Postcard, Ford Exhibition Building at "A Century of Progress International Exposition," Chicago, Illinois, 1934

01

Artifact Overview

Chicago's 1933-34 Century of Progress Exposition used the theme of progress to encourage optimism during the Depression. The 11-acre Ford Motor Company exhibit became the most talked-about exhibit of 1934, featuring a central Rotunda designed to simulate graduated clusters of gears. After the fair, this building became an attraction at Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, until it burned down in 1962.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Postcard

Date Made

1934

Subject Date

1934

Creator Notes

Printed by American Colortype Selling Company of Chicago and New York, for distribution by Max Rigot Selling Company, Chicago, Illinois.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

85.127.809.2

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of the Estate of Stanley H. Cousineau.

Material

Cardboard
Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Photomechanical processes

Color

Multicolored

Dimensions

Height: 3.5 in
Width: 5.5 in

Inscriptions

Text at upper right of front: Ford Motor Co. Exhibit Text upper left corner of front: X-162 Text on reverse: A CENTURY OF PROGRESS / CHICAGO'S 1934 INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION / The Ford Motor Co. exhibit is truly a "Drama of / Transportation" from the earliest type of vehicles to / those of the present day. The building is 900 feet / long, ten stories high at the center, and is built with / 1400 tons of welded steel in the framework. It is the / largest building ever constructed for a world's fair.
Postcard, Ford Exhibition Building at "A Century of Progress International Exposition," Chicago, Illinois, 1934