the plans (the roof collapsed). When the Fair closed the closing ceremonies that had been planned we cancelled. The mayor of Chicago (Harrison) was murdered and the funeral was held at the Fair grounds in lieu of closing ceremonies. All the closing activities that Burnham had looked forward to such as fireworks and music were not to be. The question asked by many near the end of the Fair was "What shall we do when this Wonderland is closed? - when it disappears - when the enchantment comes to an end?" (Part 3, Page 289). Much to Burnham’s dismay (and many others as well) when the Fair closed the homeless of Chicago moved into the White City and it was not long before the Black City swallowed the White City. Many of the attractions created for the Fair were destroyed. Not much remains of the Chicago World’s Fair. The buildings of the White City were made of temporary materials. Of the two hundred buildings built for the World’s Fair only two remain: The Columbus Memorial Building and The Fine Arts Building. The Columbus Building is now known as the La Rabida and is a children’s hospital. The Fine Arts Building now serves as home to the Museum of Science and Industry. Other remnants of the Fair include the Osaka Gardens and “A 24-foot replica of the original 65-foot Statue of the Republic stands at the foot of 65th Street” (Chicagology). Jackson Park, where the White City was built, was returned to usage as a park when the Fair closed in October of 1893. An interesting note: Chicago got the nickname “The Windy City” because of all of the boasting (hot air being blown) about how great the city and its fair were. Although Holmes and Barnum are primary characters of the book there were many other people involved in the creation and operation of the Fair. The architects who answered Burnham’s invitation to build buildings for the fair were: Henry Van Brunt of Kansas City, George Post of New York, Robert Peabody of Boston, Charles McKim of New York, Richard Hunt of New York, and Sophia Hayden who designed the Women’s Building. In two and a half years these architects and all the workers hired to labor built the White City. Many of their projects ran behind schedule but the Fair was a success thanks to their hard work. Like any major event the World’s Fair of 1893 had its good and it’s bad. Certainly the ability of the planners and workers to overcome obstacles was a good thing for the Fair. The Fair created jobs for Chicagoans and unions worked to make the eight hour work day a reality. The cleanliness of the Fair created a new standard for American cities. These cities could see, through watching the operation of the White City, how to make their cities better places to live and work. After the Fair there were mass lay-offs. A lot of people lost their jobs as a result of the fair closing. The Fair was victim to criminals that saw the Fair as their opportunity to make money as thieves and pickpockets. And, of course, the murders that took place during the Fair left a bad feeling. As the Fair opened, and through the next six months, Chicago authorities became aware of a number of people who had disappeared. Authorities began investigating and "At one point half of the city's detective force was involved in investigating disappearances, prompting the chief of the city's central detective unit to announce he was considering the formation of a separate bureau, 'a mysterious disappearances department.'" Part 1, Page 102 After H.H. Holmes had been in Chicago for a while he registered as a pharmacist and eventually bought the pharmacy were he worked. It had been run by an elderly woman. It was not known if Holmes murdered the old woman at the pharmacy he purchased but what was known was that she was never seen again after he bought it. This could have been Holmes’ first murder in Chicago. While at that pharmacy Holmes bought the property across the street and built The World’s Fair Hotel better known as the “Castle”. As far as the old woman is concerned what is known is that the law did eventually catch up to Mudgett (Holmes) and jailed and eventually hung him for murder. While he was in jail he wrote: 'I was born with the devil in me,’ ‘I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing." (Part 1, Part 109) The stories in the book tell about men overcoming adversity. Burnham proved that when met with challenges, if one persevered one could succeed. It’s much like the modern saying “you can lose a battle and still win the war”. Even though Holmes was the “devil” in this story he also had to overcome adversity. He dealt with bill collectors, his wives, and families of victims looking for their family members. Holmes did have an ideal environment for his types of crimes. Visitors to the World’s Fair provided his Hotel with steady business and him with steady flow of potential victims who would not immediately be missed. A summary of this book would not be finished without mentioning the man who really ended the Fair on a sour note. Patrick Eugene Joseph Prendergast, a supervisor of newsboys, ended the Fair with the Murder of sixty-eight year old Carter Henry Harrison. Harrison was the mayor of Chicago and had just begun his fifth term in office. Prendergast had worked on Harrison’s campaign with the understanding that all his hard work would be rewarded. After the election Prendergast was not rewarded with a job within the Harrison administration. He was very angry and shot and killed Harrison two days before the World’s Fair ended. Later that year (1893) he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. His sanity was in question but he was determined sane and executed. (Homicide in Chicago). After the Fair closed Burnham became an environmentalist and world renowned urban planner. He married and had five children. He fell into a coma caused by diabetes while traveling and died in 1912. The legacy the World’s Fair in 1893 left was one of forward motion. The use of electricity grew and cities strived to become clean and nice looking as a result of the success of the White city. Cities learned the importance of prompt trash pick-up and other required details of keeping a city clean. The Fair was well attended (not initially) and had the desired effect of proving hat Chicago and the United States was as civilized as European cities were. Works Cited: Borowski, John (Director), “H.H. Holmes, America's First Serial Killer” (Motion picture documentary), Waterfront Productions, 2004. Borowski, John (2005). Dimas Estrada (editor) “The Strange Case of Dr. H. H. Holmes”. ISBN 0975918516 Chicagology. 1893 World’s Fair. 2007-03-14. < http://chicagology.com/columbiaexpo/> Larson, Erik (2003). “The Devil in the White City”. New York: Vintage Books. Rebuilding Chicago: From Fire to Fair. The University of Illinois, Chicago. Retrieved 2007-03-13. http://tigger.uic.edu/~pbhales/firefair.html Great Buildings. “The Monadnock Building.” The Great Buildings Collection. Architecture and Design. Retrieved 2007-03-13. http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc.html Beinen, Leigh. 2004. Homicide in Chicago. Northwestern University School of Law. Retrieved 2007-03-15 http://homicide.northwestern.edu/database/916/ Read More