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The Crowd At The Fair

1933 - 1934 World's Fair

Chicago

A Century Of Progress

May 27, 1933 ~ October 31, 1934

The Story, The Souvenirs

Motto: A Century Of Progress

On May 23, opening day at the fair, the lights were turned on with energy from the rays of the star Arcturus. The rays were focused on photo-electric cells in a series of astronomical observatories and then transformed into electrical energy which was transmitted to Chicago.

Unlike any fair before it, A Century of Progress celebrated color and lighting. The architecture of the fair was drawn was influenced by great depression of the time. Rather than focusing on architecture, the fair focused on scientific and technological progress and the manufacturing processes behind them.  It was the Century of Progress International Exposition, the name of this World's Fair held in Chicago, Illinois from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial.

One of the more famous aspects of the fair were the performances of fan dancer Sally Rand. Other popular exhibits were the various auto manufacturers, the Midway (filled with nightclubs such as the Old Morocco, where future stars Judy Garland and the Andrews Sisters), and a recreation of important scenes from Chicago's history. The fair also contained exhibits that would seem shocking to contemporary audiences, including offensive portrayals of African-Americans, a "Midget City" complete with "sixty Lilliputians", and an exhibition of incubators containing real babies.  One of the highlights of the 1933 World's Fair was the arrival of the German airship Graf Zeppelin.

The "dream cars" which American automobile manufacturers exhibited at the fair included Cadillac's introduction of its V-16 limousine; Nash's exhibit had a variation on the vertical (i.e., paternoster) parking garage—all the cars were new Nashes; Lincoln presented its rear-engined "concept car" precursor to the Lincoln-Zephyr, which went on the market in 1936 with a front engine; Pierce-Arrow presented its modernistic Silver Arrow for which it used the byline "Suddenly it's 1940!" But it was Packard which won the best of show.

In May 1934 the Union Pacific Railroad exhibited its first streamlined train, the M-10000, and the Burlington Route its famous Zephyr, which made a record-breaking dawn-to-dusk run from Denver, Colorado, to Chicago in 13 hours and 5 minutes. To cap its record-breaking speed run, the Zephyr arrived dramatically on-stage at the fair's "Wings of a Century" transportation pageant. The two trains launched an era of industrial streamlining.

The trip to the tops of the towers took less than one minute in Otis Automatic High-Speed Elevators. The eight Skyride elevators carried 6,000,000 passengers in five and one-half months in 1933--a new record for intensive elevator service. You could go behind the scenes and see these elevator machines in operation.  Steel cable overhead tracks connected the towers at the 210-foot level giving an unmatched observation ride in double-decked rocket shaped cars suspended beneath the rails. The cars were so constructed as to give an unobstructed view in all directions. An endless traction cable drew them across the span, the ride taking about four minutes. There were ten of the cars, each in charge of a certified aerial pilot. An observation platform was at the top of each tower.  Four states visible from towers tops on a clear day.

The Skyride

The "A Century of Progress Exposition" was a unheralded success and hosted over 48 million visitors in two years it ran. It provided an uplifting glimpse into a future of embodied by technology while honoring the achievements of past.

The Souvenirs

$28.50

The globe spins clear, as it turns, the picture in the base changes to a new picture of the fair.

There is a mark here and there from age but overall it is in very nice condition.

There is a seal of the American eagle on the face and around it "Chicago World's Fair 1933-1934.

$77.50

$29.50