Rochester Centennial Committees on Arrangements Collection

On March 28, 1933, the Rochester City Council passed a resolution calling upon Mayor Owen to establish a committee for the commemmoration of Rochester's centennial the coming year. Owen failed to do so before the end of his term. Instead, on July 30, 1933, new Mayor Percival Oviatt issued a proclamation looking forward to the city's impending centennial and establishing a committee of 100 prominent citizens to plan appropriate celebrations. Under the leadership of Bausch & Lomb director Carl S. Hallauer, the executive committees first met on September 5, 1933. In this meeting, a number of subsidiary committees on such subjects as Finance, Music and Publicity were established. These committees worked together to create a centennial program, which culminated in the "Century on Parade" exhibition in Edgerton Park from August 11 to September 9, 1934. A grand outdoor theatrical pageant, called Pathways of Progress was also staged at Edgerton Park under the direction of Edward Hungerford, who had previously produced Wings of a Century for the Chicago World's Fair and The Fair of the Iron Horse for the cnetennial of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The events formed a comprehensive celebration, even integrating the year's Grand Army of the Republic convention into the festivities, and including joint events with Toronto due to that city also celebrating its centennial in 1934.