By Lisa Pinto
More information about the above photo of the Administration Building can be found at UIC's digital collections page.
As visitors walked into the world’s fair and headed south towards the edge of the lagoon, they would quickly run into the only permanent building of the fair, the Administration Building. This building was planned to be permanent and used by the police after the fair, but it no longer stands. The Administration Building at the world’s fair housed the office and staff so there was no public entrance allowed. It also housed storage rooms for the preparation of many exhibits and it was also where many models were made for the buildings lining the world’s fair. Even though there were no exhibits here it was a very important aspect of this fair. Since there was no public entry into this building there is not much recorded in the official guide books of 1933 and 1934. However, in the 1933 guide book there is a list of companies that donated to the Administration Building which included Du Post de Nemours & Co., Inc. along with Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co. which are still recognizable in the Chicagoland area today.This building was cost-effective, costing less than half of what a similar building might have at that time, something that drew many people’s interest. Many of the rooms had glass walls, which were important for ventilation and natural light.
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