AC/DC THE W AR OF THE CURRENTS
The grand Administration Building and the reflective pool in front are aglow during the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago – a decisive victory for the company providing the electricity
Grover Cleveland had one of the more straightforward tasks of his presidency on the evening of 1 May 1893. After saying a few words to the crowd, he pushed a gold button and hundreds of thousands of lightbulbs buzzed into life. It may not sound like much today but no one had ever seen such a display of electrical power as the spectacle he switched on. Te lights coruscated over the grand lake and illuminated the neoclassical buildings purposebuilt for the occasion, while multi-coloured searchlights pierced the sky