73 years ago today, the World's Fair (1939 edition) had its grand opening with a whopping 206,000 people in attendance.
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The 1939 World's Fair Opened 73 Years Ago Today, But These Photos Never Get Old!
Can Obama Save The New York State Pavilion?
The New York State Pavilion, once the centerpiece of the 1964 World's Fair, was landmarked by the state (not the city) in 2009, but it's two years later and the thing is still falling apart. Could President Obama be coming to the rescue? According to the Daily News, his top advisers are pushing to rescue not just one, but two Queens landmarks—the other being the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills (the stadium that has a history of hosting the U.S. Open.).
Re-Constructing the 1939 New York World’s Fair
This Sunday the Queens Museum of Art will unveil their latest exhibit, titled Future Perfect: Re-Constructing the 1939 World's Fair. Did you know it took up 1,216 acres of New York City's land? The museum notes that it spanned "from Flushing Bay on the north side to Kew Gardens on the south, and from the Federal Building on the east side in Flushing to the western entrance gate on 111th Street in Corona." It took three years to complete the construction, and finally opened in April of 1939.
Another 1964 World's Fair Structure Bites The Dust (In A Fire!)
The Austrian Pavilion from the 1964 World's Fair may have escaped the decay its sister buildings are suffering in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, but the Daily News is reporting the alpine spruce building was damaged by a fire on January 24th. Following the World's Fair it was brought upstate and became a ski lodge, but owner Jack Van Scoter told the paper they fear they "would never be able to rebuild in the same form as the Austrian Pavilion."
Fate Of World's Fair Towers To Be Decided By A New Study
What should happen with the 1964-65 World's Fair towers? It's a question that's been posed for many years now, and still has no definitive answer. Today the Daily News reports that the city will conduct a $300,000 study next year on the "below-grade parts of its elliptical rotunda and its spaceship-like towers."
Finally: Unisphere Fountain Restored!
One small step for the remains of the 1964 World’s Fair site: the Unisphere Fountain has been restored and reopened after nearly $2 million in improvements! Earlier this week Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe & Co. cut the ribbon at the site of the Queens icon at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The Unisphere was officially designated a New York City Landmark in 1995, and this is the first time the fountain has been operational since that designation was made.
Iron Man Transforms World's Fair Site
Heads up, Queens: Iron Man is coming your way! The blockbuster's sequel starring Robert Downey, Jr. is due out this May, and currently has a regular website set up along with a promo site for something called Stark Expo. Yes, it's all part of a well-oiled marketing machine, but the latter features Flushing Meadows Corona Park as the venue for the fictional event. It's just too bad the Hollywood fat cats didn't rejuvenate the now-decrepit World's Fair site for real.
Help Save A Landmark!
After the New York State Pavilion at the former World's Fair site gained landmark status, the structure finally started moving towards getting preserved. Now's your chance to help out! The HDC reports that this Saturday and next they're looking for 12-40 volunteers "to help out onsite on... performing a range of activities from removal of invasive vegetation, to the careful and systematic collection and bagging of map fragments that have been dislodged from the floor of the Pavilion." RSVP here, and meet in Flushing Meadows Park at 9 a.m. (further instructions will be sent out prior to meeting).
Landmarked Pavilion Moves Towards Preservation
Whenever there's a story about the site of the World's Fair you can be certain the words neglected and/or deteriorated will be used. Last year the city was criticized for not better preserving the 130' x 166' terrazzo replica of a Texaco New York State road map at the New York State Pavilion. The winter weather dislodged and even cracked panels after a decision not to protect it was made.
Tent Of Tomorrow Is "Severely Deteriorated"
The NY State Pavilion on the grounds of the old World's Fair site in Flushing may have just been landmarked, but the Tent of Tomorrow is on the verge of becoming extinct (after all, it was endangered years ago). The Daily News has an update on the area after Queens News obtained a 99-page report through the Freedom of Information Act... and the future isn't looking very bright.
Diner of Tomorrow Now Just Regular Diner in NJ
Recently the Scouting NY scout came across The White Mana Diner in Jersey City, which long ago was touted as the "Diner of Tomorrow!" at the 1939 World's Fair in Flushing, Queens. The Scout says "it was designed so that a waiter never had to walk more than 10 feet to get to the grille, cash register, or counter." The establishment sold 10 cent burgers and had curb service—and at the time, it also bragged about being the "Introduction to Fast Food," so we know who to blame now.
NY State Pavilion Gets Landmarked
The New York State Pavilion, just one part of the decaying 1964 World's Fair in Queens, won state landmark approval! A designation that the Daily News says "opens it to desperately needed rehab grants." (Plans to do something with the site have been in the works for years.) It's also been nominated as a national landmark. In related news, Jenny 8. Lee pens a breathless piece on city landmark status granted to 100 middle-class residential buildings in Queens and on Staten Island; "The bulk of these buildings, 96, are modest century-old three-story buildings in the Ridgewood North Historic District." It looks like everything is coming up Queens today! Perhaps they'll take another gander at Kerouac's old house.
Neglected Unisphere Sprouts Grass in Queens
The Unisphere, the once shining centerpiece of the World's Fair, has been so neglected that it's begun to sprout grass through its cracks. The Daily News pointed it out to the Parks Department, who "suspect that bird droppings and leaves collected in the base of the 12-story landmark, providing the perfect conditions for germination when seeds blew in and feasted on rain water."
The Winter of the World's Fair's Discontent
Last we checked in on the World's Fair site, the 130' x 166' terrazzo replica of a Texaco New York State road map, created in the mid-60s by architect Philip Johnson, was in "advanced disrepair." So much so that the Queens Museum of Art revisited the map in its original glory, as well as the present-day plans to protect it (the Parks Department and UPenn's Historic Preservation program had been working to restore some of the map).
1964-65 World's Fair Revisited
Modern Mechanix has an old National Geographic from 1965 with a huge spread on the World's Fair in New York. Step back to the atomic era and see the now-endangered Tent of Tomorrow in its glory days. Not many of these structures and rides exist today, at least not in New York; the giant tire is alive and well in Detroit, and of course, the Walt Disney-created ride, "It's a Small World" is still going -- check out some video of it here.
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