(Un)walking at the Fair: About Mobile Visualities at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900

Abstract

This article is a contribution to urban media archaeology. It sheds light on ‘mobile visualities’ by concentrating on the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900. After discussing theories and practices of walking, it focuses on a specific technological prosthesis for the pedestrian: the Trottoir roulant, or the moving walkway that circled the exposition grounds. Even though it was not the first of its kind, the extent, location, and function of the one in Paris made it special. The Trottoir roulant not only connected two major parts of the exposition, but traveled along normal boulevards on an elevated platform. This turned it into a panoramic viewing machine of sorts for observing the city as a spectacle. The article analyzes the materiality and history of the system, but it also discusses its discursive dimensions, such as the ‘accidentalist imagination’ it inspired and the topos traditions it activated. The Trottoir roulant’s relationship to photographic and cinematographic activities at the 1900 fair are also highlighted.