Hale's Tours of the World
Hale's Tours of the World were an attraction at amusement parks and similar venues in the early 20th century. They were specially constructed spaces designed to simulate a railway journey.
Creation
George C. Hale was born on October 28, 1849. He was a well-travelled and prolific inventor, engineer and Fire Chief of Kansas City, Missouri from 1882 until retiring in 1902. Interested in the use of film, Hale came across William Keefe who had conceived the idea of an imitation railway passenger car on a circular platform that would remain motionless as a panorama of images would revolve around the "passengers" to simulate the experience of a railway journey. "Realism" would be increased with staff providing a rocking motion, a wind machine and sound effects. Lacking the financial capital, Fell teamed with Judge Fred Gifford who introduced Fell to Hale who had possibly viewed the phantom rides on tours of Great Britain. The idea was patented in 1904; Hale and Gifford soon bought out Keefe's interest in the venture.First uses
The first appearance of Hale's Tours were at Electric Park, Kansas City in 1905. The frequent claim of appearing at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition is a myth given that there is no contemporary record of such an attraction yet George C. Hale's much less groundbreaking and famous spectacle 'A Midnight Fire in Greater New York' is well attested at the world's fair.The idea was further refined under the name Pleasure Railway. The idea then appeared in New York and Chicago and spread throughout the United States and Canada with an estimated 500 Hale's Tours appearing between 1906 and 1911. In 1906 Wade C. Gifford took Hale's Tours throughout the world in Mexico, the British Isles, Continental Europe and Hong Kong.