Chicago Automobile Show History
Automobile Review, February 13, 1904
The great Chicago show is on, and the graceful auto is the acknowledged king of 20th century locomotion. The thousands of interested spectators who daily crowd the spacious seum are never done with the one continuous song of praise for the exquisite workmanship and design of the different vehicles displayed. From end to end the ground floor annex and gallery are filled to overflowing with all that is modern, beautiful and useful in cars and accessories. The Coliseum garden will have to grow apace during the present year if it hopes by 1905 to accommodate the rapidly growing list of manufacturers who by that time will be seeking for space. Chicago is the auto metropolis of the West, and the great show now on rivals (if not surpasses) in scope and splendor the recent Madison Garden exhibition in New York. It is true the foreign display is not so extensive nor varied, but the exhibit of American-built machines is more attractive than at the recent eastern show.
The exhibits are the acme of art in design and finish and are fitting places for the inspection of the 1904 models. The manufacturers have vied with one another in filling the great arena with exhibits as completely and artistically arranged as to command constant approval. Never before has Chicago shown such a variety and number of horseless vehicles that range in power and size as well as in price from the individual runabout to the powerful touring car, the torpedo racer or the massive commercial truck. It is an exhibition of American cars and American accessories. With Chicago and western buyers as well as western manufacturers it is “American machines for Americans.” The strongly built American machine, though not so highly finished, is more suitabile for American roads than the European production, and the westerners realize this.
When the doors were opened to the public at 2:30 Saturday afternoon the crowds commenced coming, and from then until 11 p. m., when “Home, Sweet Home,” from the band in the gallery, and incessant tooting of horns throughout the building announced that the closing hour of the opening day had arrived, the interested spectators thronged the aisles and exhibit spaces. It was a fitting opening for a great show.
At night the scene was one of surpassing splendor. From the grand vaulted roof, concealed in alternate folds of yellow and green, innumerable arches, circles of electric lights shed their brightness and formed a suitable canopy for the display beneath. The ground floor was radiant with electric signs above each exhibit, whose brilliancy was reflected in the highly polished vehicles below them From the gallery, draped with yellow and green, relieved by wreaths, shields and flags, came the glitter of electric light and exhibits that added to the scene, and made the whole building appear as if floored, walled and domed with myriad groups of light.
The space divisions are very carefully alloted. The entire lower floor is devoted to car exhibits; in the annex are cars, tires, trucks and accessories; and the whole gallery is packed with all that relates to automobiles from a pair of mica goggles to a complete body with canopy top. Every place is crowded, not a nook or corner but is bristling with cars or accessories. Few have sufficient space, and late comers have been shut out entirely.
The demand for space and the thirst for information are a true thermometer of the hold that automobiling has on the American public. And the exhibits tell the concise and true story of how Americau manufacturers are abreast with Europe in the production of high-class vehicles. The runabout, the tonneau, the touring car and the palatial limousine are zeniths in their respective classes. The large motorcycle display suggests a resurrection of bicycle days, and, doubtless, the superior construction, ample power, increased endurance and easier control will soon make them as popular in America as they are in England, France and other European countries.
The automobile invasion of the commercial world is well evidenced by the truck exhibits, most of which show admirably the extent to which the automobile is already superseding the horse. Everybody will hall the day when our city streets will be free from the noisy clatter of hoofs and iron tires over cobble stones and when the almost silent truck will generally thread our busy streets and administer much to the pleasure of down-town life, and reduce present congestion. Innovation in truck transportation is shown in the application of the driving and steering mechanisms to all four wheels, a fact which does much to increase the drawing capacity and facilitate the turning of them in alleys or other limited spaces.
Every accessory booth is a magnet in its own line. The tire display embraces all improvements in clincher, single tube, airless tube and solid design that a year has accomplished. Owners and manufacturers owe a debt of gratitude to the inveterate tire manufacturers and improver who is doing so much to eliminate the unpleasant tire phase of automobiling, and during the opening season reputations in this department will be made or broken. The clincher for ordinary purpose holds the field, but before the fall other kinds will prove whether that position Is to be held by them or not.
