Emerald City
Encyclopedia
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz
in L. Frank Baum
's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
. The city is sometimes called the City of Emeralds.
, which starts in Munchkin Country.
In the first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the walls are green, but the city itself is not. However, when they enter, everyone in the Emerald City is made to wear green-tinted eyeglasses; this is explained as an effort to protect their eyes from the "brightness and glory" of the city, but in effect makes everything appear green when it is, in fact, "no more green than any other city." This is yet another "humbug" created by the Wizard
. In this book, the Wizard also describes the city as having been built for him within a few years after he arrived. It was he who decreed that all who are in the Emerald City must wear green eyeglasses, since the first thing he noticed about Oz after he landed in his hot-air balloon was how green and pleasant the country was.
In the second book, The Marvelous Land of Oz
, however, the characters are required to wear the glasses at first, but half way through the book, no more eyeglasses appear, no more mention is made of the brilliance, but the city is still described as green. This is continued throughout the series. The only allusions to the earlier conception appeared in The Road to Oz
, where the Little Guardian of the Gates wears green spectacles, the only character to do so. Furthermore, although at one point, the character Tip describes it as being built by the Wizard, at another, the Scarecrow explains that the Wizard had usurped the crown of Pastoria, the former king of the city, and from the Wizard the crown had passed to him; the book, in fact, quickly concerns itself with finding the rightful heir to the crown of the city. Ozma remained the heir to the king, though both she and the original king were transformed to the ruler of all Oz. The story, however, reverted to the Wizard having built the city in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
, with the usurpation of the king's power being done by the four witches before his arrival.
The Oz books describe the Emerald City as being built of green glass, emerald
s, and other jewels. In the earlier books, it was described as completely green
, but in later ones, green was merely the predominating color; the buildings were decorated with gold as well, and people added other colors to their costumes.
In the first book, one scene of the Emerald City is of particular note in the development of Oz: Dorothy sees rows of shops, selling green articles of every variety, and a vendor of green lemonade, from whom children bought it with green pennies. This contrasts with the later description of Oz, in which money does not feature. Interpreters have argued that money may have been introduced into the city by the Wizard
, but this is not in the text itself.
The Emerald City of Oz
is the title of the sixth book in the Oz series. In it, the city is described as having exactly 9654 buildings and 57,318 citizens.
in anticipation of the event. W. W. Denslow, the illustrator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was also familiar with the White City, as he had been hired to sketch and document the exposition for the Chicago Herald; Denslow's illustrations of the Emerald City incorporate elements that may have been inspired by the White City.
The quick building of the White City, in less than a year, may have been an element in the quick construction of the Emerald City in the first book.
It is also likely that Baum's favored haunt, the Hotel Del Coronado
, influenced its description in later books.
see the Emerald City as a metaphor for Washington, D.C.
and unsecured "greenback" paper money. In this reading of the book, the city's illusory splendor and value is compared with the value of paper money, which also has value only because of a shared illusion or convention. It is highly likely that the Hotel del Coronado
influenced its description in later books, as well as in the artwork by John R. Neill
.
's revisionist
Oz novels, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
and Son of a Witch
, the Emerald City is a much darker place than in Baum's novels. It does have splendid palaces and gardens, but also sections beset by crime
and poverty
. Son of a Witch introduces Southstairs, an extensive political prison located in the caves below the Emerald City. The green glasses that are worn by the citizens are often used as a way to stop them seeing what is going on around them.
David Williamson
(whose brother-in-law wrote the Oz-inspired musical Oz
) wrote a play in 1987 called Emerald City
. The term is used as a metaphor by the character Elaine Ross, describing Sydney
as "the Emerald City of Oz", where people go expecting their dreams to be fulfilled, only to end up with superficial substitutes and broken dreams. The 2006 Sydney New Year's Eve Festivities were entitled "A Diamond Night in Emerald City" also in reference to Williamson's play and the "Diamond Night" alluding to the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2007. (The bridge was the centerpiece of the celebrations). Subsequently "Emerald City" has occasionally been used as an unofficial nickname for the city of Sydney. The Sydney based merchant banking and private equity firm Emerald Partners head office is on top of the Museum of Contemporary Art building located right on the Sydney Harbour foreshore at Circular Quay. The firm was named after Baum's book and the David Williamson play.
The city of Seattle, Washington, of the United States
has used "The Emerald City" as its official nickname since the 1980s, because of how green it is in that region of the world, although that was previously in use by Eugene, Oregon
.
