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Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website “Chicago Century of Progress” (1934) is a silent, black-and-white home movie that was apparently made by someone of Czech origin (title card in Czech). The Chicago World’s Fair, also known as “A Century of Progress International Exposition“, was a World’s Fair held in Chicago from 1933-1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), celebrated the city's centennial. This film is composed of scenes at the various villages and exhibitions by countries and corporations such as Belgium, Italy, France, Sinclair Oil Corporation, and Ford before ending with scenes from a family home in Mentor Beach. The film also features significant footage from the different Native American tribes’ exhibition villages. Title page slide with text in English and Czech (0:08). Totem poles on display, close-up of carvings (0:13). Sign for “Navajo Village” display area, Native Americans from New Mexico (0:23). Navajo woman sits and weaves using a Navajo Floor loom (0:26). Navajo silversmith sits and works metal (0:33). Navajo woman poses with her toddler-aged child (0:41). Navajo men hold rattles, perform traditional dance in front of Navajo Adobe house (0:45). Sign for “Hopi Village” display area, Native Americans from Arizona (0:59). Men and women in typical 1930s dresses, casual suits walk through display area look at adobe Hopi House (1:00). Men and women tribe members in traditional dress perform traditional Hopi dance for crowd (1:16). Sign for “Sioux Village” display area, Native Americans from Pine Ridge, South Dakota (1:36). Camera pans display area with Sioux tipis (1:39). Male members of Sioux tribe in feather headdresses perform traditional Sioux dance for spectators (1:47). Sign for “Winnebago Village” display area, Native Americans from Wisconsin Dells (1:36). (2:30). Camera pans display area with Winnebago/ Ho-Chunk wigwam dwellings (2:30). Ho-Chunk family exits wigwam, poses for camera (2:39). Ho-Chunk women sit under shelter, weave baskets (2:52). Ho-Chunk men prepare for traditional dance performance (3:15). Exterior Czechoslovak Restaurant (4:00). Chinese Exhibition Building 1933 (4:15). Swiss village: chalet style cafes, goats and Alpine cows roam grass in front of painted backdrop of Swiss Alps (4:35). Two bear cubs in caged display area (5:27). Camera pains Main Lagoon (5:35). Sinclair Oil Exposition, mechanized Brachiosaurus dinosaur greets spectators at entrance (6:04). Belgian Village (6:40). Traditional horse-drawn hand-painted Sicilian carts at Italian Exposition (7:04). Man pets camel at perhaps 1933 Chicago World's Fair Morocco Village (7:29). Camera pans Colonial Village (7:53). Crowd gathers by entrance of Midget City, men and women with dwarfism in suits and dresses displayed around exhibition (8:02). De Saible Cabin, Old Chicago display (9:22). Perhaps Good Year blimps pass over the World’s Fair (9:45). Owens-Illinois House Built of Glass (9:54). Streets of Paris display (10:20). Ford Exhibition (10:25). Tyrolean Village, icicles hang from building displays (10:36). Opening of the Czechoslovak Pavilion, women stand shoulder to shoulder in traditional Czech Kroje (11:12). Marching band parades down the street in front of the Czech pavilion, dignitaries look on at the spectacle (12:05). Czech and American flag wave side by side in wind (12:44). View up underside of Sky Ride (13:12). Summer home in Mentor Beach, grandfather plays and sits with grandchildren on front lawn (14:02). We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
