Emerald City facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Emerald City |
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Illustration by W. W. Denslow
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| The Oz series location | |
| Created by | L. Frank Baum |
| Genre | Juvenile fantasy |
| Type | Capital city |
| Ruler | Princess Ozma |
| Notable locations | Ozma's palace |
| Notable characters | Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale (eventually), Soldier with the Green Whiskers, Jellia Jamb |
| Population | 57,318 |
| First appearance | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz |
The Emerald City is the main city in the magical Land of Oz. It's often called the City of Emeralds. This famous city first appeared in L. Frank Baum's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900.
Contents
Exploring the Emerald City in Oz Books
The Emerald City sits right in the middle of the Land of Oz. It's the final stop on the famous yellow brick road, which starts far away in Munchkin Country. At the heart of the Emerald City is the Royal Palace of Oz. The books usually say the city is made from green glass, emeralds, and other shiny jewels.
In the first books, the city was described as completely green. But in later stories, green was just the main color. Buildings also had gold decorations, and people wore clothes with many different colors.
The Emerald City in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
In the first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the city's walls are green. However, the city itself isn't actually all green. When visitors arrive, everyone in the Emerald City must wear special green-tinted glasses. The Wizard said these glasses protected their eyes from the city's "brightness."
But this was a trick by the Wizard. The glasses made everything look green, even though the city was "no more green than any other city." This was one of the Wizard's many "humbugs" or tricks.
One interesting scene shows Dorothy seeing shops selling all sorts of green items. A seller even sold green lemonade that children bought with green pennies. This is different from later Oz books, where money isn't used. Some people think the Wizard might have brought money to the city, but the book doesn't say for sure.
In this book, the Wizard also said he built the city himself. He built it a few years after he landed in Oz in his hot air balloon. He made everyone wear green glasses because he first noticed how green and pleasant the land was.
The Emerald City in The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
In The Marvelous Land of Oz, characters still had to wear the green glasses at first. But halfway through the book, the glasses disappear, and no one talks about the city's bright green glow anymore. Yet, the city is still described as green throughout the rest of the series.
At one point, the character Tip says the Wizard built the city. However, the Scarecrow later explains that the Wizard had taken the crown from Pastoria, the city's true king. The crown then passed to the Scarecrow. The book then focuses on finding the rightful ruler of the city. Princess Ozma was the true heir to the crown of all Oz.
Later Stories of the Emerald City
The story changed back in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908). Here, it was said that the Wizard built the city after four wicked witches had taken power from the king before he arrived.
In The Road to Oz (1909), the Little Guardian of the Gates is the only character still wearing green glasses. This was a small nod to the original idea of the Emerald City.
The Emerald City of Oz (1910), the sixth book in the Oz series, gives us some numbers. It says the city has exactly 9,654 buildings and 57,318 citizens.
Inspiration for the Emerald City
L. Frank Baum might have gotten some ideas for the Emerald City from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. This big event was nicknamed the "White City." Baum visited it often after moving to Chicago. W. W. Denslow, who drew the pictures for the first Oz book, also included ideas from the White City. Denslow had sketched the exposition for the Chicago Times.
The real-life White City was built very quickly, in less than a year. This might have inspired the idea that the Emerald City was also built quickly in the first book.
Some people think Baum based his description of the city on the Hotel del Coronado. He supposedly did a lot of his writing there.
Different Meanings of the Emerald City
Some experts who see The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a political story think the Emerald City represents Washington, D.C.. They also link it to "greenback" paper money, which didn't have gold or silver to back it up. In this view, the city's amazing look and value are like paper money, which only has value because everyone agrees it does.
In this idea, Dorothy enters the Emerald City (Washington, D.C.) wearing the witch's silver slippers (representing the silver standard). She travels on the Yellow Brick Road (representing the gold standard). There, she meets the Wizard (President William McKinley), whose power turns out to be just an illusion.
Other experts believe the Emerald City shows a positive view of America during the start of the industrial age. They suggest it could be Chicago in the 1890s. This interpretation focuses on how the city is described as a place of city abundance and a spending economy.
