Elias Showgoer woke excitedly on Saturday morning. He had a great day planned for his wife, Elsie, and the two little Showgoers. All four would be heading down to the Chicago Coliseum for a close look at automobiles.
Elsie was not nearly as enthused about the plan. She had balked a few months earlier, when Elias proposed a visit to Washington Park on the South Side to attend the First International Automobile Exhibition and Tournament. Elsie could not understand why Elias wanted to look at things they could not afford. Motorcars, she knew, were for rich people, not the head clerk at a downtown bank.
That was in September. Elias was more insistent this time. So, on March 23, 1901, the Showgoer family dressed in their Sunday best and headed for the streetcar stop.
It would be a long ride to the Coliseum, at 15th Street and Wabash Avenue, but well worth the effort. The Showgoers did not realize it on that Saturday morning, but vehicles from the Mobile car company offered to carry patrons free from Wabash Avenue and Van Buren Street to the Coliseum.
Elsie grumbled about the 50-cent admission, but Elias promised to economize on lunches for the next week to ease her mind about the expense. Sure, the average worker earned less than $9 a week in 1901, but Elias was doing a little better than that. Then again, a nickel or dime bought admission to one of Chicago's vaudeville shows, featuring more than a dozen acts.
Though far from affluent, Elias' family was reasonably comfortable. His children were in school, not part of the labor force like so many other youngsters.
On the whole, the American economy was strong. Seeking his second term as president, William McKinley had campaigned with the slogan, a "full dinner pail." Even Americans of modest means were taking vacations and contemplating unheard-of pleasures.
Dozens of startling inventions had come to light, and others were being developed: electric lights, moving pictures, sound recording, wireless telegraphy. People were even talking about the possibility of flying machines. And the automobile appeared right in the midst of this boom.
Elias was fascinated by the idea of automobiles, even if he could not own one.
He vaguely recalled having seen a motorcar at the World's Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park in 1893. He had read about the Times-Herald Race of 1895, but not soon enough to attend. Now and then, Elias had seen an automobile on Chicago streets, typically piloted by a chauffeur with a "bigshot" in back. In the country, there were only 8,000 cars in 1900; the figure would approach 15,000 in '01.
Of course, Elias had not informed Elsie of the real attraction of the show. According to the Chicago Tribune, visitors would have an opportunity to ride in some of the automobiles--maybe even drive one. Elias had never sat in an automobile. His fingers were tingling at the prospect of a chance to whiz around the indoor track in one.
Publicity helped push attendance figures up.
"Paul Revere never roused Middlesex village and farm more thoroughly than these show promoters have roused Chicago and the remainder of Cook County," gushed a reporter for The Motor World magazine. In addition to attracting possible buyers of automobiles, manufacturers hoped to appeal to potential dealers.
Samuel Miles, a promoter of bicycle shows, had organized the 1901 Chicago Automobile Show. He would remain the manager for three decades. An invitation-only preview took place on Friday, March 22, 1901. Saturday was the first public day of the show.
At the preview and the show, most visitors were people of means. The auto show "promises to rival the horse show as a society event," the Tribune reported on Sunday. One observer estimated that attendance was triple that of the first New York Auto Show in late 1900.
Elias' wish to see a cornucopia of automobiles was fulfilled. Arriving at the 2 p.m. opening time, his family could stay as late as 11.
The variety of vehicles nearly took Elias' breath away. Some were steam-powered; others ran on electricity. Still others had gasoline engines. No one seemed to know which motive power was best, but promoters hawked their respective merits to the throng. National, Mobile, Woods, Knox, E.R. Thomas, Hewitt-Lindstrom, Triumph--these companies and more made the list of vehicle exhibitors compiled by The Motor World magazine. A number of cars were exhibited under the banner of Ralph Temple Bicycle & Automobile Parts.
Many cars were displayed within the circular track set up in the Coliseum. Others sat elsewhere in the building.
As many as 65 companies exhibited vehicles or accessories, according to the Tribune. One observer counted 32 vehicle and 20 parts/accessory exhibits. Another listed 56 exhibitors. One trade magazine estimated that by the second day, 102 exhibit spaces were filled by 70 companies. Automobiles ranged in price from $500 to many thousands. Cheapest of the lot was a $200 motorcycle.