A "Central City" is one of the chief settings of the 2007 Sci Fi television miniseries Tin Man
, a re-imagining of Baum's world that makes allusive
references to many of the locales of Oz. The "Outer Zone" (O.Z.) is described as a bleak rendition of the beautiful world of Oz. Central City is a completely computer-generated
set, one of the largest for a television series of its time, according to the production designer, Michael Joy. Its scenic design
features heavy elements of steampunk
and also pays visual homage to Blade Runner
, according to co-creator Craig van Sickle.
Video Game Emerald City Confidential
portrays the Emerald City as a film noir
place with private detectives, widespread corruption, mob bosses, smugglers, and crooked lawyers. Set 40 years after the events of The Wizard of Oz, its described as "Oz, seen through the eyes of Raymond Chandler
".
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
in L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
. The city is sometimes called the City of Emeralds.
Fictional description
Located in the center of the Land of Oz, the Emerald City is the end of the famous yellow brick roadYellow brick road
The road of yellow brick is an element in the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, with additional such roads appearing in The Marvelous Land of Oz and The Patchwork Girl of Oz...
, which starts in Munchkin Country.
In the first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the walls are green, but the city itself is not. However, when they enter, everyone in the Emerald City is made to wear green-tinted eyeglasses; this is explained as an effort to protect their eyes from the "brightness and glory" of the city, but in effect makes everything appear green when it is, in fact, "no more green than any other city." This is yet another "humbug" created by the Wizard
Wizard (Oz)
The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...
. In this book, the Wizard also describes the city as having been built for him within a few years after he arrived. It was he who decreed that all who are in the Emerald City must wear green eyeglasses, since the first thing he noticed about Oz after he landed in his hot-air balloon was how green and pleasant the country was.
In the second book, The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published on July 5, 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This and the next...
, however, the characters are required to wear the glasses at first, but half way through the book, no more eyeglasses appear, no more mention is made of the brilliance, but the city is still described as green. This is continued throughout the series. The only allusions to the earlier conception appeared in The Road to Oz
The Road to Oz
The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz. is the fifth of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz books...
, where the Little Guardian of the Gates wears green spectacles, the only character to do so. Furthermore, although at one point, the character Tip describes it as being built by the Wizard, at another, the Scarecrow explains that the Wizard had usurped the crown of Pastoria, the former king of the city, and from the Wizard the crown had passed to him; the book, in fact, quickly concerns itself with finding the rightful heir to the crown of the city. Ozma remained the heir to the king, though both she and the original king were transformed to the ruler of all Oz. The story, however, reverted to the Wizard having built the city in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz: A Faithful Record of Their Amazing Adventures in an Underground World; and How with the Aid of Their Friends Zeb Hugson, Eureka the Kitten, and Jim the Cab-Horse, They Finally Reached the Wonderful Land of Oz is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz written by L....
, with the usurpation of the king's power being done by the four witches before his arrival.
The Oz books describe the Emerald City as being built of green glass, emerald
Emerald
Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
s, and other jewels. In the earlier books, it was described as completely green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
, but in later ones, green was merely the predominating color; the buildings were decorated with gold as well, and people added other colors to their costumes.
In the first book, one scene of the Emerald City is of particular note in the development of Oz: Dorothy sees rows of shops, selling green articles of every variety, and a vendor of green lemonade, from whom children bought it with green pennies. This contrasts with the later description of Oz, in which money does not feature. Interpreters have argued that money may have been introduced into the city by the Wizard
Wizard (Oz)
The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...
, but this is not in the text itself.
The Emerald City of Oz
The Emerald City of Oz
The Emerald City of Oz is the sixth of L. Frank Baum's fourteen Land of Oz books. It was also adapted into a Canadian animated film in 1987. Originally published on July 20, 1910, it is the story of Dorothy Gale and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em coming to live in Oz permanently...
is the title of the sixth book in the Oz series. In it, the city is described as having exactly 9654 buildings and 57,318 citizens.
Sources
Baum may have been partly inspired in his creation of the Emerald City by the White City of the World Columbian Exposition, which he visited frequently, having moved to ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in anticipation of the event. W. W. Denslow, the illustrator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was also familiar with the White City, as he had been hired to sketch and document the exposition for the Chicago Herald; Denslow's illustrations of the Emerald City incorporate elements that may have been inspired by the White City.
The quick building of the White City, in less than a year, may have been an element in the quick construction of the Emerald City in the first book.
It is also likely that Baum's favored haunt, the Hotel Del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado is a beachfront luxury hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort...
, influenced its description in later books.
