America at the Fair

by Chaim M. Rosenberg

  John W. Stoddard’s company in Dayton, Ohio, made agricultural machines such as this clumsy hay rake. In 1903, Stoddard turned to automobile, truck, and taxicab manufacturing. His expensive, highquality vehicles enjoyed a decade of success before yielding to mass-produced and cheaper cars.

  Nordyke & Marmon of Indianapolis participated at the Fair as a grain company, but later shifted to automobiles. The well-crafted Marmon 34 could not compete in the marketplace against Henry Ford’s low-cost Model T.

  The Automobile Age had arrived. Just 20 years after the World’s Columbian Exposition the vast carriage industry so proudly displayed there, with its horses, bridles, saddles, harnesses, collars, and horseshoes, was moribund. Most American cities and towns gave up their trolleys and paved over the tracks. Only Boston, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh kept their electric trolley systems, while New Orleans reduced its system to one route and San Francisco maintained part of its historic cable car network. The railroads, too, went into decline as the gasoline-powered automobiles captured the fancy of the public. Gas stations and automobile repair shops were built on every main street. During the early years of the Automobile Age, there were thousands of companies across America hoping for success in the new business. The Indianapolis grain company Nordyke & Marmon built sleek and fast cars, and the Pope Bicycle Company shifted gears to build cars. The famous Stanley Steamer grew out of a former bicycle company.

  The Stoddard Manufacturing Company of Dayton, Ohio, is representative of the efforts of some American companies trying to adapt to changing times. Founded in 1869 by John W. Stoddard, the company made farming implements such as the mowers and hay rakes it demonstrated at the Fair. Next, the company diversified into bicycles, making the Tiger, Cygnet, and Tempest lines. In 1904, Stoddard shifted to automobiles. His Dayton Motor Car Company built Stoddard-Dayton automobiles, including the 1906 Stoddard limousine with a 35-horsepower engine, selling for $3,200. By 1911, the company offered 20 models, including the Stoddard-Dayton Knight, with a six-cylinder, 70-horsepower engine, at a cost of $6,250. The handcrafted, high-cost Stoddards could not compete with the mass-produced and much cheaper Fords coming out of Detroit. Stoddard-Dayton filed for bankruptcy in 1912, and shared the fate of nearly all the early car companies.

  In December 1892, Wilbur Wright and his brother Orville opened the Wright Cycle Company, a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. The following year, 26-year-old Wilbur and 22-year-old Orville took their first long journey by train to Chicago to visit the World’s Columbian Exposition, where they showed a special interest in the aeronautical exhibit. Over the coming years the brothers expanded their bicycle business and used the profits to conduct their own research into flight. In September 1900, the Wright brothers traveled by train to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to extend their experiments. Three years later their flying machine took to the air and the age of practical flight had begun.

  Twenty-six-year-old Wilbur Wright and his 22-year-old brother Orville journeyed by train from Dayton, Ohio, to see the Fair. Ten years later their biplane took to the air and the age of manned flight had begun.

  The Plan of Chicago

  Chicago gained vast prestige from its sponsorship of the World’s Columbian Exposition. At the time it was America’s fastest growing city, with the nation’s largest transportation network, and sat at the center of the grain, livestock, and lumber markets. Chicago’s factories supplied markets throughout the Midwest and beyond. With its Art Institute, Symphony Orchestra, the University of Chicago, and the Field Museum, it was emerging as a city of the first rank.

  Following the Fair, Daniel H. Burnham was much in demand as an architect and city planner. He headed a commission in 1901 to plan the open spaces, monuments, and government buildings for downtown Washington, D.C. Next he served on a three-man commission to restore Cleveland’s blighted lakefront. In 1904, he was involved with a city plan worthy of San Francisco’s geographical setting. His reputation extended abroad when he helped plan the cityscape for Manila in the Philippines. But Burnham’s great passion was to firmly cement Chicago among the great cities of the world. Burnham joined the Commercial and Merchants Clubs, whose members included Chicago’s most successful and influential men. American-born but mostly transplants to Chicago, Protestant, and Republican, these men at the start of the 20th century decided that their city needed a master plan for its future growth and development. Daniel Burnham, one of their own, was appointed chairman of the committee and, after hundreds of meetings over 30 months, his Plan of Chicago was published to great fanfare on July 4, 1909.

  The Plan was the first comprehensive urban plan for a major American city. Still influenced by the French style, Burnham envisioned a Chicago radiating out from a central municipal plaza into broad boulevards, with many fountains and parks within walking distance. Michigan Avenue would be transformed into a single wide boulevard linking the South and North Sides of the city. The intellectual life of Chicago would be enhanced by grand libraries, concert halls, and art museums. Above all, the lakefront from Jackson Park to Grant Park would become an expansive green parkway with carriage, bicycle, and pedestrian trails, and inlets for pleasure craft. The plan called for relocating the railroad terminals away from the city center to the edges of the downtown. Burnham died in 1912 before his plan could be fully implemented (Smith 2006). Chicago did not remain one of the largest cities in the world—its population peaked in 1952 at 3.6 million—but Burnham’s legacy can still be seen along the lakefront and in Chicago’s beautiful parks and vibrant downtown with its broad avenues.

