Description

In 1933, Chicago hosted its second major World's Fair, the Century of Progress. The fair commemorated a hundred years since the 1833 incorporation of Chicago as a town. During the Great Depression, the Century of Progress presented a bold and hopeful vision of the future by promoting the message that collaboration among science, industry and government would make a better world.

The fair itself did help the economy. Construction of the fairgrounds created jobs. Exhibitors promoted consumer goods that visitors then went out and bought. President Roosevelt requested the fair to open again in 1934 to continue stimulating consumption. And the 40 million people who visited the fair in its two-year run undoubtedly found a few hours of distraction from their personal financial worries while imagining what the future might bring.

Hosted in Burnham Park and on Northerly Island, the Century of Progress fairgrounds extended south along Lake Michigan from Roosevelt Road to 39th Street. In contrast to the classical architecture of the buildings at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the Century of Progress adopted an Art Deco architectural style that evokes a sense of the future even today. The color scheme also differed from the all-white 1893 fair; the Century of Progress used bright, vibrant colors captured in a recently discovered Technicolor film.

B.B. Moeur was Governor of Illinois at the time of the Expostion. Handwriting and note on the photograph reads: "A Century of Progress, 1933, Chicago, Illinois. Included in the party above were Governor & Mrs. B. B. Moeur of Arizona, Mrs. Isabella Greenway, Congresswoman from Arizona, and Irving Jennings of Phoenix, Commissioner for Arizona for A Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, Mrs. Aline Harris, Phoenix, and L.M. Allen, Vice-President of the Rock Island Lines through whose courtesy space was given in the Travel and Transport building for the Arizona exhibit."

He was elected as the fourth Governor of Arizona and served two terms, from January, 1933-January, 1937. He was a Democrat. His terms were during the height of the Great Depression. B.B. took several steps to ease the state's economic situation. He initiated sales, luxury and income taxes, reduced property taxes by 40% and submitted a budget to the legislature with a 4.5 million dollar cut in expenditures.

Sources: National Governors Association website; Chicago Public Library "Remembering the Future: Chicago's Century of Progress World's Fair" 2-20-2019; Encyclopedia of Chicago; Chicago Architectural Center; Newberry Library 7-12-2016.