DO YOU REMEMBER?

Image via Wikipedia1964 was a period in American history where the hope for the future still burned bright from the previous decade. Technology and industry were making great leaps, especially in the area of space exploration, and the city of New York recognized that the time was ripe for an encore to the 1939 World’s Fair. The planning was placed in the able hands of Robert Moses, a man who had already given the city so much in the way of public parks, and his vision would make the 1964 World’s Fair perhaps one of the best-remembered in the history of the event. Today, we thought we would travel back to this magical moment in time and take a trip to the 1964 World’s Fair. (More after the break)




 

Perhaps surprisingly, this was not an officially sanctioned event, for it would seems that the international body that oversees the World’s Fair refused to give its permission for a number of reasons. First of all, another World’s Fair had been held too recently in the United States, violating their long-standing rules. Secondly, the fair would need to charge admission and be held over two six-month seasons, both of which were also not allowed. Undeterred, the city went forth anyway, despite the fact that the regulating body would ask many of the major nations to not participate. As a result, the Fair mainly focused on American industry, with only a handful of smaller nations participating.

Located on the grounds where the 1939 World’s Fair had been held, in Flushing, NY, the event was billed as the first billion-dollar fair and attendance expectations were high. But it would take many months for this fair to catch the attention of the masses and the numbers were pretty disappointing in the first year. The fair would eventually go on to make over 50 million dollars, but only thanks to a surge in popularity in its final few weeks.

But despite the financial hardships and lack of sanctioning, this was a Fair that left its visitors in awe. The biggest corporations of the day spared no expense in their exhibits, such as the ultra-popular Futurama exhibit, hosted by General Motors. Here, visitors could catch a glimpse of what the future might look like as they traveled in moving chairs through the large exhibit. Bell Systems also utilized similar single-passenger vehicles to transport guests through a series of dioramas that depicted the innovations in the communications area, including such futuristic devices as speaker phones, touchtone phones, and the most amazing of them all, the video phone.