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The peach of a boulevard that was, all lined with red flags, hundreds of them.

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And what crowds, people from all over the world taking in the sights.

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Gosh, it was great.

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And see, do you remember the pictures of the sky ride we looked at?

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Well, I was on it, and did I get a thrill out of that.

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Not like the old Ferris wheels.

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This was a real ride, with lots of zip to it.

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It was built more than 260 feet high.

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And when you were in the rocket car, it felt like you were on top of the world.

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Down below you could see the fair, all lit up, just like a fairyland.

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Boy, what height.

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And we took in all the foreign buildings, too.

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You should have seen the Chinese temple, with gold all over the roof.

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All kinds of wood carving and fancy hangings inside.

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The Chinese emperors used to live in one just like it.

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The Italian building was swell, too.

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Had a lot of stuff in it about old Rome, like we had in school.

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But the lagoon was where we had the real fun.

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Dad hired a boat one day, and we sailed up and down for hours.

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And was that the berries.

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The government building, the electrical building, the green radio building, and lots more.

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It was great to stretch out in the boat so close to the blue water.

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Just like being down in Florida or in California.

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There was a lot of things to see on the main drag, too.

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I wish you fellas could have seen the government soldiers riding by in horseback.

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They looked like a million.

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And say, Dead Avenue had a thermometer on it, a mile high.

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With numbers on it that were even bigger than my dad.

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You could spot it from all over.

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Boy, I'd like to see a doctor take a temperature with that one.

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Another thing we took in was a show called A Million Years Ago.

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It has a dome on it with a map of the world.

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Around front on the Midway, it had an awful funny display.

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King Kong himself.

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And two of those dizzy-looking animals that lived at the beginning of the world.

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Two of those long names, you know, like in our history books.

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Talking about the Midway, what a street that was.

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I was all worn out seeing the sights.

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It had everything on it.

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Dragon rides, sword swallowers, alligator wrestlers,

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a midget village, Oriental Village, snake charmers.

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Gosh, I can't remember the half of it.

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And crowds, I never saw so many people in my life.

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Say, I almost forgot about the roller coaster.

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And I went around on it three times in a row.

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Gee, fellas, you don't know what you missed.

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That was a real loop-the-loop.

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Then there was Enchanted Island.

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A place where all us kids were parked while parents

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tramped around by themselves on the fairgrounds.

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We had a roller coaster out there too.

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And each one of us drove his own car.

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My dad stayed with me and had as much fun as I did.

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They had all kinds of giant figures on this island.

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And a house filled with marbles.

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You should have seen it.

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There were lots of swell-looking buildings

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all over the fairgrounds.

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The kind you never see around here.

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One of them, the Travel and Transport Building,

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had a dome that was supposed to go up and down.

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That was because it was suspended by cables,

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like a bridge.

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They called it the Breathing Dome.

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It sure was an ock-out.

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And do you fellas know what else I saw?

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Admiral Byrd's ship.

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And just back from the South Pole too.

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Gee, she was a beauty.

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And what a whale of a view we got

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at the whole north end of the fair.

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You could see the lagoon,

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and all the buildings clear as a whistle.

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Right near us was the Hall of Religion.

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That's where they had the Holy Grail.

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Remember?

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The cup that all the knights went out to capture

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for the church.

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And all this that I've been telling you

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is only a drop in the bucket.

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There were so many more things

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that I could never get through telling you all about them.

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I'll never forget it as long as I live.

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And gee, you should have seen

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a beautiful firestone building.

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And what a show they put on.

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They had the best spot at the fair.

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Their place was jammed all the time.

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One morning we entered the fair

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at the 23rd Street entrance.

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And right before us was the Mammoth Firestone Exhibition.

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The buildings and gardens covered several acres.

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And I'm not seeing it when I say

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that the Firestone Factory and Exhibition Building

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was one of the finest industrial exhibits on the grounds.

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To the right and left of the entrance were huge displays

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in which many of the Firestone products were shown.

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One had airplane tires

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and the other products Firestone makes

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for the aviation industry.

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Another showed race cars and the world's records

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won on Firestone tires.