More recently, some have thought the name "Emerald City" might refer to Seattle, Washington. But this is incorrect. Seattle got its "Emerald City" nickname in 1982, more than 80 years after Baum's first book came out.
Places to See in the Emerald City
- Notta Bit More's Tent – This tent is outside the Royal Palace of Oz. It's where Notta Bit More lives.
- Prison – This is the only prison in the Land of Oz. It's managed by Tollydiggle. The prison is rarely used because there's hardly any crime in Oz. Ojo is the only well-known prisoner here.
- Royal Palace of Oz – The Royal Palace of Oz is right in the center of the Emerald City. This is where the rulers of the Land of Oz live. It has a throne room, beautiful royal gardens, and special suites for guests.
The Emerald City in Movies and TV Shows
City Nicknames Around the World
Australia
In 1987, David Williamson wrote a play called Emerald City. In the play, a character describes Sydney, Australia, as "the Emerald City of Oz." She meant that people go to Sydney hoping their dreams will come true, but often find only fake happiness or broken dreams.
In 2006, the Sydney New Year's Eve celebration was called "A Diamond Night in Emerald City." This was also a nod to Williamson's play. "Diamond Night" also celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Because of this, "Emerald City" is sometimes used as an unofficial nickname for Sydney.
A company called Emerald Partners, located in Sydney, was named after Baum's book and Williamson's play. It's interesting because "Oz" is also a common nickname for "Australia" in everyday Australian talk.
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper has a long-running gossip column called "Emerald City."
America
The city of Seattle has officially used "The Emerald City" as its nickname since 1982. There's even a drink called "Emerald City" linked to Seattle.
Eugene, Oregon is also called the Emerald City. The area has been known as the "Emerald Empire" since as early as 1928.
Peter W. Kaplan, a famous media person, often called New York the "Emerald City."
Asia
Muntinlupa City in the Philippines is nicknamed the "Emerald City of the Philippines" by the Department of Tourism.
The Emerald City on Screen
- The city appears in the famous movie The Wizard of Oz (1939), directed by Victor Fleming.
- The 1976 Australian musical Oz is a new version of Baum's story, set in Australia in the 1970s.
- The city appears in Return to Oz. In this movie, the Nome King has destroyed the city, turning all its people to stone. When Dorothy arrives, the city is empty except for creatures called Wheelers and is ruled by Mombi. Dorothy uses the ruby slippers to bring the Emerald City back to its beautiful self.
- In July 2014, a musical play called Emerald City - A Musical Play was shown at The Toronto Fringe Festival. It's a musical where Dorothy and her friends are in group therapy with a psychiatrist named Dr. Oz.
The Emerald City on Television
- The city appears in The Wizard of Oz TV series. After the Wicked Witch of the West comes back to life, she casts a spell that makes the Emerald City look dull and tarnished.
- The HBO prison TV series Oz mostly takes place in a special unit called Emerald City (or EM City) inside a made-up prison in New York.
- The city can be seen in the popular ABC TV show Once Upon A Time.
- Emerald City is hinted at through "Central City" in the Sci Fi TV miniseries Tin Man (2007). This show is a new take on Baum's world and refers to many Oz places. Central City was one of the biggest computer-generated sets for a TV series at the time. Its design looks like steampunk and also like the movie Blade Runner (1982).
- The 2017 NBC TV series Emerald City.
- The Emerald City appears in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz.
The Emerald City in Books
In Gregory Maguire's Oz novels, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995) and Son of a Witch (2005), the Emerald City is a much darker place. It has grand palaces and gardens, but also areas with lots of crime and poverty. Son of a Witch introduces Southstairs, a huge political prison under the Emerald City. The green glasses worn by citizens are often used to stop them from seeing the bad things happening around them.
The Emerald City in Video Games
The video game Emerald City Confidential (2009) shows the Emerald City as a dark, mysterious place, like a film noir movie. It has private detectives, lots of corruption, mob bosses, smugglers, and dishonest lawyers. The game is set 40 years after The Wizard of Oz and is described as "Oz, seen through the eyes of Raymond Chandler" (a famous detective story writer).