Storage batteries, sparking plugs, motors, lamps, horns, gasoline tanks and all other equipments are in profusion and show marked Improvements. The freak is frequently seen, but owners have experienced lessons in the past and are wary in adopting it. The gallery exhibits are much enlivened by running parts used for demonstrations, and motors with parts removed show at a glance the internal design and operation. Spark plugs in active operation tell of the hidden mysteries of the combustion chamber, and storage batteries with various attachments interest the spectators with the unlimited power and application of this department of the electric current.
The car exhibits on the ground floor comprise a most varied arrangement. The entire space is divided off into square spaces of four or eight to a block, with the blocks separated by wide aisles. In all spaces the machines are conveniently arranged tor exhibition and inspection. High railings divide the different exhibits and carpets, ferns, palms, easy chairs, tables, writing desks, books, etc., give them a most comfortable and very inviting atmosphere. On entering the Knox exhibit with Its polished chassis and cars is on the right of the center aisle and Apperson Bros, on the left. Beyond these come the Locomobile, Columbia, Oldsmobile, Ralph Temple and the White Sewing Machine exhibits, all brilliant with electric signs. Over the White booth is a novel sign shaped like the well-known White steamers and outlined in electric lights. To the south end the big exhibits of Wood’s- Motor Vehicle Co., Rambler, Thomas, Peerless, Packard and Ford are very conspicuous. The Pope Motor Co. has a well filled and very attractive stand near the annex entrance at the south end. To the left of the main entrance the displays and signs of the Winton, Haynes- Apperson, Stearns, Stevens, Duryea, Premier, Dumont, Columbus, Wayne and Yale are first to be seen. Beneath the gallery the exhibit spaces, though smaller, are not less artistically arranged. The Darracq, the one entirely foreign display at the show, situated under the north gallery, has always a crowded aisle. Their highly finished chassis, shown at Paris and New York, is here, and is a leader. Others below the gallery are Mead, Waltham, Rodgers & Co., Marble Swift, Dan Canary, etc., etc.
The whole show is one grand schoolroom of science and art combined. The demonstrators are filled to overflowing with technicalities and reasons for everything, and the spectators are anxious to hear them, whether they understand or not. No better way exists to popularize this best of all form of locomotion than by the automobile show. The manufacturer realizes this and the public enjoy It. No one can enter without becoming wiser, and to many it creates that first burning desire for a delightful trip along a city boulevard, or the more desirable country tour.
Herewith is published a list of the exhibitors at the Chicago Automobile show. The numbers after each name correspond with those on the plan which shows where the different exhibits will be found.
AUTOMOBILES.
Autocar Co., Ardmore, Pa. 83-4.
Apperson Bros. Automobile Co., Kokomo, Ind. 5-6-7-8.
American Darracq Automobile Co., 652 Hudson street, New York City. 125-6.
Austin Automobile Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 138-9.
Auburn Automobile Co., Auburn, Ind. 142-3.
Burtt Mfg. Co.. Kalamazoo, Mich. 113.
Bartholomew Co., Peoria, Ill. 155-6-7-8.
Cadillac Automobile Co., 1343 Cass avenue, Detroit, Mich. 17-18-33-4.
Crest Mfg. Co., Cambridge, Mass. 32-48.
Columbus Motor Vehicle Co., Columbus, Ohio. 97-8.
Chelsea Automobile Co., Chelsea, Mich. 109-10.
Chicago Motocycie Co., 536 Wabash avenue, Chicago, Ill. 136-7.
Dawson, J. H., Machinery Co., South Canal street, Chicago, Ill. 130-1.
Duryea Power Co., Reading, Pa. 122.
Eisenhuth Horseless Vehicle Co., Middletown, Conn. 102.
Electric Vehicle Co., Hartford, Conn. 21-2-3-4; 37-8-9-40.
Elmore Mfg. Co., Clyde, Ohio. 79-80.
Ford Motor Co., Detroit, Mich. 91-92.
Fredonia Mfg. Co., Youngstown, Ohio. 99-100.
Franklin, H. H., Mfg. Co., Syracuse, N. Y. 53.
Haynes-Apperson Co., Kokomo, Ind. 51-2; 67-8.
Holley Motor Co., Bradford, Pa. 114.
