Upon entering the Great Hall, visitors entered three exhibits that displayed Chrysler's progress, products, and processes. In an air-conditioned auditorium with seating for 400, visitors viewed a 3-D film that made them feel like a Plymouth was being assembled in their midst. The Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler cars were displayed in a glittering "frozen forest," created by Chrysler's Airtemp Division. In the third exhibit, visitors saw actual tests of materials, processes, and operations conducted by Chrysler.
Photo courtesy Irene Nelson. Image captured from movie shot by her father Sea Captain Erik Manvall (1902-1988) and transferred to DVD by Johnny Riert (residents of Sweden).
Photo by Underwood & Underwood
Courtesy of Cathy Scibelli
Volume 5, Number 2
Courtesy of Randy Richter
Raymond Loewy, the nation’s leading industrial design proponent of streamlining, created the exhibits for the Chrysler Corporation. It was noted that he was the only individual who could cross the country in a car, bus, plane or train of his own design.
Chrysler’s president, K. T. Keller, defended his company’s choice of colors for the automobiles displayed in their pavilion: “Every year we put in a few new pastel shades, because there’s always some demand for them among younger women of moderate means. When you get away from these, you swing into the fine dark colors.”
One of the pavilion’s most intriguing exhibits was its “Frozen Forest” where Chrysler displayed its products. Forty iron pipes, fitted out to resemble palm trees, were coated with layers of ice. As the days grew hotter on the fairgrounds the Forest’s managers ushered the visitors through at a steady pace as many planned to simply stay for a refreshing respite. However, many lingered long enough to carve their initials in the trunks, without a knife!
Photo taken by William H. Beal and submitted by his grandson, David Knowles.
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