• Posted: May 17, 2021
• better careers, better communities, better construction, Chicago Building Trades Council, Clark Construction, Electrical Contractors' Association of Chicago and Cook County, IBEW Local 134, IBEW Local 134 President, Maron Electric, McCormick Place

 

The 1920s was a confluence of events for the city of Chicago. Military veterans were coming back from WWI, Prohibition reigned, and the beer wars helped give rise to Chicago’s organized crime. To help combat the city’s growing image problem, Chicago decided to host the 1933 World’s Fair. But with the Great Depression devastating the country’s finances, the fair needed to find public financing. 

Fortunately for the Fair and the unions, the president of IBEW Local 134 at the time Patrick Sullivan was also the president of the Chicago Building Trades Council and created the first labor agreement for the fair. As a result, the Fair was made a union site, creating more than 20,000 jobs. Of the total job count, the fair employed an estimated 2,500 electricians.  

The site was 3.5 miles of underdeveloped landfill between 39th street and 12th street. Within the site, there were about five substations that fed the World’s Fair the millions of watts needed to maintain the buildings. Just one of the fair’s features, the Sky Ride, took an astounding 1,600 jobs to complete. 

The great thing about the World’s Fair is that the buildings and the technology used to create them were new and innovative for the time. Just before the World’s Fair, in 1932 the patent for neon lighting expired and its popularity grew exponentially. It was said that there were more than 8 miles of neon on the facades of the buildings at the 1933 World’s Fair. The Fair also showcased new techniques in recessed architectural lighting. 

“The 1933 World’s Fair kicked off Chicago as becoming the World Trade convention center, the mecca of the world,” said IBEW Local 134 President Tim Fitzgibbons. 

The increased interest in Chicago as a destination for meetings, conventions, and expos, created a need for additional hotels and restaurants to accommodate the city’s visitors. By the mid-1950s the city realized the benefits that tourism provided and decided to invest in an indoor facility to host visitors throughout the year. Construction on McCormick Place began in 1958 and concluded on the original building in 1960.

It wasn’t long after the completion of the original building before the need for square footage demanded expansion. When the million and a half square foot expansion began, Clark Construction approached Maron Electric for help with the building’s electrical.

“Depending on the booth or installation, it may take a dozen electricians for several days,” said Eric Nixon, President of Maron Electric. “It’s a source of pride for our company to work on the project.”

McCormick Place remains an attraction to the city and a source of pride for IBEW Local 134 and ECA contractors who continue to ensure it remains a cutting-edge convention center for the three million visitors who pass through its doors each year. 

On Sunday, May 16, this story was featured on ABC 7’s Built to Last, an Emmy-nominated program that features trade union members and contractors from around the Chicagoland area.