Events and interesting facts that have shaped the industry
1890 – Salem Fairgrounds open to annual fair
On the corner of Park Ave. and Maple St., in Salem, Ore., was the opening of the Salem fairgrounds. On September 16, 1890, the first annual fair opened on the Salem grounds, which covered 75 acres of trees and streams.
Streetcars from the Salem Electric Runway brought people from downtown to the fair every 13 minutes. Among the attractions at the exposition were hot air balloons, all kinds of animals and carriage races.
On September 19, 1900, the Salem fairgrounds were lit up by electricity for the first time.
1895 – Booker T. Washington speaks at exposition in Georgia
The Cotton States and International Exposition opened in Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Ga., on September 18, 1895. The Exposition, which was open for 100 days, attracted visitors from all over the U.S. as well as 13 international countries.
On opening day, Booker T. Washington gave a speech that is now recognized as one of the most influential and important speeches in history.
In his speech, Washington spoke about inequality, as well as legality and social acceptance.
1922 – Brazilian Exposition celebrates with 3 million visitors
In 1921, the Brazilian congress decided to celebrate the independence of Brazil. A year later, on September 7, 1922, a 62-acre exposition opened in honor of the occasion in Rio de Janeiro.
The Exposiçao International do Centenario do Brazil had roughly 3 million visitors and covered 62 acres of land. The expo was split into two sections, one for foreign and one for national exhibitors.
In the national section was a pavilion of hunting and fishing, as well as several restaurants, and what is now the National Historic Museum of Brazil.
1956 – President Eisenhower values photography tradeshow
In September 1950, Photokina, the world’s largest tradeshow for the photography industry, opened in Cologne, Germany.
At the Photokina in 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower thought it was such an important event that he sent a greeting telegram marking the opening. The expo hosted over 1,500 exhibitors and over 169,000 attendees.
The show, which is now held biannually, was a place for many photography and imaging companies to introduce new products to the photography industry.
Tradeshow history as reported by Exhibit City News
1995 – Exhibitgroup expands to England
In 1995, Exhibitgroup, a designer and manufacturer of exhibits, opened a new office in London. The opening of the location was in response to Exhibitgroup’s growth in the international tradeshow industry.
The new office was headed by Simon Graveiling, a former tradeshow veteran of Maximum Productions.
At the time, Exhibitgroup already had full fabrication offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland, as well as sales offices in Boston, Rochester, Houston and Seattle.
2000 – Largest manufacturing show to welcome thousands
The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) opened at McCormick Place on September 6, 2000. At the time, the show was expected to draw in over 130,000 people.
The IMTS was produced by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) and was held every two years.
As the largest manufacturing event in the United States, IMTS brought experts and attendees to provide the most useful and up-to-date technical information.
2003 – Exhibit Hall 3D starts virtual tradeshows
Exhibit Hall 3D designed fully-customizable virtual tradeshows where visitors walk from booth to booth. Each virtual tradeshow came with many different styles and sizes, each mirroring exhibit layouts found in physical tradeshows.
As the beginning of virtual tradeshows, mock conference rooms were also available to house presentations and chats.
In 2003, all pseudo tradeshows were hosted by a sponsoring organization and were not limited by geography. This was a new feature that made them accessible to attendees all over the world.
2006 – SmartCity purchases Priority Networks
In September 2006, SmartCity announced the purchase of Las Vegas-based Priority Networks. The two companies employees 550 industry executives across the U.S.
At the time, Smart City was the telecommunications representative for companies like Disney World in Florida.
When the companies joined forces, Smart City and Priority Networks were still seen as separate companies.
