Stereoview Spotlight: 1933 World's Fair Wings of a Century Exhibit
Personal photo taken at the Wings of Century exhibit by Tru-Vue staff photographer Charles Crossan ( From our collection.)
Transportation at the Fairgrounds
At Chicago’s 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair, visitors could see transportation history in motion. Wings of a Century premiered on June 1 before a crowd of thousands. The open-air pageant occupied 1,600 feet of lakefront opposite the Travel and Transportation Building. It had no stage scenery: Lake Michigan supplied the backdrop, while more than 3,000 feet of railroad track gave the performers and vehicles room to move.
About 200 costumed actors appeared alongside stagecoaches, carriages, automobiles, boats, airplanes, and trains. Much of the rolling stock was genuine historical equipment borrowed from museums, railroads, and automobile companies. Historical figures that influenced transportation were also portrayed.
Edward Hungerford, who oversaw the pageant, called it the “romance of transportation.” Helen Tieken of San Diego staged and directed the production. Her work included researching its history and developing the original costumes and models used to represent earlier vehicles. The fair’s surviving program credits her as its director, and she became known as one of the great American stage managers of the time.
The show returned for the fair’s 1934 season in an expanded form. Among the additions was a new scene, “The Mississippi at Mardi Gras Time”, featuring Southland water scenes. The Civil War era also received fuller treatment. Wings of a Century continued on the lakefront until the fair closed that October.
Special Keystone Junior Stereoview Set
All of the World’s Fair Keystone Junior sets we’d previously seen came with general stereoviews of the entire fair. So, we were surprised to find that this fuchsia-colored Keystone Junior viewer (a color we hadn’t seen before) came with a set devoted to only the Wings of a Century exhibit.
The 24 views below (we’re missing #6 and #14) capture parts of the Wings of a Century production and provide an unusual chance to look closely at the people and vehicles that passed across its enormous outdoor stage.