  Legacy of the Fair

  Unfettered capitalism dominated the Fair with vast displays of industrial and consumer products of every imaginable category. The Anglo-Saxon Protestant elite wanted an event dignified by classical music, high art, and distinguished architecture as well as lofty discussions on science and religion. Most ordinary visitors, however, came to enjoy themselves, to ride on the Movable Sidewalk and Intramural Railway, walk through the gardens, smell the flowers, and enjoy a meal at one of the restaurants. Above all they loved the Wild West Show, a stroll through the Midway Plaisance, a ride on the Ferris Wheel, and the marvels of the Street in Cairo and the Turkish Village. The fountains that lit up at night, the searchlights, the fireworks display on the Fourth of July, and the carnival atmosphere captivated the attention of the crowds.

  The 1893 Fair introduced popular entertainment as a prominent component of American life. In 1905, the White City amusement park opened on the South Side of Chicago. Located close by Jackson Park at 63rd Street and South Parkway, the park became a favorite of the people of Chicago. The Chicago Daily Journal of May 27, 1905, reported that “everything brings recollections of the World’s Columbian Exposition, as the builders planned.” People flocked to the new White City to ride the Ferris Wheel, the scenic railroad, the foot-pedalled bumper cars, the speed toboggan, and the roller coaster. Visitors strolled along the boardwalks or rested at the cafés and watched the passing parade. There were two ballrooms, each large enough to hold 1,000 dancers, and outdoor concerts at the bandstand. The park’s success led to the building of White City amusement parks in Worcester, Massachusetts; New Orleans; Cleveland; and Trenton, New Jersey. Dozens of electric trolley car companies built amusement parks at the end of their lines. Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, opened in 1895 and was followed by Euclid Beach Park in Cleveland. In 1897, the Commonwealth Avenue Street Railway opened the Norumbega Park in Newton, Massachusetts. Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh opened in 1898 and Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire in 1902. Most of these amusement parks began to fail during the Great Depression and many lost their popularity as private automobiles replaced public transportation.

  This picture shows the White City amusement park built in Chicago in 1905 and modeled after the 1893 Fair.

  The next great fair was the Pan-American Exposition held in Buffalo, New York, from May to November, 1901. By then electricity was an established part of daily life. The Buffalo fair featured a
number of early steam, electric, and gasoline-powered automobiles. This fair was much smaller and less successful than Chicago. Only eight million people attended and the fair lost $6 million. President and Mrs. William McKinley were unable to attend the opening ceremonies, but came on September 5 to visit Niagara Falls and tour the fairgrounds. On September 6, President McKinley attended a reception at the Music Building and was standing in the receiving line when the anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot him at point-blank range. McKinley lingered eight days before he died and Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated as his successor.

  The Pan-American Exposition was held from May to November 1901 in Buffalo, New York. The exposition fizzled after September 6, following the assassination of President William McKinley at the Music Hall.

  The 1904 St. Louis fair celebrated the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase. This illustration shows the festival hall and the fountains. The Ferris Wheel enjoyed a brief revival here, but at the end of the fair it was dismantled and its metal sold for scrap.

  In 1904, a fair to commemorate the 100 years since the Louisiana Purchase was held in St. Louis. The Louisiana Purchase fair is remembered for the song “Meet me in St. Louis, Louis” written by the New York–born Andrew Sterling. The first four lines of the chorus are:

  Meet me in St. Louis, Louis,

  Meet me at the fair,

  Don’t tell me the lights are shining

  Any place but there.

  One of the many thousands involved in the construction of the Chicago Fair and the Midway Plaisance was Elias Disney. Born in Ontario in 1859, Elias tried his hand at farming, prospecting for gold, and fiddle playing—all with little success. Soon after their marriage, Elias and his wife Flora moved to Chicago where they had four sons and a daughter. His youngest son, Walter Elias Disney, was born in 1901 and grew up hearing his father relate the wonders of the Fair. Known later as Walt Disney, he showed a rare talent for drawing and animation. Together with his brother Roy, Disney moved to California and entered the movie business with his character Mickey Mouse. Walt Disney Studios enjoyed great success with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and other animated movies. In 1955 the Walt Disney corporation revived the theme park by opening Disneyland in California, followed by Disney World in Florida in 1971. Some see the World’s Columbian Exposition as the inspiration for Disney’s theme parks. Even L. Frank Baum’s emerald city at the end of the yellow brick road may well have been inspired by his visits to the Chicago Fair. The first edition of his Wonderful Wizard of Oz was illustrated by William Wallace Denslow (1856–1918), a cartoonist for the Chicago Times-Herald who did sketches of the Fair for his newspaper.

