<P> After the state legislature created the South Park Commission in 1869, the designers of New York's Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, were hired to lay out the 1,055 - acre (4.27 km) park (which included the Midway Plaisance and Washington Park). Lois Willie explained in her book Forever Open, Clear, and Free, "Olmstead said Jackson Park should be water oriented, with a yacht harbor, winding walkways around the lagoons, small bridges, bathing pavilions, and plenty of space for boating ." However, their designs were not put into place at that time, and Jackson Park remained untouched until Chicago was chosen to host the World's Fair several years later . One of the landmarks that recalls the 1893 Columbian Exposition is the Statue of The Republic, only it is now a replica one - third the size of the original The Republic statue . The designers used the Statue of Liberty as inspiration when they were creating the original . Today the 1 / 3 size statue of The Republic stands at the site of the 1893 Expositions Administration Building . </P> <P> Known originally as "South Park", the landscape had eastern and western divisions connected by a grand boulevard named the Midway Plaisance . The eastern division became known as "Lake Park"; however, in 1880 the commission asked the public to suggest official names for both the eastern and western divisions . The names "Jackson" and "Washington" were proposed . In the following year, Lake Park was renamed "Jackson Park" to honor Andrew Jackson (1767--1845), the seventh president of the United States . </P> <P> In 1890, Chicago won the honor of hosting the World's Columbian Exposition . In 1891, Jackson Park was selected as its site . Olmsted and Chicago's architect and planner, Daniel H. Burnham, with his partner John Wellborn Root, laid out the fairgrounds . A team of architects and sculptors created the "White City" of plaster buildings and artworks in Beaux - Arts style . The historic World's Fair opened to visitors on May 1, 1893 . It was Root's last project, as he caught pneumonia and died in January 1891, two years before the fair's opening . After the fair closed, the site was transformed back into parkland, as the fair buildings were not designed to be permanent structures . Jackson Park featured the first public golf course west of the Alleghenies, which opened in 1899 . </P> <P> Most of the park burned to the ground after the fair closed . A headline from January 9 . 1894 read "THE WHITE CITY IN FLAMES; FIRE DESTROYS THE FAIREST OF THE BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS". The Palace of Fine Arts decayed after the fair until it was reopened as the Museum of Science and Industry in 1933 . Sears, Roebuck & Company president Julius Rosenwald donated the initial investment . During World War II, vandals severely damaged the Japanese Garden . The Chicago Park District waited for decades before considering repairing it . Eventually, the city of Osaka donated money for the refurbishment . </P>

What happened to the chicago world's fair buildings