A Century of Progress
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In 1933, Chicago celebrated its centennial by hosting a second world's fair. The fair was conceived, like its predecessor in 1893, in order to inspire hope in a time of economic and political crisis. Its theme was to "attempt to demonstrate to an international audience the nature and significance of scientific discoveries, the methods of achieving them, and the changes which their application has wrought in industry and in living conditions."
Oil tycoon Rufus C. Dawes was selected as chairman of the exposition board. He brought along his brother, Charles G. Dawes to serve as chairman of the finance committee and future NBC president Lenox R. Lohr to direct the fair’s operations. The Dawes brothers then convinced some notable business figures, namely Julius Rosenwald, the head of Sears, Roebuck & Co, to help fund the exposition. After being suggested to by several scientists and physicians, Rufus Dawes agreed to turn the fair into an “exposition of science and industrial development.”
Lohr was put in charge of making the vision into a reality. The architecture was put under a commission of architects (which, notably, left out Frank Lloyd Wright, who would later call the architecture a “sham”) who sought, in contrast with the previous Chicago World’s fair, to develop a modern image for the fair. Architects used a wide range of colors to create a “rainbow city,” a look almost completely opposite the neoclassic, monochrome “marble city” of 1893.
A Century of Progress was organized on a piece of land 424 acres large, lying on the shore of Lake Michigan.
Oil tycoon Rufus C. Dawes was selected as chairman of the exposition board. He brought along his brother, Charles G. Dawes to serve as chairman of the finance committee and future NBC president Lenox R. Lohr to direct the fair’s operations. The Dawes brothers then convinced some notable business figures, namely Julius Rosenwald, the head of Sears, Roebuck & Co, to help fund the exposition. After being suggested to by several scientists and physicians, Rufus Dawes agreed to turn the fair into an “exposition of science and industrial development.”
Lohr was put in charge of making the vision into a reality. The architecture was put under a commission of architects (which, notably, left out Frank Lloyd Wright, who would later call the architecture a “sham”) who sought, in contrast with the previous Chicago World’s fair, to develop a modern image for the fair. Architects used a wide range of colors to create a “rainbow city,” a look almost completely opposite the neoclassic, monochrome “marble city” of 1893.
A Century of Progress was organized on a piece of land 424 acres large, lying on the shore of Lake Michigan.
Map of A Century of Progress
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Many exhibits tried to explain how business, science, and government could come together to shape a better future. With the Hall of Science as the pioneer, many corporations created exhibits to show the importance of modernization in everything from houses to cars. These exhibit included a ten foot model of the earth mounted above a display of the periodic table of elements, a gyroscopic compass, and an animation of twig growing, showing how annual rings are formed and utilized to determine the age of a tree.
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited A Century of Progress, he was so impressed with the exposition’s ability to influence consumer spending that he pressured Dawes into reopening the fair in 1934. Many business owners, including most notably Henry Ford, who had not participated in 1933 changed their minds and opened exhibits in 1934.
The entertainment aspect of A Century of Progress might have been the most influential towards consumer spending. The fair included Skyride, rocket cars that would carry visitors over 200 feet over the fair grounds, the Odditorium, which showed old time freak shows, and the Enchanted Isle for kids. However, the main draw in the fair was the nightclubs present in the Midway, in which celebrities often made appearances, and the infamous Sally Rand “fan dance” occurred.
Perhaps the exposition’s most important message was that despite the presence of the Depression, America was on its way up. The fair sought to inspire hope, to show the positive influence of modernization in science, business, and government. While the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair was an ode to a classic age, triumphantly noted by the neoclassic look of the Marble City, A Century of Progress was a look into the future, where the Depression was over and America was a consumer nation, full of new ideas and innovation of all kinds.
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited A Century of Progress, he was so impressed with the exposition’s ability to influence consumer spending that he pressured Dawes into reopening the fair in 1934. Many business owners, including most notably Henry Ford, who had not participated in 1933 changed their minds and opened exhibits in 1934.
The entertainment aspect of A Century of Progress might have been the most influential towards consumer spending. The fair included Skyride, rocket cars that would carry visitors over 200 feet over the fair grounds, the Odditorium, which showed old time freak shows, and the Enchanted Isle for kids. However, the main draw in the fair was the nightclubs present in the Midway, in which celebrities often made appearances, and the infamous Sally Rand “fan dance” occurred.
Perhaps the exposition’s most important message was that despite the presence of the Depression, America was on its way up. The fair sought to inspire hope, to show the positive influence of modernization in science, business, and government. While the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair was an ode to a classic age, triumphantly noted by the neoclassic look of the Marble City, A Century of Progress was a look into the future, where the Depression was over and America was a consumer nation, full of new ideas and innovation of all kinds.