The World's Fair in Detroit Michigan
LOOKING BACK
As the industrial age gained momentum, companies wanted a way to let the world know about their innovations. The first World's Fairs were called Exhibitions and were collections of exhibits and entertainment venues centered on a grand mid-way. They were the predecesors of theme parks, the Olympics, conventions, malls and concerts. It's difficult to fully describe the impact the fairs had on society. They were the showcases of innovation and essentially every new technology got its first debut at a World's Fair.
Wherever the fairs were held, they left a huge impact on the hosting city and often a permanent landmark as a reminder. Countries competed to host the fairs with each trying to outdo the next in grandure and statement. Millions of people flocked to the fairs and for those of us who were fortunate enought to attend one - it was often a defining moment in our lives..
The fairs brought the promise of the future. Most exhibits were focused on how things will be better; how the world will improve in the coming age and they strived to present us tangible examples. The fairs were generally massive in scope and scale. They were the equivalent of a small city with wide boulevards and hundreds of buildings. Each participating country had it's own pavillion and large corporations would build impressive structures to wow the visiors.
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
The largest World's Fair was in 2010 in Shainghai, China. By the end of the expo, over 73 million people had visited – a record attendance – and 246 countries and international organizations had participated. On October 16, 2010, the expo set a single-day record of over 1.03 million visitors. LIST OF FAIRS.
The benefit of future World's Fairs continues to be overseas. The United States, the world's most innovative nation, has not hosted a World's Fair since 1984.
Why? Good question.
Some will say the Olympics replaced them - China hosted both the World's Fair and the Olympics. Some say that conventions now take their place - conventions are specific and usually only attended by industry representatives. Some say the fairs lacked focus or were too narrow in scope. Whatever the reason, the United States is losing out. I don't believe there is a good reason beyond apathy. Just look at the impact of the Columbian Exibition of 1893, the New York World's Fair of 1939, the Seattle World's Fair of 1962 or the New York World's Fair of 1964 to see what we're missing out on.
The fairs bring economic advantage and international attention to the host city. No other city needs some lovin' like Detroit and no other city has ever given as much to the World's Fairs.
SIMILAR SITUATION
In 2008, the United States fell into the most severe recession since The Great Depression, and we're still recovering. In its wake, cities have been hit hard and are scrambling to remain viable. The airwaves titter with stories of budgetary shortfalls. Unemployment has remained frustratingly high and a federal sequester looms over the economy threatening to make drastic cuts into military and civic programs. A similar situation faced the first World's Fair in the United States. It happened in Chicago in 1893.
"It's official name was the World's Columbian Exposition, it's official purpose to commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America" (TDWC) - The Devil in The White City, Erik Larson 2003, Vintage Books
At the beginning of the 1890's, the U.S. was in the depths of a severe recession. Unemployment was high and "Chicago's Chemical National Bank ceased operation...three days later another large Chicago bank failed, and soon after that a third...Dozens of other failures occurred around the country" "Twenty-five thousand unemployed workers roamed the city" TDWC
COMPARISION
National recession
Bank failures
Runs on banks
Industrial production sagged
Lay-offs
Strikes grew violent
25,000 unemployed
Empty offices in Chicago sky scrapers
Surge in crime; in 1892, 800 murders occurred
< CHICAGO 1893
VS
DETROIT 2014 >
National recession
Bank bail-outs
Declares bankruptcy
Many companies are out of business
Systemic labor issues
Still recovering from recent riots
Unemployment is 18%
78,000 structures and 6,000 lots are abandoned
Homicide rate is the highest in 40 years
Sound familiar? Generally speaking, the same situation that preceded the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago exists right now in Detroit, Michigan. Yet the fair went on to be a spectacular success.
Fair attendees "...heard live music played by an orchestra in New York and transmitted to the fair by long-distance telephone. They saw the first moving pictures on Edison's Kinetoscope, and they watched, stunned, as lightning chattered from Nikola Tesla's body." TDWC
George W.G. Ferris unveiled a gigantic wheel that went on to become a mainstay of fairs ever since.
FERRIS WHEEL SPECS
Height: 264 feet
Capacity: 2,160 people per ride! 36 cars with upto 60 people in each.
Ride Duration: 29 minutes (including loading)
The Columbian Exposition achieved amazing results. The Fair's "...gatekeepers recorded 27.5 million visits, this when the Country's total population was 65 million.” "On its best day the fair drew more than 700,000 visitors." TDWC
Keep in mind that the primary mode of transportation at the time was the horse and buggy.
"The fair's greatest impact lay in how it changed the way Americans perceived their cities and their architects. It primed the whole of America...to think of cities in a way they never had before," "civic authorities through out the world saw the 'fair as a model of what to strive for." TDWC
THE LOGIC
If the World's Fairs are so good at revitalizing economies, why haven't we had one in the U.S. since 1984? The World's Fair has been viewed as a temporary expo instead of a vehicle for long term business development.
World's Fairs have become mired by their own success. It used to be that attractions like story rides or grand midways could only be found at a World's Fair. Now midways are part of every state fair and story rides are the staples of giant theme parks like Universal and Disney (which got its start at World's Fairs.) The temporary grandeur and beauty of a World's Fair every few years has been replaced by the Olympic Games which takes their design cues from past World's Fairs.
Where once companies and individuals gathered primarily at the Fairs, now a myriad of International conventions like CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) use a Fair-like atmosphere to encourage and entertain participants.
World's Fairs lost their focus and devolved into specific issues and sub-topics. The Fairs appealed to a smaller audience and they lost the general idea of the Fair as a world showcase.
So is that it? Have the World's Fairs run their course? Are they finished? OF COURSE NOT! It's time to re-kindle the spirit of the original World's Fairs. There is no greater need to encourage the anticipation and excitement a World's Fair brings. A World's Fair should be open to many ideas surrounded around a loose theme where people can explore and be surprised by what they find.
We need to fix the Fair's image by moving it from a temporary expo to a solution for long term business development; Businesses that will remain viable long after the fair is done. A World's Fair reaches millions of people. Businesses interact with customers face to face instead of a wrestling competition for the top spot on a Google search.
With the economy on a slow recovery, now is the time for the economic stimulus the World's Fair brings to the host city and the prestige it brings to the nation. The New World's Fair should be held in a U.S. city that can handle the large number of visitors; that is centrally located and has good access by all major forms of transportation. A recognizable city name is important as well. The city must be able to maximize the growth potential and investment by having the Fair in their city.