Expert Groups - Economics

Robert W. Rydell, John E. Findling and Kimberly D. Pelle. Fair America. World's Fairs in the United States. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution, 2000.
Chapter Three - Fairs Between the World Wars

• National Research Council, founded in 1916, was formed to advise in wartime matters
• NRC had Conservative economic beliefs and that is why the fair board ??? chose not to seek direct government subsidization for the Century of Progress
• raised money privately instead by selling memberships in the Chicago World’s Fair Legion (which raised $634, 000)
• the board also offered a $10 million public bond issue (of which $6.1 million was actually paid in) and raised $3 million in concessionaire’s contracts
• federal government spent $1 million on its own pavilion and exhibits
• financial crisis forced the planners to scale down building plans
• fair board decided to hold the fair another season with the hope that the additional revenue would enable the Century of Progress to pay off its original bondholders and to turn a profit
• Ford building cost $5 million, was most popular attraction of the fair in 1934
• Over two seasons the fair attracted 48 million visitors and earned a profit of $160,000
• however, many visitors during an economic depression

To check up:
What is a bord of directors or bord committee??
What is a concessionaire?