The World's Columbian Exposition was held from May-October 1893 in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas. The fair was principally designed by Daniel Burnham and Fredrick Law Olmstead with fourteen 'great buildings' which showcased innovations in technology, manufacturing, and agriculture alongside exhibitions of art and music, literature, and science. Among the architects commissioned to design the individual buildings were Charles B. Atwood (Anthropological Building, Forestry Building, Palace of Fine Arts), Henry Ives Cobb (Fish and Fisheries Building), and the firm of Adler & Sullivan (Transportation Building).

Machinery Hall and the Horticulture Building were designed by Robert Swain Peabody and the firm of Jenney and Mundie, respectively. The John Bull, No. 1, shown by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, was brought to Chicago from the Smithsonian Institution after first undergoing some restoration work. During the fair the locomotive was used as an attraction, providing rides to attendees.

The Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, designed by New York architect George B. Post, was one of the largest buildings by area at the time of its construction. Displays of manufactured goods from around the world shared the space with exhibits relating to literature, music, education, medicine, government, and social and religious organizations. Other exhibits on sanitation and hygiene and charitable organizations were originally intended for the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building but were instead moved to the Anthropological Building. One of the last structures to be built for the fair, the Anthropological Building featured exhibits on ethnology, anthropology, archaeology with a focus on the indigenous peoples of the Americas and European colonies. Artifacts from these displays would later become part of the founding collection of the Field Museum of Natural History.