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OTHER GIANT STUFF (page 1)

Underwood Typewriters (all gone)
Panama-Pacific Exposition San Francisco, CA	Garden Pier Exhibit Atlantic City, NJ	1939 World's Fair New York, NY

The Panama-Pacific Typewriter took three years to build and debuted in 1915. It was designed by Underwood - the biggest typewriter producer in the U.S. at the time. It was 15' high and 21' wide, weighed 14 tons and was a fully functioning replica of Underwood's #5 typewriter (just 1,728 times bigger). Each typebar weighed 45 pounds and the carriage weighed 3,500 pounds. The paper was 9' wide by 12 1/2' tall and the typing was done by remote control. The typewriter printed out attendance figures of the fair. For more images, see this website. After the fair, the Panama-Pacific Typewriter was moved to Atlantic City's Garden Pier in 1916. There, it became part of Underwood's "Products & Progress Pavilion". Later, it was moved to a Convention Hall store facing the Boardwalk. It was there for 22 years (another source says 18 years). The Underwood letterhead shown in the postcard illustration was actually printed by the typewriter. The typed messages welcomed convention visitors. The New York Typewriter was a giant replica of an Underwood Master. Like its predecessors, it, too, weighed 14 tons and required three years to build. Letters were typed on 9' by 12' stationary. The ribbon in the machine was 100' long and 5" wide.

NCR Cash Register [gone] 1939 World's Fair New York, NY

The NCR Cash Register was the world's largest cash register. The 40' model on top of the National Cash Register Building was dsigned by Walter Dorwin Teague. The giant machine rang up both the daily attendance figures at the fair and the total attendance to date. The register revolved continuously so that it could be seen from any part of the surrounding area. The numbers on the register were 2 1/2' high. It seems the structure was scrapped after the Fair. For more, see this website. In 1939, there was another giant National Cash Register at the San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition.