This original design by Emma Mae Leonhard was made to enter in the Sears National Quilt Contest, held during the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The Fair's theme, "A Century of Progress," commemorated Chicago's 100th Anniversary. Leonhard’s themed quilt illustrates 100 years of advancement through architecture - from a small log cabin to a tall skyscraper - and the chronology of women's fashions. In the fine quilting stitches at the top and bottom of the quilt, she depicts the evolution of transportation.