Chicago’s White City This painting by H. D. Nichols captures the monumental architecture of the White City built for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. In the foreground, the central Court of Honor features a Frederick MacMonnies fountain, with Christopher Columbus at the prow of his ship. In the distance is Daniel Chester French’s sixty-foot gilded statue Republic. The awe-inspiring exposition drew millions of visitors from America and abroad.