For the 1933-34 Chicago Century of Progress fair, Studebaker hatched the idea of building an 80 foot long, 28 foot high, 30 foot wide version of their newest and most luxurious model, the President Land Cruiser. The running boards alone were 21 feet long, the wipers three and the tires measured 12-1/2 feet tall. Built on wood framework the exterior was actually made of plaster that was so realistic visitors would scratch the surface with their fingernails to test the composition. Below the running board visitors could enter a 80 person capacity movie theatre that show promotional movies about the new Studebaker models.
Photo: Century of Progress Records, 1927-1952, University of Illinois at Chicago Library.
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