WONDERFUL CITY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 124, 29 May 1933, Page 7

WONDERFUL CITY

FEATURES OF GREAT SHOW

OLD AND NEW MEET

(Written for "The Post" by C. W. Collins.) CHICAGO, May 5. Chicago! —The very name is charmed. To those far away the word conjures up visions of " Scarf ace" Al Capone and rival gangster bands, or of fulminating ex-Mayor "Big Bill" Thompson; those knowing something of the city think of it perhaps as the world's largest railway centre, the most important grain exchange, centre of the stockyards, and the fastest-growing of cities; while those who really know Chicago, or who live there,* see it in a truer perspective as a city with slums almost as bad as those of New York and London, but with a civic beauty surpassing theirs, a city whose police force has an unenviable reputation, but whose residents have for the most part never seen a gangster or a crime, and whose record in black and white is much better than that of many other cities to whose name no stigma attaches, a city whoso municipal administration has not been above criticism, but was nevertheless one of astound: ing achievement; in short, a city whoso characteristics, both good and bad, are accentuated, but whose "bad ones have been more readily noticed by outsiders, and by them broadcast. . \ ULTRA MODERN. The exposition celebrates a century of progress and probably no great exposition has before had so favourable and beautiful a location, on a manmade lagoon and lakefront, with no buildings close by except such similar attractions as the permanent Shedd Aquarium, Adler Panetarium, Field Musoum of Natural History, and the colossal stadium of Soldiers Field. With the exception of these buildings, everything nearby is in a harmonious style of architecture, the ultra-modern. Advantage has been taken of the temporary nature of the exposition buildings to give expression to advanced architectural ideas, and the effect is equally startling and attractive. The keynote throughout is simplicity, with lines, masses, and, particularly at night, colours combining to provide the decoration rather than the conventional surface designs. Several of the buildings are entirely windowless, as a more perfect control can be obtained by modern illumination and ventilation; glass and metal, mainly steel and aluminium, are largely used in the construction, and the external surfaces of the main buildings are such that at night coloured lights show them up clearly; these lights are not ordinary spotlights, but concealed neon tubes. In all, the buildings, with their unconventional shapes, structural-design, lighting, and colouring, alone form a big attraction of the exposition. REALLY INTERNATIONAL. Another way in which the Chicago World's Fair aims to be different is in the exhibits. It aims to go much further than usual in replacing still displays of products by working models of machines and processes, and the same will apply to the exhibits of pure science as well as to those of industry. That the exposition merits its description of international is shown by the fact that not only are the Federal Government of the United States, and almost all the individual States and territories, taking a big part in arranging exhibits in keeping witu the spirit and magnitude of the fair, but also a considerable number of foreign countries are actively participating. Areas are reserved in which the national life and industries of several countries are shown, and an added feature is the Chinese Lama temple, replica of the famous Golden Pavilion at Jehol, which Dr. Sven Hedin, the Swedish explorer, has had reproduced in China, shipped to Chicago, and erected for the exposition; opened some months before