  In 1776, the U.S. population of less than three million was concentrated along the eastern seaboard. The 11th census, completed in 1890, listed the total population of the United States at over 62 million, with New York as the most populous state, followed by Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, and Massachusetts. But the nation’s development had already extended beyond the Northeast and the Midwest, toward the Pacific and the South. By the end of 2006, the population of the United States passed 300 million, with California the most populous state (34 million), followed by Texas (23 million), New York (19 million), and rapidly-growing Florida (18 million).

  The effects of the World’s Columbian Exposition resonate to the present. Such American favorites as Cracker Jack, Aunt Jemima Syrup, Shredded Wheat, the hamburger, and carbonated sodas were all introduced at the Fair. The federal government, the various states, and numerous businesses were all eager to display themselves to America and the world. Goods from all over the country, and indeed from all over the world, were exhibited there. The Fair heralded the beginning of the consumer culture and the global economy. Companies could no longer be secure within their local markets, but had to compete at the national and international levels or face failure.

  Steel, coal, petroleum, immigration, innovation, and entrepreneurship were the tools that built America. Late in the 19th century American manufacturing started to migrate from the eastern seaboard to the burgeoning Midwest in search of cheaper labor, more raw materials, and cheaper power. Similarly, textile manufacturing moved to the South. Industry expanded until the Great Depression and picked up speed again during World War II. Starting in the 1960s, competition and the relentless search for cheaper labor and lower costs drove manufacturing abroad. In an increasingly global economy, the United States has given up the manufacture of footwear and textiles to embrace the new economy of computers, pharmaceuticals, medical research, higher education, entertainment, hospitality, sports, space exploration, and jet aircraft. Four out of five American jobs now provide services, as industry and farming have dramatically declined as sources of employment. America now imports most of its clothing, machinery, electronics, and tools from Asia, along with many other goods it once made in abundance at home. The increasing dependence on foreign goods, especially petroleum, has produced a widening trade gap between America and much of the rest of the world.

  The once humming mills and factories of the Northeast and the Midwest are now mostly silent, forming a vast rust belt of abandoned enterprises. How different it was at the close of the 19th century, when America’s dominance in agriculture and manufacturing, so proudly displayed at Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition, seemed so permanent.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  The story of the World’s Columbian Exposition is the tale of the United States of America at the close of the 19th century. Several cities competed to stage the Fair but Chicago won the prize. Over 65,000 exhibitors were present. These included the U.S. government, all the states, over 50 foreign nations, and thousands upon thousands of companies. Altogether some 250,000 objects were displayed. The locomotives, sewing machines, printing presses, typewriters, steam engines, and farm implements were brought to Chicago at considerable expense in the hope of gaining recognition and new markets. It is impossible in one book to describe more than a fraction of the activity that went into the assembly of this great Fair. I have tried to balance the facts and figures without losing the excitement and the significance of the Fair.

  I used the Boston Public Library and Harvard University libraries, which have excellent collections of books relating to the Fair. I spent a very pleasant morning speaking with Russell Lewis at the Chicago History Museum and rummaging through the museum’s vast collection relating to the 1893 Fair. The Brookline Public Library has a five-volume set of Bancroft’s Book of the Fair, with covers detached and leather binding turning to dust, but written with enthusiasm and detail.

  I am deeply grateful to Kathleen Rowe Elman, Susan Glazer, my daughter Linda Reed, my daughter Adrienne who showed me how to organize the material, and my son David Rosenberg, who read and corrected chapters of the book. Martha Cochrane spent many hours rearranging my jumbled paragraphs and correcting errors. My wife Dawn has read through every page. Jim Kempert championed my first book with Arcadia Publishing and I am pleased to be working with him on this book as well. The responsibility for any remaining errors of spelling or fact must rest with me.

  The Internet provided access to ephemera dealers across the country and I was able to collect excellent trade cards and drawings to illustrate this book. It is a miracle that these small and delicate cards have survived in such good condition for over 110 years. They were initially collected in 1893 by visitors to the Fair, placed into scrapbooks, and forgotten until rediscovered a century later. I was also able to acquire many of the books that were written about the Fair to learn about the excitement generated by the discoveries in electricity, moving pictures, the new typewriters, adding machines, and the latest safety bicycles.

  My hopes for the book are that I was able to transmit some of the excitement and significance of this remarkable Fair, and that trade cards—popular from 1870 to 1900—will find their rightful place in the story of the United States. I have excluded trade cards that made mock of others and have purposely selected those that portra
y an America that embraces and respects all of its peoples.

  REFERENCES

  Andreas, A. T. History of Chicago—From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Chicago, 1884.

  Andrews, E. B. The History of the Last Quarter-Century in the United States 1870–1895. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1896.

  Artistic Guide to Chicago and the World’s Columbian Exposition. Chicago: R. S. Peale Company, 1892.

  Bancroft, H. H. The Book of the Fair: An Historical and Descriptive Presentation of the World’s Science, Art and Industry, as Viewed through the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.