At the time of the Worlds Columbian Exposition of 1893, the United States was fast becoming the worlds leading economy. Chicago, the host city, had grown in less than half a century from a village to the countrys second-largest metropolis. During this, the Gilded Age, the worlds most extensive railroad and steamship networks poured ceaselessly through Chicago, carrying the raw goods and finished products of Americas great age of invention and industrial expansion. The Fair was the largest ever at the time, with 65,000 exhibitors and millions of visitors. It has been called the Blueprint of the American Future and marked the beginning of the national economy and consumer culture.