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| 1933 Century of Progress Exposition Documents |
'A Rhapsody in Colors' Is Phrase of Engineer for Lighting Effects at Fair
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By Malcolm McDowell.
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Source: Chicago Daily News, 22 June 1933, pg. 9.
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"A rhapsody in colors"—that is the world's fair in the all-observing eyes of Charles J. Stahl, special illumination engineer of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company.
He has just submitted a report on how lighting enhances the the architecture of the Century of Progress exposition. It bears the nontechnical title of "A Stroll Through the Grounds" and, to the layman, it is refreshingly free from the professional shop-talk of his craft and the mystifying language of the technician.
It presents a complete layout of the exterior illuminations at the fair and gives interesting details of construction and installation. It is a document which would be a valuable contribution to the history of the exposition which some one will write after the big show ends its five months' run.
The lighting for A Century of Progress exposition, he points out, presented entirely different problems in exposition lighting from those encountered in the past. Instead of buildings requiring decorative treatment by the use of colored lights, he explains, are vividly colored buildings requiring for the most part only the so-called white light from the mazda lamp.
Colors Can Be Altered.
"Colors can, of course, be altered by the illumination," says Mr. Stahl. "For example, by the use of red light, blue surfaces may be changed to purple and by the use of blue lights yellow surfaces may be made green. But such methods are inefficient and have a very limited range. When the exterior decorator does his job in a thoroughly conclusive manner, as he has at this exposition, the illumination engineer had better apply himself to the task of revealing the decorative work unaltered to the fullest extent.
"We speak of 'symphonies in color.' This exposition, insofar as the illumination of building exteriors contribute to the general vista at night and except for their color status, may be properly termed in a rhapsody of color."
Mr. Stahl's report shows how the electric lights have been installed and are used in "revealing," as he puts it, the decorator's work. He describes in minute detail some of the electric-light installations for exterior lighting and discloses many interesting features.
Engineers in Collaboration.
Engineers from both organizations collaborated in the design and execution of the lighting effects. The installation of the equipment and the design and installation of the entire electrical distribution system were under the supervision of J. L. McConnell, electrical and mechanical engineer of the exposition.
Here are two of the several lighting features described by Mr. Stahl which require big language, figuratively and literally: The biggest incandescent searchlights ever installed make the wonderful silver fan over the electric fountain of the Electrical building. Seventeen thirty-six-inch incandescent searchlights, each developing 21,000,000 candle power, a total of 357,000,000 candle power, produce the effect which is one of the night marvels of the fair.
The searchlights are placed out of view on the roof of the Electrical building.
Scintillator Big Display.
The biggest electrical display is the scintillator located at the south end of the ground, but visible everywhere. This spectacle has the longest range of visibility of anything at the fair. This dazzling feature accomplishes the desired result by means of powerful light beams from twenty-four thirty-six-inch arc searchlights in two banks of twelve each on different levels, and the entire battery produces a total of 1,440,000,000 candle power.
The outfit is operated by a group of trained attendants, who change the color filters and the position of each beam according to prearranged schedules in maneuvers directed by the captain in charge. The entire connected load for the exterior lighting installed by the two companies is in excess of 3,200 kilowatts.
More than 15,000 Lamps Used.
More than 15,000 mazda lamps are employed ranging in size from ten to 3,000 watts in addition to the floodlights, searchlights and thousands of feet of neon and mercury vapor tubes. None of this installation is for interior uses for exhibitors and concessionaires. Adding their illumination to the exterior lighting brings the total of electric illumination up to approximately 30,000 kilowatts.
Forty years ago the electric plant built by the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Jackson park for lighting all of the fair by electricity had a capacity of about 3,200 horsepower.
The Century of Progress, covering less than half the land area of the Columbian exposition, requires an electric current of 30,000 kilowatts, or 40,000 horsepower, twelve times more than that produced at the fair of four decades ago.
[End of news article]
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Page compiled: 14 January 2006
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