|
|
- NEWSLETTERS
- MOBILE APPS
-
ADD TIME NEWS
World: Figures v. Dreams
New York City's little Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia jammed his hat on his stubby stubborn head, and flew west. At Chicago last week he descended to do a little troubleshooting. At lunch in the Hotel Sherman he sat down with 700 advertising men. At his left he had Mayor Kelly, who had a World's Fair at home five years ago; at his right he had Charles G. Dawes, whose brother Rufus successfully financed Chicago's Fair. Little Fiorello's job was to convince them all that New York's is a lot better. Said he:
"Don't believe these stories about hamburgers selling for a dollar and a half. They cost a dime and they're not transparent or synthetic. . . . We have put a soul into this Fair. . . . It is the last word in the application of the genius of man. . . . Our Fair will not be remembered for any hootchy-kootchy danceand a fan means nothing to us."
In several respects New York's Fair outstrips Chicago's: its World of Tomorrow cost more than thrice Chicago's $47,000,000 Century of Progress, is twice its size, and at the end of its first year will probably have a deficit three times as big as Chicago's $5,000,000. (The Century of Progress closed its second year in the black.) Fond of booming, expansive ciphers, honey-tongued Grover Whalen prophesied for his Tomorrow 60,000,000 customers, when he unveiled his big show last April 30. Today the books of the Fair give an instructive financial history of the biggest world's fair ever. Set up like most world's fairs as a supposedly self-supporting promotion enterprise, like most, it is far from breaking even. Beyond the halfway mark (August 9), the Fair's figures revealed the reason for Mayor LaGuardia's Chicago plea. They showed in round numbers:
Paid admissions................................................$6,220,000
Concessions (8 to 25% cut of gross business of restaurants, amusements, etc.)......................................................................1,800,000
Fair's concessions (gross of Perisphere and other Fair shows) ............................................................................... 915,000
Service charges (cashier & equipment hire, water, maintenance, etc.) ....................................................................... 850,000
Resale of electricity (submetered to exhibitors, etc.) ................................................................................420,000
Space rentals......................................................... 250,000
Royalties (on souvenirs, etc.)................................. 90,000
Miscellaneous........................................................165,000
Total Operating Revenue:............................. $10,710,000
Payroll (6,000 employes, recently reduced from 7,000) ........................................................................... $3,810,000
Purchase of electricity (from Consolidated Edison) .................................................................................100,000
Operation & maintenance (cleaning, repairs, power, equipment, rental, promotion, etc.).....................................................1,615,000
Interest (on bonds & bank loans).......................... 320,000
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- NEXT PAGE »
Most Popular »
- No Churchgoing Christmas for the First Family
- Why Brittany Murphy Is Worth Remembering
- How Panera Bread Defies the Recession
- Israel vs. Hizballah: Drumbeats of War
- The Pentagon Prepares for a Missile Attack from 'Iran'
- In Germany, a Disturbing Rise of Right-Wing Violence
- Obama, a Favorite Son, Will Perk Up Hawaii's Holidays
- Climate Change: How Fast Is the Earth Shifting?
- Has the Alleged Fort Hood Gunman's Imam Been Silenced?
- Sean Goldman: Home by Christmas
- No Churchgoing Christmas for the First Family
- How Panera Bread Defies the Recession
- Climate Change: How Fast Is the Earth Shifting?
- Holland's Plan to Tax Every Kilometer Driven
- Mexico City's Revolutionary First: Gay Marriage
- The Pentagon Prepares for a Missile Attack from 'Iran'
- In Germany, a Disturbing Rise of Right-Wing Violence
- Why Brittany Murphy Is Worth Remembering
- Domestic Terror Incidents Hit a Peak in 2009
- Obama, a Favorite Son, Will Perk Up Hawaii's Holidays





RSS