View of the Italian Pavilion and Soldier Field at the A Century of Progress International Exposition

The opening ceremonies for the 1933-34 A Century of Progress International Exposition took place in Soldier Field, drawing a crowd of around 300,000. The Italian Pavilion in the foreground was designed to resemble both a giant airplane—to celebrate the transatlantic flight of Italo Balbo—as well as a bundled fascis, a symbol from the Roman Republic that was adopted by Italian fascists in the 20th century