Defunctland: The Fair That Changed America

in April of 1912 Daniel Burnham the director of the great 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and one of the most famous architects in the world was aboard an ocean liner nearly identical to the RMS Titanic named the RMS Olympic Burnham was traveling to Europe with his family including his two sons Hubert and Daniel jr. coming in the opposite direction was Francis Millette the Columbian Exposition x' decorations director and one of Burnham's best friends Mallette had led the effort to paint all of the buildings at the fair white helping Burnham achieve the expositions white city it had been nearly two decades since the Chicago Fair but the two had continued to work together since there should foo be passing one another Burnham went to the wireless operator to request a message be sent out to Millette via radio the attempt to send the message was a failure as it turned out Mallette was on the ocean liner nearly identical to the rms olympic named the rms titanic Mallette would be one of the over 1500 people to die in the sinking of the Titanic Burnham himself would pass less than two months later the cause of his death was unclear as it could have either been from his colitis his diabetes his infected foot or a recent food poisoning it is possible that the loss of one of his best friends and one of his final connections to his fare had caused him to die from pure grief but it was probably either the colitis the diabetes the foot infection or the food poisoning or speculatively a combination of any of those four things in 1927 a park on the shore of Lake Michigan would be named Burnham Park in his memory this park was just north of Jackson Park where the Columbian Exposition had been hosted within just six years from the dedication the newly named Burnham Park would aptly host a second World's Exposition in Chicago and maybe even more than Burnham's faire this Expo would change the course of history this week of November in the year of our Lord 2019 default led the series of Forgotten attainment in its third season and now Chicago century of progress fair this creation by Kevin furniture is sure to be a real Marvel so let us go to it now Rufus and Charles Dawes were brothers and business partners they were the oldest children of Union Army General Rufus R Das and through their respective careers they would both find success although it wasn't necessarily balanced Rufus was the younger of the two and he would become known for his achievements in banking and utilities Charles on the other hand would become known for his achievements in everything on top of the businesses he ran with Rufus Charles would become a lawyer work in the United States Department of the Treasury serve as a general in World War one when a Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Allied reparations Commission and served as vice president of the United States to President Calvin Coolidge on top of all of this Charles was an accomplished composer and one of his melodies would later be given lyrics by Carl Sigmund in a version performed by Tommy Edwards would be a chart-topping hit resulting in Charles G DAWs becoming the only vice president in the history of the United States of America to also have a number one hit song the brothers accomplishments reflected their personalities Charles was bold and eccentric and his diverse resume resembled it Rufus was more proper and straight-laced despite these differences they would work closely and Charles would use his influence to create opportunities for his younger brother whenever possible in 1927 while still serving as vice president Charles was approached by officials from Chicago about assisting in the creation of the second World's Fair for the city the organizers were struggling to gain support and no official fair committee position had been filled Charles was interested in the fair and he knew just the person to head its development his younger brother Rufus this was a testament to his trust in his brother because creating a new fair was no small task the United States had hosted its first Fair since st. Louis's 1904 exposition in 1915 holding the panama-pacific International Exposition in San Francisco to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal this was largely seen as the last fair of the world's expositions golden age as World War 1 and Erie focus on national expositions would reduce the presence of World's Fairs for almost two decades however the mid 1920s proved that the concept might not be dead forever there recently been a few successful European fairs including Frances 1925 International Exhibition of modern decorative and Industrial Arts this specific Faire was so influential that the rising art movement featured in it would take its common name from within the fair's title the art style would become known as Art Deco with the concept of World's Fairs re-entering the mainstream business leaders in Chicago were motivated to discuss another world's exposition for the city on top of this the Faire to open in 1933 would take place on the 40th anniversary of the 1893 Columbian Exposition and more importantly on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Chicago because of this the fair would be named Century of Progress with the backing of Charles Dawes the fair moved forward taking Charles suggestion and electing Rufus das as chairman of the Fair Committee On January 27th 1928 the century Progress Fair was officially announced the fair was to cost promoters thirty million dollars three times that of the Columbian Exposition and along with contributions from corporations and other nations the total cost would reach 100 million dollars officials believe that the fair would draw 50 million paid visitors double that of the Columbian Exposition this wasn't unreasonable as Chicago's population alone had tripled since 1893 however the decline in World's expositions made it a bit more risky Philadelphia's 1926 Expo just two years prior was a huge financial failure only attracting 7 million visitors the prospect that the Century of Progress Fair would draw 7 times that was optimistic but it was possible the American economy was in great shape the post-world War one consumer manufacturing boom as well as cultural changes had led to the decade referred to as the Roaring Twenties radio sets provided news and big-time entertainment from all over the country