top of page
  • cliabraaten12

The Travel and Transport Building

By Lisa Pinto


For more about the photo of the Travel and Transport building above, please see the UIC digital collections page.


The Travel and Transport Building at the world’s fair had many exhibits relating to transportation and the history and progress of it over several generations. The building was surrounded by exhibits of trains and outdoor motorized transportation near the middle section of the fair. Specifically, some exhibits included during the 1933 world’s fair were a replica of one of the first locomotives in the United States, newer aluminum sleeping cars, radios, along with an automobile theater. The automobile theater was an automobile that housed a movie screen where movies of car manufacturing were shown. Even though the Travel and Transport building was near outdoor transportation, trains, and some cars, it was housed a little ways away from the General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler buildings. One of the most interesting things about the Travel and Transit building would be its architecture. The main architecture was generally designed by J. A. Holabird, Hubert Burnham, and E. H. Bennett. Additional architects Clarence W. Farrier and Leon S. Moisseiff designed the dome, one of the most recognizable structures of the building.The dome had several peaks which resembled a suspension bridge, and was an integral part of the building’s construction. This was a nod to transit, and the suspension bridge-esque peakes expanded and contracted with the weather. Many people enjoyed the Travel and Transit building due to the architecture and progressive transportation exhibits.

13 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page