Have you ever been riding through Jackson Park on the south side of Chicago and noticed that huge gold statue? Well that statue is known as "The Republic" and remains from the Columbian Exposition, or the "World's Fair of 1893" which took place in Chicago.
The statue is 24 feet tall and is made of gilded bronze and you really can't miss it because it's located right at the intersection of Hayes and Richards Drive in Jackson Park, just off of Lake Shore Drive. Why is it there? Because it was a souvenir from the World's Fair, and its purpose was to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in North America.
"The Republic" was sculpted by Daniel Chester French and back then stood 65 feet tall, dwarfing all the other sculptures and buildings at the Fair. It was located across from what is known today as the Museum of Science and Industry. After the Fair it was destroyed in the fire of 1896, and in 1918 French collaborated with architect Henry Bacon to make a smaller replica of the statue which still remains in Jackson Park today.