Thomas G. Moses painted scenery for “A Street of Cairo” at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. It was directly across from the Moorish Palace and Turkish Village. The attraction included 26 buildings that presented an idealized view of Egypt and was never intended as an exact replica of any particular street. World Fair guidebooks note that some of the structures were stylistic imitations of well-known monuments, but that is where historical accuracy ended. Dozens of stands sold “authentic” Egyptian items to passersby as they wandered through the fair. Everything on display was placed to turn a profit, unlike the official fair exhibits from foreign countries.
Historical records suggest that Egypt was not in any financial position to participate as an official exhibit at the Columbian Exposition. However, many from the country recognized the potential for positive propaganda and tourism if the country was included in the fair. Privately funded, “A Street in Cairo” was managed by Georges Pangalo. Pangalo was born in Smyna, Turkey, to a Greek father and English mother. Over the years, he worked in various fields, from railroad service and journalism to banking and financial management.
For the Columbian Exposition, Pangalo worked with Max Herz, the chief architect to the Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l’Art Arabe. This was the official state agency responsible for the preservation of Arab-Islamic monuments in Egypt. The intention was for Herz’s official position to give credibility to Pangalo’s endeavor.
Traveling to Cairo, Herz employed the Austrian architect Eduard Matasek to assist him in the preparation of the necessary plans for the attraction. Most components for the buildings were produced in Cairo and shipped to America. The buildings were then assembled on site under the supervision of a Chicago architect. Herz later arrived to supervise the final stages of the construction.
In addition to the architectural accuracy, costumed participants, camels, and donkeys provided an air of authenticity. The Chicago attraction was modeled after the 1889 Paris Exposition’s “Rue de Caire.” In Chicago, performance venues complimented the street vendors and foreign structures. The Turkish Theatre, the Algerian Theatre and the Persian Theatre all advertised stage shows, complete with scenery depicting the appropriate locales. Many of the stage scenery was painted by Chicago artists, such as Moses. In these theaters, popular dancers such a “Little Egypt” (Fahreda Mahzar) performed their routines. A variety of musical entertainments from the Ottoman Empire were on display for the inquisitive public.
Other performances that appeared outside of the theatre and on the street were staged processionals or small vignettes. One example was Achmet, the celebrated “donkey boy of Cairo.” This young man arrived in Chicago on April 13, 1893 and began work the next day. He wandered through the fairgrounds with his donkey named “Yankee Doodle.” All summer, little children rode up and down the “Street in Cairo,” from café to the “Temple of Luksor” (Luxor) and back for a fee.
These shows and street scenes transported visitors to a foreign land in settings that specifically catered to the American public. The types of entertainment produced for the Midway Plaisance were a mixture from many cultural traditions. For the fair, Pangalo imported a diverse array of individuals and groups from different locations throughout the Ottoman Empire. Not all of the performers returned to their native lands after the fair, however, some remained in the area and established new homes. America became an even larger melting pot.
The nineteenth-century fascination with the exotic permeated many other areas of society beyond the commercial theatre. Masonic halls, Scottish Rite stages, Shrine auditoriums and other fraternal spaces enthusiastically incorporated elements from the East into their buildings and ceremonials. The Columbian Exposition did not usher in this movement, but it certainly promoted what was possible and visually appealing. The theatrical manufacturers and suppliers that decorated the fairgrounds were well versed in this exotic aesthetic.
In addition to midway amusements, Moorish revival style buildings appeared across the country in other public spaces. Scenes from the Orient dominated periodical illustrations, stereoscopic cards, themed rooms and other popular amusements. Horseshoe arches, window tracery, onion domes, minarets, decorative brickwork and stucco exteriors rapidly appeared in many metropolitan cities. The architectural ornamentation and painted decorations for “A Street in Cairo” were replicated hundreds of times over for one particular performance venue – the Scottish Rite.
The manufacturers of Scottish Rite degree productions enthusiastically embraced the exotic. Palatial scenes, landscapes, and temple interiors all included visual elements from well-known illustrations of nineteenth-century artists. Traveling artists both captured and popularized the foreign monuments, people and traditions. David Roberts and John Frederick Lewis were just two examples of those who recorded archeological discoveries and the culture of the Egypt and the Middle East. Their scenes would reappear through hundreds of commercial and fraternal performance venues. In turn, Charles Graham who was once a scenic artist, created dozens of illustrations that memorialized “A Street in Cairo.”
To be continued…
