In 1933 and 1934, the Century of Progress International Exposition was held in Burnham Park. In the mid-1930s, the Chicago Park District used funds from the federal Works Progress Administration to complete landfill operations and install landscaping at Promontory Point by renowned designer Alfred Caldwell, a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. In 1935, Mayor Edward Joseph Kelly explored the idea of a permanent fair in the park. The state passed a bill creating the Metropolitan Fair and Exposition Authority and allowed construction of Meigs Field, after Northerly Island lost out as the site for the United Nations. In 1948, Burnham Park hosted the Chicago Railroad Fair, proving the location's viability for conventions, which eventually led to the construction of the first McCormick Place in 1960.