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Indisputable evidence of Firestone dependability.

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There were pictures of the leading race drivers

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who chose Firestone tires

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just because of their extra stamina

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and safety construction features.

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In another display,

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shown the various styles of footwear

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which are made by Firestone.

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Not only rainy weather footwear,

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but smart, stylish shoes for sport and vacation use.

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Firestone boots, galoshes, sports shoes,

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bathing shoes and canvas footwear

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are built to the same high standard of quality

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as Firestone tires.

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Next came a unique display of Firestone tires,

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tubes, wheels, rims, batteries, spark plugs, brake line,

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anti-freeze, auto cleaner and polish,

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fan belts, top dressing, radiator cleaner

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and many other Firestone automotive necessities

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showing just what part of the car each product serves.

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And then a turntable

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on which various types of rubber products

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made by Firestone were shown.

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These included motor supports and vibration dampeners

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used to minimize vibration on motors and machines

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of all kinds.

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Rubber flooring and mats,

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rubber tubing of all kinds and sizes.

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You know, they actually vulcanize rubber to metal

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and Firestone leads in manufacturing rubber parts of this kind.

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In the gardens, there were many very interesting displays.

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One showed the latest Firestone tire development for tractors.

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Thousands of farmers learned that with Firestone

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low-pressure tractor tires,

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they could plow more acres per day,

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save gasoline and do all kinds of farm work better and cheaper.

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Firestone pioneered and developed these big tires for tractors

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which use only 12 pounds of air pressure.

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It's amazing how economical and efficient they are.

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They save 24% in fuel and increase the speed from 26% to 37%.

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As we passed through the lovely gardens,

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we came upon a display of Firestone truck and bus tires.

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I was amazed at the size of these giant sturdy tires.

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I later saw them on those big greyhound buses

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that took us from one end of the fair to the other.

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I also learned they were on the 131 buses

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of the Washington, D.C. Railway and Electric Company,

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which in 1931 and 1932

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ran more than 7 million bus miles

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without a single tire failure.

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Farther on in the garden,

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there was another interesting display of Firestone rims,

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wheels and rim parts for all makes of passenger cars, trucks and buses.

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Firestone, you know, developed the first demountable rim for commercial use.

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And today is one of the largest makers of rims in the world.

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Firestone truck rims are used by nearly every truck manufacturer

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and more of them are used than rims.

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You should see the new Firestone wheels and rims

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for the new Firestone air balloon tires.

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Firestone seems to lead in everything.

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To really appreciate the size, scope and beauty of the Firestone exhibits,

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we walked back and viewed it from a distance.

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Only from such a vantage point could one fully appreciate

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what a marvelous ensemble,

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the combination of gardens

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and the brilliantly colored building created.

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Covered, all framed in a bed of smooth green turf.

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Its simple beauty was a symbol of the quality built into Firestone products.

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But there was an even greater treat in store for us.

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Placed in an exquisite setting of lawns, flowers and shrubbery,

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were the Firestone singing color fountains.

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An indescribable harmony of effects in color and sound.

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Six dome-shaped fountains of spray-tipped beauty,

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emerging from a pool 100 feet long.

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We were fascinated by their sheer loveliness.

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No visit to the fair was complete without witnessing the beauty

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of the Firestone exhibit at night.

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Instant changing of the color of the Firestone sign

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and the soft but brilliant reflection of blue, red and orange lights

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gave one the impression of a mammoth and gorgeous fairyland.

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At night the fountain domes were transformed into a fantasy of a thousand hues and shades.

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Constantly changing color,

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these color variations were in perfect harmony with the music

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brought to this fountain of green.

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Actually, these shifts in color and tone

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were controlled by the vibrations, rhythm of the music.

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Day or night there was no exhibit on the fairgrounds

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that attracted the attention, interest and admiration of the millions of visitors

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that was accorded the Firestone singing color fountain.

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Justly accredited as being the artistic file of a century of progress.

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The multicolor shadow sign and the singing color fountain

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were the only ones of their kind in the world.

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They were truly symbolic of the craftsmanship, quality and beauty of Firestone products.