The International Livestock Exposition was THE major live stock show of its day. On exhibit would be 1650 head of top show cattle, 1000 head of fine sheep, around 700 head of fancy swine, and 450 head of draft, saddle and harness horses. The public response was tremendous and some 450,000 people would attend this event each year. The last one was held in Chicago in 1975. It is now presented as part of the Kentucky State Fair.
The Livestock Expositions of the past are another slice of wonderful the world has lost. On a lesser scale Denver still has the National Western and Ft. Worth and Houston have decent Stock Shows at the Will Rogers Memorial Center, which is an incredible facility. Much better then it was back in the day of the old Texas dates with a few dirt pens in back of the Coliseum in which to stable the elephants including Dianos 6, Hawthorns 8, Steeles 5, and Christianis 4. How could we have lost it all............
Note the date when the 1941 National Live Stock Exhibition closed. The very next day, December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the U.S. was drawn into World War II. The U.S. Army took over the International Amphitheatre and used it as a giant warehouse. The International Live Stock Exposition wasn't held again until 1946. The Army also took over one of Chicago's big downtown hotels and used it as a school for training radiomen. The Navy fitted out an old Chicago excursion steamer the C&B as an aircraft carrier and had pilots practicing carrier landings out on the lake.
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The International Amphitheater
as depicted on this poster was
built in 1934 on the site of the
previous Expositiion building as
shown below which burned down
The International Livestock Exposition was THE major live stock show of its day. On exhibit would be 1650 head of top show cattle, 1000 head of fine sheep, around 700 head of fancy swine, and 450 head of draft, saddle and harness horses. The public response was tremendous and some 450,000 people would attend this event each year. The last one was held in Chicago in 1975. It is now presented as part of the Kentucky State Fair.
The Livestock Expositions of the past are another slice of wonderful the world has lost. On a lesser scale Denver still has the National Western and Ft. Worth and Houston have decent Stock Shows at the Will Rogers Memorial Center, which is an incredible facility. Much better then it was back in the day of the old Texas dates with a few dirt pens in back of the Coliseum in which to stable the elephants including Dianos 6, Hawthorns 8, Steeles 5, and Christianis 4. How could we have lost it all............
Wade Burck
Note the date when the 1941 National Live Stock Exhibition closed. The very next day, December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the U.S. was drawn into World War II. The U.S. Army took over the International Amphitheatre and used it as a giant warehouse. The International Live Stock Exposition wasn't held again until 1946.
The Army also took over one of Chicago's big downtown hotels and used it as a school for training radiomen. The Navy fitted out an old Chicago excursion steamer the C&B as an aircraft carrier and had pilots practicing carrier landings out on the lake.
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