1893 | The Phoenix Pavilion at the center of the World's Columbian Exposition

On March 31, 1893, the United States and Japan dedicated the Ho-o-den (Phoenix Pavilion) on the Wooded Island.

For the millions of visitors that summer, the building—and the canon of Japanese art that it contained—would begin to transform their understanding and appreciation of Japan and its people.

Architects from all over America were fascinated by the Phoenix Pavilion. Foremost among them was Frank Lloyd Wright, who was only twenty-six years old at the time. For Wright, this first encounter with Japanese architecture was a revelation, and led to him experimenting with what he eventually called, “the elimination of the insignificant,” an approach that would lead him to transform American residential design by focusing upon principles inspired by Japan rather than formulas found in the West.

At the close of the Exposition, the Phoenix Pavilion was gifted by the Emperor of Japan to the City of Chicago to serve as a symbol of the relationship between Japan and the United States, and as a place for future generations to continue to learn about Japan and experience Japanese culture.