Hammer-Sommer Automobile Carriage Co., 573 Gratoit
avenue, Detroit, Mich. 127.
Holson Motor Patents Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 167-8.
Jeffery, Thos. B., & Co., Kenosha, Wis. 29-30-1.
Jones-Corbin Auto Co., Thirty-first and Chestnut streets, Philadelphia, Pa. 116-17.
Knox Automobile Co.. Springfield. Mass. 9-10-11-12.
Kirk Mfg. Co.. Toledo. Ohio. 85.
Locomobile Co. of America, Bridgeport, Conn. 25-6; 41-2.
Mitchell Motor Works, Racine, Wis. 96
Marble-Swift Automobile Co., Aldine Square, Chicago, 111. 111-12.
Mead Cycle Co., 1243 Wabash avenue, Chicago, Ill. 120-1.
Model Gas Engine Co., Auburn, Ind. 144-5.
Northern Mfg. Co., Detroit, Mich. 81-2.
National Motor Vehicle Co., Twenty-second street and Belt R. R., Indianapolis, Ind. 89-90.
Olds Motor Works, Detroit, Mich. 57-8; 73-4.
Pierce, Geo. N., Co., Buffalo, N. Y. 19-20; 35-6.
Packard Motor Car Co., Detroit, Mich. 59-60; 75-6.
Peerless Motor Car Co., Lisbon street, Cleveland, Ohio. 61-2; 77-8.
Premier Motor Mfg. Co., Indianapolis, Ind. 123-4.
Pope Motor Car Co., 23 Park Row, New York City. 93-4-5.
Regas Automobile Co., Rochester, N. Y. 103.
Reid Mfg. Co., Detroit, Mich. 128-9.
Royal Motor Car Co., Cleveland, Ohio. 65-6.
Rodgers & Co., Box 772, Columbus, Ohio. 140-1.
Rothschild & Co., State and Van Buren streets, Chicago, Ill. 161-2-3 4.
Studebaker Bros. Mfg. Co., South Bend, Ind. 13-14-15.
St. Louis Motor Carriage Co., 1212 North Vandeventer avenue, St. Louis, Mo. 16.
Stearns, F. B., Co., Cleveland, Ohio. 49-50.
Sandusky Automobile Co., Sandusky, Ohio. 105-6.
Sintz Gas Engine Co., Detroit, Mich. 118.
Stevens, J., Arms & Tool Co., Chicopee Falls. Mass. 53.
Synnestvedt Vehicle Co., 518 Frick Bldg., Pittsburg, Pa. 101.
Sullivan, Roger J. & Co., 113 Michigan avenue, Detroit, Mich. 146-7.
Temple, Ralph & Austrian Co., 243 Wabash avenue, Chicago, Ill. 53-4-5-6; 69-70-1-2.
Thomas, E. R., Motor Co., 1200 Niagara street, Buffalo, N. Y. 63-4.
Tincher, T. L., 358 Dearborn street, Chicago, 111. 107-8.
Winton Motor Carriage Co., Berea Road, Cleveland, Ohio. 1-2-3-4.
Woods Motor Vehicle Co., 110 East Twentieth street Chicago. Ill. 27-8; 43-4.
White Sewing Machine Co., Rose Bldg., Cleveland, Ohio 86-7-8.
Waterloo Gas Engine Co.. Waterloo, Iowa. 122.
Waltham Mfg. Co., Waltham, Mass. 120-1.
ACCESSORIES.
American Ball Bearing Co., Cleveland, Ohio. 242.
American Coil Co., West Somerville, Mass. 221.
Aurora Automatic Machinery Co., Aurora, Ill. 175-6.
Autocar Equipment Co., Monadnock Bldg., Chicago, Ill. 239.
American Roller Bearing Co., 34 Blinford street, Boston, Mass. 181-2.
Brennan Motor Co., Syracuse, N. Y. 207.
Briscoe Mfg. Co., Detroit, Mich. 210.
Byrne, Kingston & Co., Kokomo, Ind. 247.
B—O. K. Tire Co., Chicago, Ill. 233.
Barton toiler Co., 4243 State street, Chicago, Ill. 188.
