The Days

If the 1893 fair was understood as a celebration of the world's history and splendor, the 1933 fair was a pagent of the future and its possibilities. The unofficial, somewhat ominous motto for the fair became "Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms".

The 1933 fair was constructed on Northerly Island (presently the lakefront area bordered by the Museum District and Soldier Field) and hosted hosted nearly 40 million visitors from around the world.

Planning for the fair began in the early 1920s as a means to help renew the image of Chicago, which had been somewhat tarnished since the previous fair by gang wars and race riots. With the Great Depression, however, the fair took on a level of importance for the entire country as a means to suggest the nation and world would recover. Coordination was produced between government and business to demonstrate the solidity of the capitalist model and its benevolent relationship to the ordinary citizen...an effort that resulted in support from Franklin Roosevelt and Henry Ford. As the fair organized, Chicago physicians and scientists (no few from the small but developing University of Chicago) approached organizers to suggest the focus of the fair be one of "scientific and industrial development", hoping to restore a certain luster to the field of science after so much horror had been created by scientific minds during World War I.

While Burhams (Daniel Jr. and Hubert) sat on the design commision for the 1933 fair, just as Daniel Burnham sat on the commision for the 1893 fair, the design and feel of the '33 fair was vastly different. First, the architects were expected to work in a far more consolidated manner- each given control over a region to design as opposed to a particular building. Also, the principles of design fell in stark contrast- sharp, functional surfaces, art deco trims, and bright colors which lent to the fairground's nickname of "The Rainbow City".

Aside from the austere exhibits of technology and development featured in the Hall of Science, Transportation Building, and corporate exhibit buildings, the grounds included both exotic and cultured demonstrations from around the globe (the magnificently adorned Temple of Jehol sent from China with 28,000 handcarved figurines and peices, the "American Collection" art exhibit) and exhibits of more pedestrian pleasures (the fan-dancing of the then-famous Sally Rand, the Enchanted Island for Children, Alligator Wrestling).

The Nights

For the Kindred of Chicago, the '33 World's Fair represents the last great influx of "new blood" that would not be considered yardies. Wealthy, connected, and educated elders the world over and aspiring young welps, down on their luck across the impovrished coutryside, made their way to the city to see what opportunities presented themselves.

To open the show, Light from the star Arcturus (then estimated at 40 light-years away from earth, although later astronomy showed the star to be only 36 light-years away) was focused on a photosensor- which tripped the switch to turn the lights on in the fair-city. The idea was that the light arriving to open the 33 fair had left Arcturus 40 years earlier, when the 1893 fair opened.

The Stories

- At one of the performamces of Fan Dancer Sally Rand (writer's note: one of the more talked about figures at the fair), I seem to remember we had a pretty large table at the back of the hall. Someone had managed to find two bottles of lachrymorse and while everyone was enjoying themselves, Thomas Hardin was going pretty hard at it. You guys remember Thomas, right? He was an Invictus middleman...he got ran out of town back in the late '50s by the prince for some reason.

Anyway, it was intermission and Thomas had nearly gone through a bottle himself. He stood up and said "That's it! I'm going back there and taking her! She's mine now god-damn-it!" I think I said something to the effect of "Well that won't be a problem, I'm sure the Prince won't mind having tomorrow night's private performance canceled because your kidnapping her."

Well, Thomas got all crazy-eyed and said "Yeah? I got a car." He started to storm off, but his pants leg had gotten caught on the chair leg. He was dragging the chair away and someone decided to tackle him (anyone remember who?). They two went crashing into a table full of Italian pilots and launched them out of their chairs.

One of those pilots landed right in Barney Timms lap. Barney had that typical Barney "what the hell?" look on his face. He looked at the guy and said "Sorry, we heard you were pilots- we wanted to see how far you could fly!"

- Remember the night that German Zeplin flew in? That visiting jerry Klaus was running around all night talking about the reich this and the reich that. We were crossing the lagoon bridge (me, him, and...um?) and he said "The German Gerbrueder can walk during the day under the shadows of the mighty zeplin". I said to him "Really, I think we would have heard you blithering like an idiot earlier today if that were the case".

"Perhaps you were deafened by the mighty roar of the Graff" That Klaus, he sure was into that zeplin.

At that point I was so tired of this talk I said "Maybe they sent an undersea-boat too. Go see!" And pushed Klaus over the rail.