26 Vintage Photos of The Great Lakes Expositions of 1936 & 1937

Admiral Byrd's South Pole Ship docked at the Great Lakes Exposition with the Firestone building and Hall of Progress in the background

Aerial view of the Great Lakes Exposition grounds

Airplane view of the Great Lakes Exposition, Cleveland, Ohio, showing Aurora Borealis

Audience at a performance at Billy Rose's Aquacade at the Great Lakes Exposition

An audience watches a performance at Streets of the World. The Streets of the World attraction at the Great Lakes Exposition featured shopping, dining, and scenery representative of the following cultures: African, Armenian, Austrian, Belgian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hindu, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Jewish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Manx, Mexican, Norwegian, Polish, Rusin, Russian, Romanian, Scotch, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Swiss, Syrian, Ukrainian and Welsh. Streets of the World paid tribute to Cleveland's immigrant heritage and enabled visitors to experience a variety of cultures.

Audience in the stands during a performance at the Marine Theater; Hall of Progress in the background

Billy Rose with Olympic swimmers Eleanor Holm and Johnny Weissmuller on a diving board at Billy Rose's Aquacade at the Great Lakes Exposition

Billy Rose's Aquacade divers, some captured here in mid-air, perform for crowds at the Great Lakes Exposition, 1937.