World's Fair Photographs Series

Ford Motor Company was a leading exhibitor in world fairs and other expositions held in America between 1934 and the early 1960s. This collection, consisting of 8x10 black and white photographic prints, documents various aspects of Ford's involvement including buildings, exhibits, displays, employees, celebrities and special events.

DOWNLOAD FINDING AID (PDF)

Biographical / Historical Note

Ford Motor Company began displaying its products at non-automotive exhibitions as early as 1904, becoming a leading exhibitor in world's fairs and other events by the mid 1930s and into the 1960s. In 1915, Ford Motor Company demonstrated the mass assembly of automobiles at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, California. In 1933, Henry Ford boycotted the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago and instead held his own exhibition in Detroit and New York called the Ford Exposition of Progress.

Due to the success of 1933 exhibits, Ford joined the Century of Progress International Exposition in 1934. Ford Motor Company hired Albert Kahn to design a building to house exhibits. The building, a circular pavilion which was later called the Ford Rotunda, resembled graduated internally meshed gears standing twelve stories high. Exhibits in that year included a soybean processing display, a collection of new and historic Ford vehicles, an exhibit on the conversion of raw materials into finished parts, an industrialized barn, replicas of nineteen famous highways, and exhibits from twenty-one Ford Motor Company suppliers. A similar large circular building erected in 1935 in San Diego for the California Pacific International Exposition was donated to the city of San Diego after the fair.

For the 1939 New York World's Fair of Tomorrow, designers anticipating elevated roads developed an exposition building that featured a "road of tomorrow." Visitors were driven down a spiral ramp in brightly painted Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln-Zephyr automobiles.

In 1964-1965, New York was again the site for a world's fair with the theme "Peace Through Understanding." Ford Motor Company hired Welton Becket and Associates to build the Ford Pavilion, a rotunda building reminiscent of the original 1933 Ford Rotunda. Walt Disney's design firm, WED Enterprises, was also hired to create a Magic Skyway where visitors boarded convertibles for a twelve minute ride through time featuring life sized audio-animatronic figures. Other exhibits highlighted the international scope of the company.

Less

Scope and Content Note

There are four subseries in the World's Fair photographs series. Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Illinois subseries, 1933-1934 (1.2 cubic ft.) is comprised of images numbered from 1 to 310. There are also several folders arranged alphabetically, primarily documenting exhibits. The California Pacific International Exposition subseries, 1935 (1.2 cubic ft.) is arranged numerically, 2 to 671. Dallas Centennial Central Exposition subseries, 1936-1937 (1.6 cubic ft.) is also arranged numerically, 1 to 816. The New York World Fairs subseries contains material for both the 1939-1940 fair in New York and the 1964-1965 fair. The 1939-1940 New York World's Fair subsubseries, 1939-1940 (10.4 cubic ft.) is the largest and includes images both topically and numerically arranged. A numerical run begins with 1 and ends at 3,463 (with a few gaps). Among the topics are typical American families, exhibit details, Ford Motor Company employees and dealers, Ford Day, good driver's awards, visiting celebrities, and special events. There is also an index to the images in this subseries. The final subsubseries, 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, 1960-1964 (0.8 cubic ft.) is comprised wholly of photographs gathered together to create a mural entitled "Decades of Progress" for the 1964-1965 New York fair. The mural depicted the evolution of the Ford Motor Company from its inception into the 1960s. All items are black and white photographic prints, 8 x 10 inches in size.

Less

Collection Details

Object ID: 64.167.232.0
Creator: Ford Motor Company. Photographic Department
Inclusive Dates: 1933-1964
Bulk Dates: 1933-1940
Size: 15.2 cubic ft.
Language: English

Collection Access & Use

Item Location: Not Currently On Exhibit

Access Restrictions: The series is open for research.

Credit: From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Keywords

United States, Illinois, Chicago

United States, Texas, Dallas

United States, New York, New York

United States, California, San Diego

Automobile driver education

Automobile industry

Automobile industry workers

Lincoln Zephyr automobile

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947

Ford, Edsel, 1893-1943

Disney, Walt, 1901-1966

Henry Ford (Organization)

Digitized Artifacts From This Collection

In many cases, not all artifacts have been digitized.
Contact us for more information about this collection.

Man Cranking the First Ford Model T, Ford Building, California Pacific International Exposition, San Diego, 1935

Details

Man Cranking the First Ford Model T, Ford Building, California Pacific International Exposition, San Diego, 1935

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Through the 1930s, Ford Motor Company poured resources into exhibitions at regional and world's fairs. Henry Ford believed strongly in the educational value of such displays, and a corporate presence at the fairs benefitted public relations. Ford's popular exhibits and demonstrations -- pictured here in the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition Ford Building -- generated lots of publicity.

Object ID

64.167.232.152

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Man Cranking the First Ford Model T, Ford Building, California Pacific International Exposition, San Diego, 1935

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

Details

Two Women in the Ford Building during the California Pacific International Exposition, San Diego, 1935

Details

Two Women in the Ford Building during the California Pacific International Exposition, San Diego, 1935

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

In 1913, Henry Ford established Ford Motor Company's photographic department. Though few internal records describe company photography, remaining photographs reveal a wide range of departmental activity. Among many other events, Ford photographers documented the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition in San Diego -- where Ford Motor Company's exhibition was the largest and most popular.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Photographic Department

Place of Creation

United States, Michigan, Dearborn