Editing World's Columbian Exposition (section)

=== Assassination of mayor and end of fair ===
[[File:Carter H. Harrison's last speech, World's Fair, October 28, 1893 (NBY 3023).jpg|thumb|[[Chicago Mayor]] [[Carter Harrison III]] delivers a speech to crowd during "American Cities Day" at the exposition on October 28, 1893. Harrison would be [[Assassination|assassinated]] later that day.]]

[[File:“Columbian Exposition” of 1892 - "My country, 'tis of thee!" or, The United States of America; past, present and future. A philosophic view of American history and of our present status... (14761686716) (cropped).jpg|thumb|"Columbian Exposition" of 1892 book cover art]]
The fair ended with the city in shock, as popular mayor [[Carter Harrison III]] was assassinated by [[Patrick Eugene Prendergast]] two days before the fair's closing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-10-09-8802060487-story.html|title='He Deserved to be Shot,' Said the Mayor's Assassin |last=Sawyers|first=June|date=October 9, 1988|website=Chicago Tribune|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-18}}</ref> Closing ceremonies were canceled in favor of a public memorial service.

Jackson Park was returned to its status as a public park, in much better shape than its original swampy form. The lagoon was reshaped to give it a more natural appearance, except for the straight-line northern end where it still laps up against the steps on the south side of the Palace of Fine Arts/Museum of Science & Industry building. The [[Midway Plaisance]], a park-like boulevard which extends west from Jackson Park, once formed the southern boundary of the [[University of Chicago]], which was being built as the fair was closing (the university has since developed south of the Midway). The university's football team, the Maroons, were the original "[[Monsters of the Midway]]." The exposition is mentioned in the university's [[Alma mater (song)|alma mater]]: "The City White hath fled the earth, / But where the azure waters lie, / A nobler city hath its birth, / The City Gray that ne'er shall die."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uchicagoadmissions.tumblr.com/post/37229385082/today-we-gladly-sing-the-praise-of-her-whose|title=UChicago College Admissions|website=UChicago College Admissions|access-date=2019-12-18}}</ref>