What 1933 Chicago fair showcased Art Deco architecture?

The 1933 Chicago fair that showcased Art Deco architecture was the Century of Progress International Exposition. Also called the Chicago World’s Fair, it celebrated Chicago’s centennial and presented technology as a path toward a modern future.

Held in 1933 and 1934 along Chicago’s Lake Michigan waterfront, the exposition favored modern design over the neoclassical style associated with the city’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Its buildings used colorful façades, streamlined forms, new materials, and experimental construction techniques. The fair was often described as a “Rainbow City,” contrasting with the earlier fair’s “White City.”

Architectural leaders included Paul Cret and Raymond Hood, while major pavilions explored science, transportation, manufacturing, and domestic life. The Sky Ride became the fair’s architectural symbol, and model homes demonstrated futuristic ideas about materials and household technology.

The World’s Columbian Exposition is an easy mix-up because it was also held in Chicago, but that fair took place in 1893 and was dominated by classical architecture. The Century of Progress instead projected the machine-age optimism associated with Art Deco and Moderne design.