sports stadiums were springing up all over and jazz music was the cat's meow American culture was as well-defined as it had ever been Chicago was a slightly different story the bankrupt and crime-ridden City was dealing with racial unrest over discrimination and segregation while at the same time trying to fight the rise in organized crime locals were angry that taxpayer funds would be used to build the fair and after several critics raised concerns Charles volunteered to work with the Finance Committee to raise as much in private funds as by May 29 to 1929 das had raised ten million dollars to the fair collecting pledges of over six million dollars in less than eight hours the fair's development was well underway with many of the concerns of Chicago citizens solved a fair committee appointed the initial funds raised a strong economy and a growing national culture the Century of Progress Fair was shaping up to be a huge success everything was going great after all it was the United States of America in 1929 what could go wrong the tremendous crowds would you see gathered outside the stock exchange are due to the greatest crash in the history of the Great Depression began in late 1929 caused by a variety of factors including the stock market crash in October unemployment would hit a record high and deflation would ensue the downturn would spread throughout the industrial world becoming the worst global depression in its history the Depression would last for years severely affecting the lives of millions of people while low stakes in comparison it also greatly affected the upcoming fair in Chicago it would now be more difficult for Charles Dawes to raise funds it was likely many people would not go to the fair given the economic situation and most pressing the opinion toward industry had changed dramatically in the stock market boom in the years leading up to the Great Depression common people were buying stocks often using their life savings after the crash people had more reservations about trusting big business world's Fair's when stripped of the pageantry were essentially a series of advertisements for large manufacturers those suffering from the Great Depression did not want to walk through a commercial for the people that destroyed their lives and they certainly were not going to pay to do it disappeared as the end of the fair but the officials especially Rufus Dawes were not deterred in fact das knew just what to do they were going to spin it hard citizens throughout the country had negative opinions on industry ranging from skepticism to disdain it would not be enough to merely present these businesses in a positive light they needed to be reintroduced to the public not as a villain or as a bystander to the depression but as its hero das sought to connect industry to science and fold the two into the larger idea of progress the current financial crisis had destroyed the standard of living for the country and had put hundreds of thousands of people out onto the street but the face would assert that the solution to all of these problems the savior of a bleak America was industry industry loved it unsurprisingly businesses and political leaders encouraged the direction for the fair believing that it might help the economy and encourage consumer spending science for the most part was also for it as the chemical weapons used in World War one among other things and given the field a negative or even dystopian reputation both big business and science joined forces to make the Feres success in December of 1930 the plan was put into action with a formal announcement of the fair's mentality Dazs and officials explained that the fair would focus on quote science controlling nature's forces in order to enhance convenience and comfort the fairs motto would be science finds industry applies man conforms construction on the fair began in 1930 and was scheduled to continue up to the fairs opening in 1933 developers bragged that the futuristic fair was even built with cutting-edge materials such as plywood and asbestos the positive economic effects of the construction jobs served as great advertising for the fair which was set to open on May 27th 1933 when visitors arrived to the fair through Central Station they would walk down Roosevelt Road and turn onto the expositions Main Street the Avenue of flags this led to the fair's main building the Hall of Science this was not only a realization of one of the fair's main themes but it was also the centerpiece of its architectural style the 1893 Columbian Exposition under the direction of Burnham used a boozer our architectural direction which many prominent architects credited as setting the modern architectural movement backed by decades forty years later the Century of Progress fair would lean heavily into modernism with elements of Art Deco this meant flatter surfaces sharper edges and bold colors Burnham sons Daniel jr. and Hubert now architects themselves would design multiple buildings for the fair the Hall of Science including its one hundred and seventy five foot tall tower would stand as a prime example of the fair's art style before guests entered the hall they would be greeted by the fountain of science on top of this fountain was a sculpture designed by a local artist Louise Lance Woodruff the statute is played a robot gently nudging to humans a man and a woman forward Woodruff would be one of the few female contributors to the fair in 1893 there was an entire building dedicated to women's achievements in arts and sciences and in the late 1920s Chicago hosted for women's world fairs to combat exclusion from the main industrial fairs of the time despite this the 1933 Fair Committee only chose to include a few women in the planning of the event the reason cited was that Rufus DAWs believe that a woman's place was in the home Charles Dawes held similar views as in a speech in 1927 he stated that a woman's quote greatest contributions to society are made in the home and they're her greatest success is achieved which was a bold declaration considering he gave that speech at the opening ceremony for the 1927 Women's World's Fair the reasoning for both the lack of a woman's building and an african-american achievements building was said to be because the organizers wanted to present all of humanity's accomplishments equally and at the same time despite this there was a little to no representation from women or