Bowser, S. F., & Co., Ft. Wayne, Ind. 237.
Beecher, Chas. H., 518 North Newstead avenue, St. Louis, Mo. 248.
Brandenburg Bros. & Alliger, 85 Lake street, Chicago, Ill. 175-6.
Badger Brass Mfg. Co., Kenosha, Wis. 179-80.
Brown-Lipe Gear Co., Syracuse, N. Y. 181-2.
Baldwin Chain & Mfg. Co., Worcester, Mass. 181-2.
Cullman Wheel Co., 521 Larrabee street, Chicago, Ill. 229.
Columbus Brass Co., Columbus, Ohio. 222.
Continental Caoutchouc Co., 298 Broadway, New York City. 200.
Chicago Rawhide Co., 75 Ohio street, Chicago, Ill. 246.
Cleveland-Canton Spring Co., Canton, Ohio. 181-2.
Detroit Motor Works, Detroit, Mich. 230.
Dasey, P. J., Co., 19-21 La Salle street, Chicago, Ill. 197-8-9.
Dasey, P. J., Mueller Bldg., Milwaukee, Wis. 236.
Dayton Electrical Mfg. Co., Dayton, Ohio. 214.
Diamond Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio. 159-60.
Electric Contract Co., 202-204 Center street, New York City. 206.
Flint Upholstering Co., Flint, Mich. 205.
Funke, A. H., 325 Broadway, New York City. 194.
Fawkes Rubber Co., 1679 Broadway, New York City. 245.
Federal Mfg. Co., American Trust Bldg., Cleveland, Ohio. 132-3-4.
Fisk Rubber Co., Chlcopee Falls, Mass. 165-6.
Gray & Davis, Amesbury, Mass. 216.
Goodrich, B. F., Co., Akron, Ohio. 149-50.
G & J Tire Co., Indianapolis, Ind. 153-4.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio. 177-8.
Hine-Watt Mfg. Co., 60 Wabash avenue, Chicago, Ill. 235.
Hussey Drop Forging & Mfg. Co., Axtel street, Cleveland, Ohio. 196.
Hyatt Roller Bearing Co., Harrison, N. J. 217.
Hendee Mfg. Co., Springfield, Mass. 185.
Hartford Rubber Works Co., Hartford, Conn. 151-2.
Kaestner, Chas., Mfg. Co., 153 South Jefferson street, Chicago, Ill. 227.
Motsinger Device Mfg. Co., Pendleton, Ind. 228.
Motor Car Supplv Co., 1427 Michigan avenue, Chicago, Ill. 201-2-3-4.
Miller-Knoblock Electric Mfg. Co., South Bend, Ind. 231.
Manhattan Storage Co., 44 Cortlandt street, New York City. 224.
McCord & Co., Old Colony Bldg., Chicago, Ill. 243.
Morgan & Wright, Lake street, Chicago, Ill. 187.
Moore, Frank L., Whiting Foundry Equipment Co., Harvey, Ill. 249.
Midgley Mfg. Co., Columbus, Ohio. 181-2.
Northwestern Storage Battery Co., 571 Madison street, Chicago, Ill. 191.
National Carbon Co., Cleveland, Ohio. 208.
National Sewing Machine Co., Belvidere, Ill. 234.
Pittsburg Reduction Co., Pittsburg, Pa. 171-2.
Peterson & Draper, 165 Lake street, Chicago, Ill. 181-2.
Pope Mfg. Co., 23 Park Row, New York City. 175-6.
Rose Mfg. Co., 910 Arch street, Philadelphia, Pa. 211-12.
Remy Electric Co., Anderson, Ind. 244.
Richmond Mfg. Co., Richmond, Ind. 232.
Rockaway Auto. Co., Rockaway, N. J. 192.
Splitdorf, C. F., 23 Vanderventer street, New York City. 193.
Shelby Steel Tube Co., Pittsburg, Pa. 215.
Steel Ball Co., 832 Austin avenue, Chicago, Ill. 186.
Standard Carriage Lamp Co., 49 South Canal street, Chicago, Ill. 250.
Timken Roller Bearing Axle Co., Canton, Ohio. 195.
