The following is from the State Fair walking tour brochure:
"Streetcar Arch"
"Installed 1934, reinstalled 2014"
"Then: It's hard to believe, but horses and mules were once used as a mode of transportation to the State Fair. By the 1890s, a different type of horsepower took over: trains and streetcars. The railway allowed companies such as Royal American Shows to unload a 90-car train filled with midway attractions at the fair. Streetcars brought visitors into the heart of the fairgrounds. In 1934, those tracks were shortened, introducing a new gate entrance and steel arch inscribed with 'State Fair' to welcome guests fresh off the streetcar rails. Streetcar transportation remained popular until the '50s when its usage declined with a new mode of public transportation: the bus."
"Now: Fair visitors arrive at the fair by bus, car, or bicycle. Although the Royal American Shows train doesn't chug into the State Fair station anymore, a red and yellow train car from a bygone era sits in the West End Market next to the Transit Hub. Another treasure from the old railroad days can be seen overhead by the History & Heritage Center: the restored Streetcar Arch.