african-americans at the fair inside the Hall of Science was a number of exhibits showcasing the wonders of modern science in an entertaining way this relatively new idea of edutainment was described to present facts and such a quote dramatic and entertaining fashion so that such a knowledge may be easily gained without great mental efforts or consciousness that it is being acquired in the Hall of Science exhibits included the geological time clock which showcased the history of the earth with every tick of the clock representing 10 million years and the marvelous mechanical man which featured a 20-minute shell of a robot explaining the process of human digestion surrounding the Hall of Science were world pavilions many featuring recreations of famous landmarks or cities of the represented countries which was now a staple of World's Fairs this included pavilions for Japan Czechoslovakia and Italy the fair's East Side would make use of Northerly Island a man-made peninsula that was home to the Adler Planetarium Fair planners would separate the water in between distinguishing a north lagoon and a south lagoon on the north side sat the US government's Federal Building a grand 3 tower structure so memorable that it would become the icon of the fair in between the North and South Lagoon was the Sky Ride a new type of ride that combined elements of a transporter bridge with that of an aerial tramway the attraction took guests between two six hundred and twenty foot observation towers transporting them nearly 2,000 feet between the Hall of Science and Northerly Island around the south lagoon sat the gorgeous electrical building in which General Electric and Westinghouse showcased their new technology perhaps some of the most futuristic offerings of the fare given their immediate impact on the lives of consumers GE and Westinghouse would show off a slew of new electrical servants that were sure to add life to the home one of Westinghouse's most exciting exhibits was of a functioning robot that could respond to simple commands via telephone he could blink shake hands talk and most impressively smoke cigarettes a similar Westinghouse robot would debut a few years later named electro also known for hacking packs all right now electro I know you enjoy these and I'm really going to try to give you a nice pleasure out of these so here you are we got that now hold onto it you may now smoke this cigarette go on oh yes electro you do need a light too don't you alright here you are and folks he's only two years old to oli Max is a heart and a brain he asked me I'd say he had nothing but brains well max is a heart he's also near the South Lagoon right across from the Pabst Blue Ribbon Casino was a Hollywood Pavilion showcasing the magic of the movies a medium that was growing rapidly after the introduction of synchronized sound 1927 s the jazz singer had been the first feature to use the technology to allow actors to talk and sing and the following year a new cartoon with synchronized sound would become a huge hit after leaving the Hollywood pavilion guests would walk across a bridge and be greeted by the entrance to the streets of Paris exhibits inside guests would get another more provocative taste of Hollywood Helen Beck stage names Sally Rand had acted in a few Hollywood films but it ultimately failed in her shot at stardom not deterred she was determined to make her mark on the world stage she planned an elaborate entrance into the streets of Paris exhibit on one of the fair's preview days for the city's elite Rand wrote into the exhibit on a white horse essentially naked with little body covering after the shock wore off the crowd loved the performance but she was arrested for public indecency the ferry's organisers were so happy with her show that they were able to get her out of jail and hire her to headline the streets of Paris for the fair at the expo she would popularize her fan dance in which he would reveal and cover her near naked body with large fans the police would not back off of her for the indecency and she would make headlines after being arrested four times in one day just past the streets of Paris exhibit was a real marvel the world's largest thermometer the structure over 200 feet high was sponsored by Havoline oil the oil for all seasons nearby was Sinclair's oil exhibit with mechanical fighting dinosaurs to educate everyone on the history of oil and energy south of this was the fair's main Midway the Midway was an afterthought of Rufus Dawes who was more focused on the Science and Industry exhibits but Charles reminded him that the amusements were what would draw people into the Faire the majority of the Midway was comprised of country pavilions this included the Spanish Village the American Colonial Village the Old English village the Black Forest Village the Irish village and the [ __ ] village which did not represent a country but rather as the name suggests a living community of little people said to be the most ever gathered for one event the village included a recreation of a city but quote to scale amusement attractions were also on the Midway as well as the enchanted island area near the south lagoon rides included two connected Ferris wheels the flying turns coaster and a series of slides a cyclone coaster was located on Northerly Island there was also a suspended coaster type ride named the ride of the century an ironic name considering that it was never built on top of these a series of oddities including the auditorium created by Robert Ripley were displayed on the Midway near the main strip were a series of homes of tomorrow built by various architects attempting to predict what the house of the future might look like on the other side of the Midway was the final section of the fair focusing on transportation major automobile manufacturers and oil companies went all out for their exhibits building beautiful pavilions showcasing their products and manufacturing methods a highlight of this section was the wings of a century show which displayed a humorous and educational history of transportation across the path from this was the Chrysler Building right behind the building was the Chrysler track where audiences would watch drivers put cars through a series of tests to showcase her ability speed and responsiveness this was reported on with much enthusiasm no here's the driver safe and sound not only safe but enjoying himself looks as though he did