1934 Chicago World Fair

In 1934, the Chicago World's Fair, known as the A Century of Progress International Exposition, was held to celebrate the city's 100th anniversary. While it first symbolized Chicago's past, the Century of Progress Exposition came to be an expression of hope and possibility amidst the Great Depression. By the time it closed the World's Fair had been visited by nearly 40 million fairgoers.

In its State of its Plan and Purposes, it said the fair was an "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."

Next to Lake Michigan, the Century of Progress received much public funding despite the Depression. The US federal government appropriated $1,725,000 to erect its own building, but $809,154 was raised by the sale of memberships of different sorts, which fueled the fair.

The Panama-Pacific Exposition, called the Tower of Jewels

The Century of Progress created a "Rainbow City," which held multi-colored fair buildings, which generally followed Moderne architecture, which emphasized curving long forms and long horizontal lines. The buildings drove home the message of hope from cooperation between science, business, and government. Nearly two dozen corporations created their own displays which featured model homes with synthetic building materials and different cars. The House of Tomorrow featured the "future house," with dishwashers and air conditioning.

Along with the House of Tomorrow, the fair held the Skyride (almost a rollercoaster), the Hall of Science, and the Transportation Building. The Midway became one of the most popular exhibits, with an Enchanted Island and Magic Mountain set aside for children.

Eventually, Roosevelt was so taken by the power of the Fair to create consumer spending that he extended it for another year. Henry Ford, who previously declined to participate, began to put his products on display.

In the midst of the Great Depression, the Century of Progress became a symbol not only of technology, but of consumerism. As dozens of companies put their products on display -- expensive and credit-requiring products -- consumer confidence and spending was foreshadowed. It created a lasting push for technological and capitalistic advance that reflected the era's, despite the Great Depression, consumerist viewpoint.