The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-02
FIRST NIGHT or EARLY SHOW.
THOUSANDS FLOCK TO SEE AUTO
EXHIBITS.

-
New Departure of Automobile Club Proves
q success In Grand Central Palace
Even with II. ZOO square Feet OF space
some Exhibitors Are Crowded Out.
After having received a sort Of official
stamp OF approval from the several thou
a enthusiasts who were present at the
private view for members in the afternoon
the seventh annual automobile show of the
Automobile Club OF America was opened
at 3 O'Clock last night In the Grand Central
Palace at Lexington avenue and Forty
third street. Long before the doors were
opened there were hundreds Of people lined
up outside the doors of the building, while
the number of automobiles and carriages
in the nearby streets made the locality
resemble the neighborhood Of a theatre
where some popular star was about to launch
a g play. The new play simile held good.
too, for here was an instance where some
thing new was being tried in that it marked
the beginning Of an early show, some
thing which had been declared unfeasible
by those who believe that January is the
better month in which TO introduce to the
public the latest models OF both American
and foreign built cars.
1t was the opinion Of the show committee
Of the A. c. A., Gen. George Moore Smith,
William Pierson Hamilton and Alan r.
Hawley, that December was the proper
month In which to hold an exhibition OF
automobiles and accessories, which opinion
was acquiesced in by the American Motor
Car Manufacturers Association, which
contracted for a large block Of space for
its members. There are thirty-nine firms
holding membership in this organization
of makers, which assured the success Of the
show in advance by taking rs 900 square
feet of space to be apportioned among
it's members. In all the club had 5000
square feet OF space, but though this is more
than has ever before been available for an
automobile show in this city, IL was not
enough to satisfy the demands of would-be
exhibitors, the club being compelled to re-
fuse the applications of more than fifty
concerns that wished to exhibit,
As there is no great open space above, as
in Madison Square Garden, the show COM
mittee was not confronted with the prob
lem of hiding vast areas OF walls as It
was for last years show in the uncom-
pleted Sixty-ninth Regiment Armory. Ac-
cordingly the decorations are simple and
quiet, partly in response to a belief that
elaborate decorations distract the attention
OF visitors from the exhibits, which OF course
is not relished by those having wares to
show. The walls are covered with white,
while green is used to drape the edges OF the
galleries. The spaces are carpeted in brown
and the signs have white backgrounds with
green lettering.
On entering the main floor the first object
TO meet the eyes of visitors is a huge wheel
suspended at the other end OF the main
aisle. The wheel is about twenty feet In
diameter and has a foot wide rim to simu-
late a tire, in which are imbedded hundreds
of incandescent electric lamps. There
are ten immense red spokes and a big gold
hexagon hub cap. Two scmi-circular
scrolls entwined inside the wheel contain
letters of light, spelling the name. The
Automobile Club of America" The familiar
artillery wheels, with the words Auto
mobile Club of America" on them are hung
at regular intervals against the railing
Of the gallery floor. Suspended from the
edge OF the visitors gallery, above the
gallery floor, are a number of club flags,
yellow. with a green cross and a red artillery
wheel'in the middle.
Altogether there are more than 230 exhibit
tors in the show. of whom eighty-ive are
showing automobiles. In the auto
mobile division the exhibits Of Ameri-
can cars number sixty-fiye; the other
twenty being the products of English,
French, German and Italian factories.
For the private view for members OF
the automobile club n their friends
in the afternoon there were quite a few
exhibits that were not complete, but this had
been remedied in the two hours between
0 and 8 o'clock, when the show was thrown
open to the public.
The pleasure vehicles have the main floor
all to themselves, and in fact there are some
exhibits Of machines of this type on the
gallery floor in addition TO those on the
main floor. Commercial cars and motor
cycles are also show on the gallery floor,
as well as most of the exhibits of tires and
accessories, though several accessory firms
ave been forced TO be content with spaces
in tho visitors gallery. The large exhibit OF
the Aero Club of America and the moving
pictures of the Vanderbilt cup race and
other land and aerial contests are in rooms
above the gallery floor on the F~orty-fourth
street side of the building.
The ticket takers estimated that between
four and five thousand persons were present
for the private view in the afternoon between
4 and o O'Clock, and the crowd that showed
up for the regular opening from = O'Clock
until IL was too dense for an estimate TO be
made of its size until the tickets can be
counted. Beginng Tomorrow the show
will be or en- from 10 o'clock in the morning
until II O'Clock at night until next Saturday
evening. The building can be reached di-
rect by all Lexington avenue cars, and is
but a block and a half from the Grand Cen
trail station of the Subway, while the Third
avenue elevated and Forty-second street
crosstown cars leave passengers within
easy reach of the show. Unlike the prac-
tice to be followed out on two days for the
Madison Square Garden show in January,
the admission each day will be so cents.
Among those who were present for the
private view we're Andrew Carnegie, VIM
throp T.. S%carritt, former president CT the
A. G. A., and President Alfred Wilmarth Of
the Long Island Automobile Club of Brook
lyn. Mr.. Nilmarth had neglected To bring.
along with him the engraved invitation he
had received, and it looked for a time as il
he would not he admitted, as those in charge
OF affair at the ticket gates said that they
could not do anything unless Mr.. ilmarth
had an invitation, though there we're other
instances noted where such Spartan strict
ness was not observed. A friend of Mr..
Wilmarth, who noticed his plight, arranged
matters by looking up Secretary Butler Of
theA c. A.. and the Long Island executive
went in after all without having his invi-
tatinp