Devil in the White City 2

            The main reason that the idea behind the Chicago World’s Fair originated- to completely surpass the Paris World’s Fair of 1889- stemmed from the United States’ desire to declare its predominance in the industrial world of the latter half of the 19^th Century. America’s exhibit at the Paris World’s Fair was a disorganized mess, and the Chicago World’s Fair was intended to make up for that, and surpass the message that the Paris World’s Fair sent- that France had become all powerful.

            America felt slighted at its failure in 1889 and needed to pick the right city to house its very own World’s Fair. New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and even Kansas City all applied for the position. Only true arrogance could assume that Chicago could beat Washington, D.C., the nation’s political capitol, or New York, the nation’s financial capitol. Chicago had just recently beaten out Philadelphia for position of second most populous city. Its industry was only recently recovering from the Fire of 1871, and while its building industry was booming, but there was no indication that this would last. People who visited Chicago at this time viewed it as a dump where only disgusting people lived and whose sewers had no differences to its rivers and whose slums had no difference from its opulent neighborhoods. The elites of Chicago had done much to change this opinion, but no one could find it possible that Chicago would be the site of America’s World’s Fair.

            While Chicago eventually won the position for the site of the World’s Fair, before this, no one could have imagined that the site would be Chicago. New York and Washington held too large of personas as the majestic cities of the East, and Chicago had just blossomed into a major American city. It’s grandeur, its style and its innovative sense of superiority all lend themselves to the conclusion that the Chicago World’s Fair was an exhibition of arrogance. Arrogance that Chicago was somehow better than the cities of the East. Arrogance that the United States was somehow superior to the other industrial giants of the late 19^th Century. And arrogance that Burnham was somehow the best architect in the world- the man to organize the Chicago World’s Fair.

            However, just because the World’s Fair stemmed from the arrogance of Chicago’s aristocracy doesn’t mean it must have been the dark and horrid occasion it became. Large gatherings of people don’t immediately engender themselves to violence and depravity as the World’s Fair did. Plenty of marches occur yearly across the country for Gay Rights or saving our environment; and many cities have huge celebrations for Mardi Gras or the New Year. These gatherings don’t annually breed new serial killers into our society, even though they too represent a kind of arrogance and selfishness.

            The Chicago World’s Fair took place during a time of turmoil in the United States, when the elite robber barons of major industry ruled over the average worker and the government helped destroy any union protests against them. Wealth was gathered in the hands of the few even more so than today, and most people were poor. Visitors to the Fair had no quick means of communication with their loved ones across the country, igniting a melting pot perfect for the proclivities of a serial killer. The Chicago World’s Fair didn’t need to have a serial killer, but the context of the situation engendered itself so that it was easy for one to appear.

Devil in the White City 1

            Both Daniel Burnham and H. H. Holmes gathered their strength and their enthusiasm for their work through their interaction with the city of Chicago and, in particular, the Chicago World’s Fair. Daniel Burnham, the preeminent architect of Chicago and the effective leader of the building of the Fair, worked for the good of his city and for the good of America as a whole- the Chicago World’s Fair reflected on the entire nation. Burnham took this to heart and worked as long and hard as necessary for the Fair to succeed. Burnham wanted the best for Chicago and to show the world the dominance of America- his motives were pure; however, H. H. Holmes took the opposite approach, using the Chicago World’s Fair to further his own financial ends and to satiate his appetite for murder.

            H. H. Holmes began his career in Chicago as a pharmacist, eventually taking the pharmacy he worked at, its owners mysteriously disappearing. Then he proceeded to purchase the block across the street to begin work on his “Castle.” Here, he began to open shops and an apartment upstairs. In the upstairs, guests lived in dark rooms, often visited by Holmes in the night, with gas pumps and incinerators. Holmes had built his hotel with specific specifications for murder. There were useless staircases and hallways to nowhere, but the most important innovations were the gas lines tied to specific rooms intended to forcibly nock guests out so that Holmes could experiment with their bodies.

            After he was done with his victims’ bodies, Holmes would eliminate any and all evidence he could. He had vats of acid and an incinerator designed to burn flesh from bone and destroy all vestiges of individuality on a body that could be identifiable. Furthermore, Holmes decided that, for his effort, he would profit: he cleaned the corpses and sold them to various medical schools.

            This demonstrates the fundamental difference between men like Burnham, dedicated to their community’s well being and concerned with how their efforts would benefit everyone’s lives, and men like Holmes, psychopaths, serial killers, hell bent on destruction and intent on their own selfish gain and profit. Holmes chose to profit off of the vulnerable nature of the men and women who came to visit the World’s Fair, whereas Burnham was the progenitor of the fair, its driving force and the main reason for its success.

Holmes sewed only despair and destruction for the fair, while Burnham ensured its fun and its joy. While both men were shaped and changed drastically by the fair, they differ in their extremely different responses to its creation. Burnham represents the epitome of good, creating this fun and jubilant experience through his amazing planning of its buildings and through his organization of the many disparate men of different professions brought together to ensure the fair’s success. Holmes represents the epitome of evil, creating torture chambers for those visitors to the fair unlucky enough to check into Holmes’ hotel. His murders represent that one person ruining a marvelous event for the masses. Erik Larson describes the differences between good and evil by using these two personas as foils for each other- Holmes and Burnham, complete opposites.