The Woman's Building (Chicago)

The Woman's Building was designed and built in June 1892, for the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893; under the auspices of the Board of Lady Managers.

The board of architects selected Sophia Hayden's design of an Italian Renaissance-style three-story building with Corinthian columns.

Cassatt was asked to paint a 58-foot × 12-foot mural for the north tympanum over the entrance to the Gallery of Honor, showcasing the advancement of women throughout history, called Modern Woman.

[10] The British sculptor Ellen Mary Rope contributed a bas-relief, depicting ‘Hope, Charity, Faith and Heavenly Wisdom’, which found a later home in the dining room of the first Ladies' Residential Chambers in London, a project of cousins Rhoda and Agnes Garrett.

[13] The Smithsonian loaned an ethnological exhibit featuring crafts from several cultures including African, Native American, and Polynesian, titled "Woman's Work in Savagery".

[13] The library, located on the second floor and decorated with wood paneled bookshelves, leather couches, and artworks by female artists, boasted at least 8,000 books representing 24 different nations all of which were written by women.

[16] The Woman's Pavilion at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia fought to raise money and protect land ownership at the fair.

The resilience and persistence surprised male management members as they did not expect the women to be able to raise enough money for a separate building, which they did.

[20] Enid Yandell and Laura Hayes co-wrote a semi-autobiographical account of three women architects and their involvement in planning the fair.

Jean Loughborough, Laura Hayes, and Enid Yandell lived together before the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and contributed to the construction of the Women's Building.

Feminist artist Judy Chicago and her team of students, in the midst of creating The Dinner Party, discovered a copy of the Woman's Building catalog in a second-hand bookstore.