Daniel H. Burnham was selected as director of works and emphasized architecture and sculpture as central to the Fair. The buildings around the Court of Honor were designed in Neoclassical style and painted white, which lead to the fairground’s nickname, “White City.”
The Art Institute is a unique example of a collaboration between the trustees of the Art Institute and the fair committee, which put up close to one-third of the cost in exchange for its use for the duration of the Fair. From May through October 1893, it was utilized as an auxiliary building that housed the popular international assemblies and conferences. In November, interior conversions began and a members’ reception was held on December 8 to christen the new location of the Art Institute, whose expanding art collection had outgrown its previous location.