it on purpose I'll bet he just did it just to prove the safety of those all steel bodies put her up on her wheels boy was I noticeably absent from the fair was Ford who initially wanted to showcase their assembly line but after only showing a small interest in the fair GM stepped in and acquired the exclusive right to display an assembly line at the expo angered Ford decided not to participate at night the fair went up in spectacular colors while in 1893 the mere inclusion of Lights was a spectacle the 1933 Fair made use of colored lights and building projections to dazzle guests when the Sun went down there was even a lagoon show at night with fireworks this entry of Progress Fair was impressive especially considering its grand scale during the height of the depression however organizers were still not certain that it would be able to dry paying crowd especially given the economic climate spectacularly it did on opening day over 1 20,000 people crowded the fair throughout 1933 the fair drew millions of people and brought 400 million dollars into the city of Chicago resulting the city becoming quote one of the brightest spots on the American economic map which to be fair wasn't saying much Rufus Dawes had hoped the fair would position public trust back into science and industry and incredibly it worked however its biggest thematic accomplishment was even greater the Century of Progress Fair provided a country in a dire situation with hope people visiting the fair were transported uplifted and motivated despite their lives outside of the expositions gates the rhetoric of progress throughout the Faire framed the Great Depression as a mere hurdle in humanity's sprint to utopia he was escapism via optimism a strategy that had not ever been achieved at such a scale if at all so economically and spiritually successful was the fair in 1933 than many prominent figures including President Franklin Roosevelt's urged organizers to open it again in 1934 they agreed but it cannot move forward without the states approval and a group of African American legislators refused to authorize the fair's reopening unless racial discrimination was outlawed on the fair's grounds in a huge win the legislature agreed and the fair would reopen in 1934 with discrimination no longer allowed after the fair success in 1933 specifically the positive press that GM and Chrysler were receiving Ford now wanted to participate they would build their own pavilion which would become one of the highlights of the 1934 fair the fair would close for good on Halloween 1934 for its closure over 350,000 people crowded into the exposition the event would end in chaos as the crowds fought for space and many people began ransacking the fair's exhibits causing one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in damage despite the violent ending the fair was hugely successful easily turning a profit and attracting a total of 40 million visitors over two years as with most world's Fair's the buildings were only meant to be temporary and the majority of the beautiful structures would be torn down in early 1935 the fair was more successful than Rufus or Charles das could have hoped given the depression to attract millions during a time when the majority of people have little to no income let alone disposable was no small feat a restored Trust in both Science and Industry and gave people hope for a brighter tomorrow perhaps the greatest impact the fair would have on America is the way in which had defined progress for the country for decades before the fair progress was simply a word the fair transformed it into a collective concept more than just an idea a force nudging along humanity this new interpretation of progress was focused on society but it wasn't about social or cultural progress it was technological and industrial the term progress had been given an image a feeling and most significantly a brand no one may have adopted this idea more than Walt Disney it had been 10 years since the now 31 year old Hollywood producer had left Kansas City since then he created the Disney Brothers studio with his brother - Roy had gotten married worked with uh by works to create a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit have lost Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Universal and had developed a new character named a Mickey Mouse the studio would release the hit short Steamboat Willie in 1928 with more shorts to follow as well as a series of cartoons titled the Silly Symphonies Walt would lose his hardest working animator Iwerks to a competitor in 1930 after a falling-out with a longtime collaborator who fell overworked and under credited Disney would move forward without him and he would win his first Academy Award in 1932 now in July of 1933 Walt was on a train coming back from a business trip just two months prior Disney had released his most popular short yet three little pigs which quickly became a national sensation as Walt stepped off of the train and onto the streets of Chicago he was excited to see the offerings of the new Chicago Fair a Century of Progress the entertainment futuristic displays and abundant optimism might inspire some of his future work but at the time he was focused on a new ambitious project as he left the Century of Progress Fair and headed back to Hollywood he continued to dream of a feature-length animated film just a few months prior he had begun the process of registering the film's title Snow White [Music] you

Channel: Defunctland

Views: 629,247

Keywords: defunctland, kevin perjurer, theme park, extinct, abandoned, defunct, history, disney, disneyland, disney world, previous, attractions, on ride, lights on, chicago, chicago history, century of progress, century of progress fair history, carousel of progress, carousel of progress history, epcot history, epcot center, epcot center history, world's fair, world's expositions, world's fair histories, old robots

Id: JwGpR1kkpfY

Length: 22min 38sec (1358 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 21 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/ChesticleSweater]

I work within a few minutes walk of northerly island and the now museum campus on the lakefront. Fascinating history of the exposition.

Thanks for putting this together. I’ll be sharing this with the other history people at work. Great video.

Found a cool map of the exposition as well.

[u/nottjanie]

This video confused me.