Interpretations
Scholars who interpret The Wizard of Oz as a political allegoryPolitical interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz include treatments of the modern fairy tale as an allegory or metaphor for the political, economic and social events of America in the 1890s...
see the Emerald City as a metaphor for Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and unsecured "greenback" paper money. In this reading of the book, the city's illusory splendor and value is compared with the value of paper money, which also has value only because of a shared illusion or convention. It is highly likely that the Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado is a beachfront luxury hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort...
influenced its description in later books, as well as in the artwork by John R. Neill
John R. Neill
John Rea Neill was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three of his own. His pen-and-ink drawings have become identified almost exclusively with the Oz series...
.
Adaptations and allusions
In Gregory MaguireGregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire is an American writer. He is the author of the novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and many other novels for adults and children...
's revisionist
Revisionism (fictional)
In fiction, revisionism is the retelling of a story or type of story with substantial alterations in character or environment, to "revise" the view shown in the original work. Unlike most usages of the term revisionism, this is not generally considered pejorative...
Oz novels, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a parallel novel published in 1995 written by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by Douglas Smith. It is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and the...
and Son of a Witch
Son of a Witch
Son of a Witch is a fantasy novel written by Gregory Maguire. The book is Maguire’s fifth revisionist story and the second set in the land of Oz originally conceived by L. Frank Baum. It is a sequel to Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West...
, the Emerald City is a much darker place than in Baum's novels. It does have splendid palaces and gardens, but also sections beset by crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
and poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
. Son of a Witch introduces Southstairs, an extensive political prison located in the caves below the Emerald City. The green glasses that are worn by the citizens are often used as a way to stop them seeing what is going on around them.
David Williamson
David Williamson
David Keith Williamson AO is one of Australia's best-known playwrights. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.-Biography:...
(whose brother-in-law wrote the Oz-inspired musical Oz
Oz (1976 film)
Oz is a 1976 Australian film written, directed and co-produced by Chris Löfvén. It stars Joy Dunstan, Graham Matters, Bruce Spence, Gary Waddell, and Robin Ramsay; and received four nominations at the 1977 AFI Awards...
) wrote a play in 1987 called Emerald City
Emerald City (play)
Emerald City is a 1987 play by Australian playwright David Williamson, a satire about two entertainment industries: film and publishing.-Story:...
. The term is used as a metaphor by the character Elaine Ross, describing Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
as "the Emerald City of Oz", where people go expecting their dreams to be fulfilled, only to end up with superficial substitutes and broken dreams. The 2006 Sydney New Year's Eve Festivities were entitled "A Diamond Night in Emerald City" also in reference to Williamson's play and the "Diamond Night" alluding to the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2007. (The bridge was the centerpiece of the celebrations). Subsequently "Emerald City" has occasionally been used as an unofficial nickname for the city of Sydney. The Sydney based merchant banking and private equity firm Emerald Partners head office is on top of the Museum of Contemporary Art building located right on the Sydney Harbour foreshore at Circular Quay. The firm was named after Baum's book and the David Williamson play.
The city of Seattle, Washington, of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
has used "The Emerald City" as its official nickname since the 1980s, because of how green it is in that region of the world, although that was previously in use by Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
.
A "Central City" is one of the chief settings of the 2007 Sci Fi television miniseries Tin Man
Tin Man (TV miniseries)
Tin Man is a 2007 four and a half hour miniseries co-produced by RHI Entertainment and Sci Fi Channel original pictures that was broadcast in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel in three parts. The first part aired on December 2, and the remaining two parts airing on the following nights...
, a re-imagining of Baum's world that makes allusive
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
references to many of the locales of Oz. The "Outer Zone" (O.Z.) is described as a bleak rendition of the beautiful world of Oz. Central City is a completely computer-generated
Computer-generated
The term computer-generated most often refers to a sound or visual that has been created in whole or in part with the aid of computer software...
set, one of the largest for a television series of its time, according to the production designer, Michael Joy. Its scenic design
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
features heavy elements of steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
and also pays visual homage to Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, according to co-creator Craig van Sickle.
Video Game Emerald City Confidential
Emerald City Confidential
Emerald City Confidential is a 2009 computer adventure game conceived by Dave Gilbert, developed by Wadjet Eye Games and published through PlayFirst. It follows the protagonist Petra, Emerald City's only private eye, as she is approached by a strange woman named Dee Gale. Dee's fiancé is missing,...
portrays the Emerald City as a film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
place with private detectives, widespread corruption, mob bosses, smugglers, and crooked lawyers. Set 40 years after the events of The Wizard of Oz, its described as "Oz, seen through the eyes of Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
".