Chapter 56: Centuries of Progress, Part 1

Chicago, Columbian Exposition, October 9, 1893

Seth and Lesley could hear the sounds of people and smell the intoxicating aromas of food as they materialized behind the Palace of Fine Arts. They knew that this building would one day house the museum they'd just left.

They hid a suitcase containing a change of clothing behind some bushes.

As they walked around to the front and joined the crowds, the grandeur of the sights awaiting them was unlike anything they'd ever seen. They beheld a city of white with beautifully designed architecture, huge canals, and statues that shimmered in the long shadows created by the October sun.

Lesley couldn't speak as she stared at the sights around her. But it was what was looming behind them that drew Seth's attention-the giant Ferris wheel. It stood in the area set aside for amusement. This would one day be realized as the first amusement park because the entire area was separate from the great halls and structures of the fair.