In 35 short
days, hundreds of people will be entering into the fairgrounds to see what this
year’s fair has to offer! On this Throwback Thursday we wanted to talk about one of the most iconic images of the fairgrounds.
Join us as we travel back to 1910. That's when the main gate
to the fair was built at Eleventh Street and Sangamon Avenue. It was an ornate brick building with a
barrel-tiled roof, stucco medallions and red-white-and blue trimmed arches. The
original thought behind the design was to spruce up the entrance where street
cars once rumbled onto the grounds. Though cars no longer enter through the
main gate, it still sees a lot of pedestrian traffic.
In 1985 the gate received
an overhaul, pictured above. Workers used a picture of the original gate off a postcard to
rebuild and remodel the gate.
Though the gate has changed since it was first
built it is still a historic monument and marks the grand main entrance into the
Illinois State Fair. It welcomes people, every year, from all over the state
and country to the fair and reminds them that though times have changed, history still remains.
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