The Great Lakes Exposition
Video (14:32 min.)
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Among the things shown in this film are the landing and the takeoff of the Goodyear blimp, the entrance to the Midway, Belgian wooden shoe dancers, and a diving demonstration. The aquatic scenes mean that the events here were likely filmed in 1937, although it is certainly possible that the film contains footage from both years of the Expo.
Sadly, the film is silent, and has no narration. Film of the Exposition is rare, and seldom seen. We are glad to be able to present this footage, which will give viewers an idea of what it was like to have attended the Exposition, and to have been a part of one of Cleveland’s most historic and exciting events.
The second part of the film, approximately ten minutes long, shows a family on vacation in New York. We see the family prepare for, and then embark upon, their trip. This footage contains scenes from Saratoga National Park, a cottage at some unspecified waterfront, and a drive through the then-new Lincoln Tunnel connecting New Jersey to Manhattan. This footage is also silent and un-narrated. We include it here as a rare and interesting historical artifact of American life in the 1930s.
