Streets of Paris Exhibit
Gayety of the Montmartre art student quarter, shows, dancing and music make the Streets of Paris a place for sophisticated enjoyment. The Lido Swimming Pool is a center of entertainment. A dancing floor is beside it. On this will be given the Fashion Show by sylph-like Parisian mannequins. This is a free entertainment as is the floor show, given by 50 dancing girls and entertainers, four to six in the afternoon, and in the evening.
The diving exhibition by girl and men Olympic champions includes a comedy diving act.
Streets of Paris, 1933
The Official Pictures of A Century of Progress Exposition Chicago, Kaufmann & Fabry Co. Official Photographers
The streets of the Montmartre quarter reproduce the atmosphere of that section of old Paris. Here in the background of old walls and small cafes are seven novelty entertainments of the art student
type. Cigarette girls, flower girls and other Parisian types add to the effect. In a special building is an exhibit of French wines and liqueurs.
Cafe de la Paix, indoor and outdoor tables, table d’hote and a la carte service. Orchestra, floor show and dancing by guests afternoon and evening.
Chicago legend has it that Ms Sally Rand, an out of work silent film actress, first appeared at A Century of Progress as Lady Godiva in an unauthorized stunt designed to land her a job at the fair. Her ride through opening day festivities must have quickly spread through the city as newspaper coverage of the day hinted at the event as though its readership were already informed.
This act won her star billing at the “Streets of Paris” concession on the Fair’s Midway. There, performing an ostrich feathered fan dance to such strains as Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune and Frédéric Chopin’s Waltz in C Sharp Minor, she caused a sensation, launching a career that lasted for more than 30 years. In 1934, she created an alternative dance with a large five-foot incandescent elastic bubble under a blue spotlight. She was arrested four times in a single day during the fair due to perceived indecent exposure after a fan dance performance and while riding a white horse down the streets of Chicago, where the nudity was only an illusion.
The fair reported 22 million paid admissions, and two million attributed to Streets of Paris.
Streets of Paris, 1933
The Official Guide Book of A Century of Progress Exposition Chicago
Here are two views of Sally Rand, one with her famous fans and the other taken during one of her recent court appearances. Sally was found guilty by a jury yesterday of performing an obscene and indecent dance in a public place and sentenced to serve a year in the county jail and pay a $200 fine. It was the maximum penalty.
Chicago Tribune
September 24, 1933
A night out at the Streets of Paris, Century of Progress, 1933
RECORD BREAKING CROWD LEAVES WRECKAGE IN WAKE AS FAIR CLOSES.
View yesterday inside the Streets of Paris on the day after crowd of 372,000 bade farewell to
the World’s Fair of 1934, combining the closing festivities with wild Halloween celebration. Many other places suffered a like fate.
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