race of the century-1895 Chicago, The

Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Spring 2003 by Scott, Cord

The twenty-eighth of November 1895 was the worst possible day for an automobile race. On this Thanksgiving Day the city of Chicago had been hit with an early season blizzard and the roads were covered in snow and slush, and the "motocycle" (as the automobile was popularly called at the time) was considered by the city's newspapers to be nothing more than an aberration. It was predicted to be a passing fad, unlike the other new form of transportation, the bicycle. However, the automobile race that was to take place that day would cause residents to change their attitudes. The race would establish the automobile as the transportation technology of the future, and Chicago's connections to the automobile. In addition, this "Race of the Century" and the drivers who participated in it would help to establish the ties between the car and masculinity, social class, and the city. The race and, in a larger sense, the automobile, would fundamentally change life in Chicago.1

One might first ask why Chicago was chosen for the Race of the Century rather than the larger cities of New York, Philadelphia, or San Francisco. There were many logical reasons for choosing Chicago. First and foremost, throughout it history, Chicago had served as a hub for transportation. Since 1849 Chicago had been a central crossover point for the rail and river shipping lines throughout the country.2 This gave the drivers in the 1895 race the opportunity to ship their cars to Chicago via rail or ship, assemble and test them, and then officially enter the car into the race without much fuss or extra bother. Furthermore, Chicago's ample and well-kept city street network allowed the racing cars to be run on relatively smooth cobblestones.3 This would allow drivers (in theory) to race at higher speeds with minimal risk of damage to the suspension system of the cars, or to the wheels, which were made of solid rubber in most cases. Some of the drivers, however, used pneumatic tires, which later proved to be of substantial advantage on the day of the race."

The second reason for Chicago being chosen for the Race of the Century was its ties to the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. The Columbian Exposition highlighted several new forms of transportation that would gradually eliminate the horse as the chief form of propulsion in America and around the world. The idea of eliminating the horse was an attractive one to most residents since every horse deposited about thirty pounds of manure each day on the city's streets. In addition to the waste issue, the city faced another problem when the animals died. The horses were used to pull heavy wagons for the disposal of garbage and to deliver supplies and were used to haul buggies for private use. It was not uncommon for overworked horses to drop dead in the streets. The carcasses then had to be hauled off by other horses before they caused hygiene and odor problems. Housing the animals also created a problem. The presence of tens of thousands of horses in 1890s Chicago posed a logistical nightmare in a city that was already facing a housing shortage for its burgeoning human population.5

New forms of transportation that the Columbian Exposition brought included cable cars, the new "El" (elevated trains), and electric trolleys. All of these public transportation systems would help the city as a whole and their promises brought people to the Exposition, especially to the Transportation Hall at Jackson Park. Inside the building (and its annexes) the exhibits were divided into railroads, marine transportation, and vehicles for work and pleasure. It was in this last division that people took notice of the "horseless carriage." But what really drew people to the hall were the displays of the bicycle, the transportation craze of the 1880s.6 Many people at the fair saw the bicycle as the personal transportation vehicle of the future. It did not pollute as the horse did, it allowed for exercise and personal fitness, which was important during a time when personal hygiene and strength were obsessing many in the nation and, most important, it caused enthusiasts to pressure legislators to support the construction of paved roads. Bicyclists claimed that most city streets were in terrible condition, especially those roads made of dirt, which would turn into mud whenever it rained. They argued that the roads needed to be paved to allow for smoother, better transportation. This in turn would benefit the whole economy.7 The bicycle was a featured system of transportion in the exhibits at the Columbian Exposition, and the police in both New York and Chicago discussed it as a possible vehicle for use by law enforcement.8

The third reason for Chicago hosting the Race of the Century regards the sponsorship of the event. The race was the brainchild of H. A. Kohlstaat, a Chicago booster who had made his fortune in the restaurant industry during the 1870s. He eventually made enough money to buy a controlling interest in the Chicago Times-Herald. In 1893 he was responsible for drumming up support for the transportation exhibits at the Columbian Exposition when they were initially not well attended. He learned that, in 1894, Count LaBose and several French newspapers (such as La Petit Journal) had sponsored an automobile race of from Paris to Rouen. Kohlstaat seized upon this idea and announced in July 1895 that the Times-Herald would sponsor a race that would allow horseless carriage drivers to race from Chicago to Milwaukee. The race would be held on 2 November 1895 and prize money totaling five thousand dollars would be offered.9 It was Kohlstaat's vision and enthusiasm that brought the race to the citizens of Chicago and the Midwest.