Fair Representation

A full-scale replica of Mount Vernon at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair

Looks like Mount Vernon, but is it, really? Upon closer inspection, the building seen just above the rooftop, in contrast to the rural setting of Washington’s estate in Virginia, offers clues to a different location. The look-alike is actually a replica of Washington’s mansion constructed in Chicago for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, submitted as the state building for Virginia.

It would be the first of six Mount Vernons re-created for various world’s fairs between 1893 and 1934; after Chicago, later iterations were sited in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Paris, Brooklyn, and finally again in Chicago. Each was eventually demolished, with one exception: The Paris replica was relocated to Vaucresson, France, where it remains as a private residence.

Beyond full-scale replicas, architectural elements of Washington’s Mount Vernon have inspired generations of Americans to memorialize his iconic piazza; color scheme of red, white, and green; asymmetrical façade; adjoining structures; and cupola. Lydia Mattice Brandt, author of First in the Homes of His Countrymen: George Washington’s Mount Vernon in the American Imagination, says that Mount Vernon has been reproduced more times than any other historic building in America. Examples of houses, motels, college buildings, banks, restaurants, and funeral homes bearing a resemblance to Mount Vernon can be found throughout the United States.