University of Chicago Library

Guide to the Century of Progress International Exposition Publications 1933-1934

Descriptive Summary

Title:	Century of Progress International Exposition Publications
Dates:	1933-1934
Manuscript Number:	Crerar Ms 226
Size:	22 boxes
Repository:	Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.
Abstract:	Published informational and promotional material produced for the Century of Progress Exhibition, Chicago, Illinois, 1934. Includes guidebooks, pamphlets, and brochures distributed by exhibiting corporations and the national, state, and city concerns, as well as official publications from the Century of Progress Exhibition, Chicago, Illinois.

Information on Use

Access

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Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Century of Progress International Exposition Publications, Crerar Ms 226, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Historical Note

On May 27, 1933 Postmaster General James A. Farley officially opened the gates to A Century of Progress. When the fair closed October 31, 1934, thirty-nine million visitors had paid to walk through fairgrounds that stretched along the lakeshore from 12th to 39th streets. In the midst of the Great Depression, this fair returned a profit to its organizers and helped to counter an image of Chicago as a gangster-ridden town. Fair organizers raised money from a $10 million bond issue, exhibit rental fees, concession contracts, tickets, and fair memberships, but not through municipal, state, or federal subsidies. The local economy received an important boost from fair jobs as well as from ticket and pavilion sales. At the conclusion of the fair and according to the contract with the South Park Commission, the predecessor to the Chicago Park District, all evidence of the exposition was removed and the space returned to parkland. The Chicago Park District retained a few structures on the site, but these have since been demolished. Balbo's Column, a gift from the Italian government in 1933, is the last relic on the original fair site. Buildings were sold and removed to new locations. The most dramatic example was the relocation of six modern houses by barges to Beverly Shores, Indiana. Most fair structures and equipment were demolished or sold for scrap.

Scope Note

The Century of Progress International Exposition Publications include more than one-thousand informational and promotional publications produced for Century of Progress Exhibition. The collection includes guidebooks, pamphlets, and brochures distributed by exhibiting corporations, nations, states, and cities, as well as official publications produced by the exhibition organizers. The publications were collected by staff of the John Crerar Library at the time of the fair.

Related Resources

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In addition to the holdings at the University of Chicago Library, significant Chicago-area collections are at the Chicago Architectural Foundation, the Chicago Historical Society, the Chicago Public Library, and the Newberry Library. The official set of organizational records of the Century of Progress Exposition is located at the Special Collections Department of the University of Illinois at Chicago Library.

Subject Headings

Century of Progress International Exposition (1933-1934 : Chicago, Ill.)
Exhibitions -- Illinois -- Chicago -- History
Chicago (Ill.) -- History -- 20th century

INVENTORY

Box 1 Folder 1

Broadcasting...

1933 (?)

Author: The Catholic church extension society of the U.S.A
Place: Chicago
Collation: 12p.
Notes: The church on wheels, p.12. Cover title.
Subject: Catholic Church Extension

View digitized documents.

Box 1 Folder 2

Sky-ride. See the fair from the air

1933

Place: n.p.
Collation: [4]p.
Notes: Contains "Interesting facts about the Sky-ride."
Subject: Sky-Ride