The Krupp Gun Pavilion at the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition: The world's largest gun.

Friedrich "Fritz" Alfred Krupp

Friedrich Alfred Krupp (1854–1902) was known as the wealthiest man in Germany at the time of the World's Columbian Exposition, and his estimated worth was over 125 million dollars ($3.6 Trillion today) with a personal annual income of $10 million ($288 Million today). The Friedrich Krupp cast steel company was started by his grandfather in 1811 in Essen, Germany, passed to his father Alfred Krup", "The Canon King," and became his upon father's death in 1887. During this time, the Krupp family was also the largest employer in Germany, with an estimated 45,000 employees.

Friedrich Alfred Krupp was known as "Fritz" since the age of 14 and was nothing like his father and grandfather, at least not at first glance. While his father Alfred was known as a stern industrialist and actively involved in the political activities of Germany, Fritz was more interested in natural science, generosity, and suffered from asthma, which was more than likely the result of growing up around the poor air quality which surrounded the steel making factories. At one point, his father had thought of disowning him and naming one of his nephews as heir, but eventually, Fritz reluctantly gave in to his father's wishes and took over when his father passed in 1887. While the Krupp empire was involved in many aspects of metal manufacturing, the tools of war, specifically the Krupp canons, made the Krupp name world-renowned.

THE  TWO  KRUPP  COMPANIES:

KRUPP  CAST  STEEL  COMPANY, founded  1811. 

KRUPP'S  HOUSEHOLD  APPLIANCE   MANUFACTURERS,

founded 1846.       (Coffee  Grinding & Brewing Machines)

The 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition was the perfect venue to show off the metalworking prowess bearing the Krupp name, and Krupp spent a good amount of his own money on it.

The Krupp Gun Pavilion (also known as the Krupp Gun Exhibit) was impressive on its own. It was created to cross between a fortress. The Krupp family home since 1873. 

German architects decided to use timber and steel rather than white plaster for the majority of buildings in White City. The style of the building was also unique; historical and regional forms were mixed so that the building as a whole embodied the entire German aesthetic.

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The entrance hall was 138 feet long by 25 feet wide by 30 feet high, while the main exhibit hall was 197 feet long by 82 feet wide by 43 feet high. It was located between the replica of the Convent La Rabida and the Leather Exhibit just south of the moving sidewalk and Casino Building. This area is currently occupied by the La Rabi Children's Hospital. The structure cost Krupp upwards of 1.5 million dollars to erect and about the same amount to transport to and from the fair. The pavilion housed tools of war and peace, but the big gun drew the crowds.

The $1.5 Million Krupp Pavilion, 1893 World's Columbian  Exposition.

Known as the most extensive canon in the world, the canon barrel weighed just over 240,000 pounds, was 46 feet long, 6.5 feet in diameter at the breech and the muzzle opening (the caliber of the gun was 16.54 inches). According to a Krupp representative, it could fire a 2,000-pound projectile over a distance of 13 miles (Krupp literature claimed only 5.5 miles). When using the shrapnel version, the 1-ton shell would explode 3400 steel balls weighing about a quarter-pound each. You did not want to be on the receiving end of this artillery piece. The gun cost Krupp about $200,000 to produce and $80,000 to transport to the U.S. At the end of the fair,  Krupp offered the weapon to the U.S. military for $223,000, including the turret and all mountings. The U.S. quickly rejected the offer because they believed the gun was too dangerous and too expensive to operate at $1,500 per shot.

Inside the main exhibit hall of the Krupp Pavilion, showcasing two of the world's largest steel canons. It had been said that both worked poorly. 

There was also a rumor that Krupp was going to donate the gun to the City of Chicago, and the city, in turn, was going to use it in a fort which was going to be placed opposite Hyde Park on five acres of the parks land which would have had a clear view of the lakefront from the Evanston lighthouse to Calumet Lake. That rumor was quickly proven to be false.

Aside from the spectacular guns, Krupp introduced the Expo crowds to something that they had not experienced before, indoor air-conditioning. People had often entertained the idea of cooling a building in warm temperatures, much like heating a building in cool temperatures, but up to this point, they had not seen such a device in actual service.

Krupp Gun Exhibit Building is located across the water. [today's Navy Pier]

Krupp had two "Glacier Fountains," as they were called, in the main exhibit hall on the northeast and southwest corners. He had used these cooling devices at his cast steelworks at Essen, Germany, since 1890 and were designed and engineered there between 1884 and 1886 by Dr. William Raydt of Hanover. The fountains sprayed freshwater upward and, over a series of copper coils that contained salt water, cooled to a point below freezing. As the water froze to the coils, it created a block of ice that cooled more of the freshwater and, subsequently, the air surrounding the water, which then dropped to the ground, making more room for warm air and creating a circulating cooling effect. The refrigeration machine used to cool the water used carbonic acid and was designed and patented by Dr. Raydt. During the warm months of the fair, you could see people placing their hands close to the fountain to cool themselves, like you would see people trying to warm themselves next to a stove. 

Krupp was ahead of his time in how he treated his employees. Around the world, there was a growing distrust between employees and employers, but Krupp was a leader in employee relations. He built entire colonies or towns for his employees. He provided them with family housing, bachelor housing, schools, libraries, parks, hospitals, and gymnasiums. He also created a pension fund for those who achieved 20 years of service, a disability pension fund for those hurt in the performance, and a fund for the widows and children of workers who had died. He also set up the predecessor of our 401(k) by having workers opt to invest 3% of their income, and the company would match 100% of their contributions.

Additionally, he paid for a retirement home for the elderly among the retired. He did all this to create a sense of loyalty and family among his workforce. Oddly enough, all of this benevolence toward his employees created contention between the Krupps and the Socialist Democratic Party, which thrived and gained support based on vilifying big business, which generally did not treat their employees well. This could have ultimately led to his undoing.

After the Expo ended,  Krupp dismantled his pavilion, and by the third week of March 1894, it was on its way back to Germany by Steamer.

NOTE: I doubt the Krupp Pavilion was reconstructed in Germany. Most likely, the steel and other building materials that were saved and packed up were used for other purposes.

Krupp merged with Thyssen AG in 1999, creating Thyssen Krupp AG, a leading global manufacturer of steel, construction materials, automotive parts and assemblies, and industrial and mechanical services. Thyssen Krupp AG also produces amusement and sports items such as sparklers (fireworks), bobsleds, and protective glass (polycarbonate) panels for ice hockey rinks. 

By Ray Johnson ©
Edited by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.