Picturesque World’s Fair, An Elaborate Collection of Colored Views—Published with the Endorsement and Approval of George R. Davis, 1894
KRUPP GUN EXHIBIT AND LEATHER AND SHOE TRADES BUILDING.—The building in which was the famous Krupp Gun exhibit and that devoted to the Leather Shoe Trade displays were situated together on the lake front, in the southeastern part or of the Exposition grounds, and both appear in the above illustration. The big gun shown in the Krupp exhibit, the largest in the world, weighs one hundred and twenty-two tons, is forty-eight feet long and throws a ball weighing two thousand and three hundred pounds a distance of six miles. This monster was the chief show-piece, but there were numerous other large guns, intended for naval use or coast defense, and armor-plates illustrative of what could be produced to resist their power. It is said that to produce the exhibit in the United States cost Herr Krupp not less than $500,000, and that the display was made by him at the special request of the Emperor.
The Leather and Trade exhibits occupied a building five hundred and seventy-five feet in length by one hundred and fifty feet in width, the the flooring space of which was increased by extensive galleries.
The structure, which was entirely o wood, was lighted by five hundred and twenty windows and skylights. There were remarkable displays not only of leather boots and shoes, and the allied trades, but there was also an extensive showing of curios, such as the foot-gear of all nations and queer sorts of leather. The second floor was devoted almost entirely to machinery.
The Krupp Gun Pavilion (also known as the Krupp Gun Exhibit) was impressive on its own. It was created to be somewhat of a cross between a fortress and the “Villa Hugel” which had been the Krupp family home since 1873. The entrance hall was 138 feet long by 25 feet wide by 30 feet high while the main exhibit hall was 197 feet long by 82 feet wide by 43 feet high. It was located between the replica of the Convent La Rabida and the Leather Exhibit just south of the moving sidewalk and Casino Building. This area is currently occupied by the La Rabida Children’s Hospital. The structure cost Krupp upwards of 1.5 million dollars to erect and about the same amount to transport it to and from the fair. The pavilion housed both tools of war and peace but honestly it was the big gun that drew the crowds.
Krupp Building
Known as the largest canon in the world, the canon barrel weighed just over 240,000 pounds, was 46 feet long, 6.5 feet in diameter at the breech and the muzzle opening or caliber of the gun was 16.54 inches. It was capable, according to a Krupp representative, of firing a 2,000 pound projectile over a distance of 13 miles. (Krupp literature claimed only 5.5 miles) When using the shrapnel version of the 1 ton shell it would explode 3400 steel balls weighing about a quarter pound each. You definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of this piece of artillery. The gun cost Krupp about $200,000 to produce and $80,000 to transport to the U.S. At the end of the fair, Herr Krupp offered the gun to the U.S. military for a price of $223,000 including turret and all mountings. The U.S. quickly rejected the offer due to the fact that they believed the gun too dangerous and too expensive to operate at $1,500 per shot. There was also a rumor that Herr Krupp was going to donate the gun to the City of Chicago and the city in turn was going to use it in a fort which was going to be placed opposite Hyde Park on five acres of “made” land which would have had a clear view of the lake front from the Evanston light house to Calumet Lake. That rumor was quickly proven to be a false one.
Krupp Gun Exhibit
Krupp Gun Exhibit Building
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