Christa Tintelot
Staff Writer
Back in late April of 1964, the World’s Fair was being held at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City. People these days, especially young people, don’t even know what the World’s Fair is. Essentially, it is a huge public exhibition that is held every two to three years in one city throughout the world. The last time the World’s Fair was held in the US, it was New Orleans 1984. But the best World’s Fair, and according to many, the greatest, was the one held in Queens, back in late April of 1964, 50 years ago this week.
Color televisions, computers, space travel, and the new Ford Mustang were the top draws to the 1964 World’s Fair. There was a nationwide campaign to bring people to Queens and, because televisions were commonly found in homes by this point, commercials were played showing New York City and the site of the upcoming fair. Each day, an average of 184,000 people attended the fair at only $2 a head–what a bargain!
Some of the attractions at the 1964 World’s Fair included a gigantic sculpture of the Earth, which due to the technology of the day, was certainly an impressive feat of architecture. There was also a heliport built which housed a restaurant and movie theater. The New York State Pavilion was also put up for the fair and was an impressive feat of architecture in its own right.
A United States Pavilion was built for the World’s Fair that featured exhibits on the history of progress in the country, including a highly popular exhibit on space travel. The IBM Building fascinated many, introducing visitors to computers for the first time…though we were decades away from the modern computers that we know now.
The Pepsi Pavilion was a popular stopping point for visitors, as it featured many different children’s songs and dances from around the world. The Sinclair Dinoland was also quite popular thanks to its moving dinosaurs and other prehistoric exhibits.
Today, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1964 World’s Fair many of the structures that made up the exhibits are still standing today. It is a great reminder of where we came from, where we are today, and where we can go in the future.
If you want to see a video of these buildings or learn more about the fair, there is a video available from NBC. The next World’s Fair will be held in Milan, Italy beginning May 1, 2015.
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