Tennant Auto Tire Co., Springfield, Ohio. 226.
Twentietn Century Mfg. Co., 17 Warren street, New York City. 173-4.
Veeder Mfg. Co., Hartford, Conn. 213.
Varley Duplex Magnet Co., Providence, R. I. 209.
Whalebone Rubber Co., 277 Broadway, New York City. 220.
Warner Gear Co., Muncie, Ind. 225.
Western Motor Co., Logansport, Ind. 184.
Wagner Cycle Co., 43 West Fourth street, St. Paul, Minn. 223.
The three-ton electric freight truck shown first at the recent Coliseum Automobile Show, Chicago, Ill. This phenomenal truck is manufactured by the Holson Motor Patents Company, Ltd., Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was one of the leading attractions and innovations at the show. Enclosed in each wheel is a 2 h. p. Gyroscope motor, which is located on the stationary axle within the hollow wheel. The motors drive from both ends of the armature shaft and small pinions mesh in a circle of cogs on each half of the drive wheel. All four wheels are therefore drivers, and by patented steering device all four wheels are also steering wheels, which admits of turning about in exceptionally narrow spaces.
Chicago Tribune January 31, 1904
The Iron Age, February 11, 1904
CHICAGO, ILL., February 8, 1904.—The fourth automobile show held under the auspices of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers opened at the Coliseum, Chicago, Saturday, February 6. Covering, as they do, 69,000 feet of the 70,005 feet of floor space in the Coliseum proper and its annex, the exhibits are said to be far more extensive, and the display superior to the recent exposition held at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The attendance on the opening (Saturday) night, too, which was estimated at 10,000, if continued throughout the week’s exhibit, promises to establish a precedent in the annals of automobile shows. Altogether, over 250 exhibits have been placed, representing an aggregate value of more than $2,000,000. Of this number of exhibits, about 180 are displays by automobile makers, while the remaining 70 or 75 are manufacturers of accessories and supplies. The latter occupy space in the gallery. A distinctive feature of the exposition is the fact that it is essentially American, less than a half dozen types of automobiles of foreign manufacture being exhibited. The foreign cars shown are the Darracq, Benz,Panhard, Mors and Mercedes. The machines on exhibition range in size from mammoth traffic trucks and heavy touring cars to the electric runabout and motor bicycles. They come in a variegated array of colors from Scarlet and Nile green to white, and represent prices of from $500 to $10,000.
The show at the Coliseum has its educational value as well as attractiveness to the sightseer in illustrating the extraordinary progress which has been made in automobile construction in late years, and especially the strides which have been taken toward betterment by American makers. With native ingenuity and assimilation of foreign ideas, the American manufacturer has produced a 1904 model machine which will hold its place in the foremost ranks of automobile perfection. This is particularly true of the “limousine” type of car, which is inclosed in glass, offering the comforts of a cozy home in one of Chicago’s blizzards. Another improvement which has been made in the late models is the arrangement of the operating mechanism to permit of the easy repairing of cars, the machinery being placed in front and under a hood instead of under the car. Attention has also been given to the sliding gear transmission. A device has been provided which disconnects the gear of the countershaft entirely when running at high speed, insuring absolute quiet and freedom from vibration. New features have also been developed in the brake attachment and steering apparatus.
Aside from the spectacular, scientific and social features of the exhibition, the prospects for business are unprecedented, according to men who are interested from that point of view. Representatives of the trade are present from Mexico, South America, Cuba and Porto Rico, as well as from all parts of the United States, and will make new details as well as complete business left over from the New York show. A large delegation is here from St. Louis for the purpose of securing omnibuses and party cars for use during the World’s Fair. Many local men also are interested in cars for heavy traffic. The impetus given trade by the New York exhibition is expected to be repeated after the Chicago display, and it is feared that the output for the year will be exhausted before the show is over.
The gallery space of the Coliseum is devoted to Supplies. There are collected all of the essentials to a well regulated automobile outfit—lamps, guards, plate glass, swinging seats and a hundred other things, including various styles of dress. The Coliseum is most effectively and artistically arranged, the electric lights and decorations making the picture impressive.
The Coliseum
1911 Sanborn Map
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