Touring The 1939 & 1964 World’s Fairgrounds

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Exploring World’s Fair Icons & Remembering Treasures

By Michael Perlman | mperlman@queensledger.com

The spirit of the 1939 – 1940 World’s Fair and 1964 – 1965 World’s Fair was very much alive in Flushing Meadows Corona Park this past Saturday. It was a crisp and cold day, but that did not stop licensed tour guide, World’s Fair historian, and collector Kyle Supley of Bowery Boys Walking Tours from leading residents, preservationists, and representatives of the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park and Flushing Meadows Corona Park Conservancy on a nearly two-hour architectural and cultural history tour.

For nearly eight years, his tours have been an attraction. In addition to sharing encyclopedic knowledge about the extant World’s Fair’s pavilions and monuments within their greater context, an album of memorabilia was shared, and he pinpointed demolished sites and technological innovations that were popularized. Since most brilliantly developed pavilions and monuments were planned as temporary structures, it is unfortunate that very few physical remembrances exist. Now it is up to this generation to help secure city landmark status for the remnants, besides the already designated Unisphere.

The tour began at David Dinkins Circle, where additional attention was given to the five remaining endangered commemorative World’s Fairs mosaic medallions: “Dream of Venus by Salvador Dali,” “Robert Moses by Artist Andy Warhol,” “Hall of Science,” “Fountain of the Planets,” and “Elsie 1939.” Six more mosaics once existed. Guests agreed that preservation of the mosaics, even off-site, would offer a window of educational opportunity, enabling a greater understanding of the featured subjects, Queens’ two World’s Fairs, and ultimately the park’s creation. They felt that restoration is essential, and the idea to relocate them to a temperature-controlled space at the Queens Museum surfaced.

“Due to the Fair’s ephemeral nature, people wanted to buy memorabilia to remember it for the future,” said Supley, while pointing to his album. “You could get rings, a Bakelite camera from the Kodak Pavilion, salt and pepper shakers that were two in one, pocket watches, and a suitcase and bring it with you. It was also nice how you could buy these items back at home from your local retail, if you didn’t want to take it with you. You could buy a World’s Fair kitchen table and chair set in Missouri.”

“The World of Tomorrow” was a dominant theme of the 1939 – 1940 World’s Fair, which attracted millions of New York residents and tourists to Flushing Meadow for a celebration of technological innovations and cultural history. The Fair’s centerpiece consisted of the symbolic Trylon and Perisphere monuments, which were a 700-foot spire and a 200-foot in diameter sphere, respectively. Over 44 million visitors attended during both summers. A few years prior, an ash dump existed.

A foldout linen postcard, designed for the Exposition Souvenir Corporation by the Grinnell Litho. Co. read, “On the theory that the best commemoration is a re-dedication, the New York World’s Fair 1939 celebrates the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States, by dedicating itself to the task of building a ‘Better World of Tomorrow.’ The eyes of the Fair are on the future – not in the sense of peering toward the unknown nor attempting to foretell the events of tomorrow and the shape of things to come, but in the sense of presenting a new and clearer view of today in preparation for tomorrow; a view of the forces and ideas that prevail as well as the machines.”

 

As the tour group strolled along a pathway, Supley, with great wisdom and humor, explained many innovations. “Fluorescent lighting made its debut at the 1939 World’s Fair. That was by Sylvania and General Electric. Aqualons were acrylic fountains that had fish and fluorescent lighting. You have to imagine that if you came here from Nevada and had an incandescent lighting in the twenties and thirties, to see the parkland blasting with white-blue lighting with the Trylon and Perisphere at night, it had to be insane. When you were at the Perisphere and Trylon, they were all white with light pinks. As you made your way away, colors became darker in hue, until you got to the farthest outside curved road, called Rainbow Avenue. At night, it was a rainbow of color. It was 1939, and The Wizard of Oz just came out, going from black and white to color. I’m sure that the designers and artists were somehow in conjunction and said, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do.’”

 The 1964 – 1965 World’s Fair’s theme was “Peace Through Understanding.” The Unisphere was dedicated to “man’s achievements on a shrinking globe in an expanding universe,” and would become an immediate iconic symbol. It represented the earth and international dependency, signifying the beginning of the Space Age. It was designed by the United States Steel Corporation. “These fountains used to run quite high often. They used to turn them on for the U.S. Open,” said Supley, who hopes that a plan will be underway for the Parks Department to restore its bold yet tranquil beauty. Then he presented a LIFE magazine cover photo of the Unisphere in its original glory, and explained, “Every [capital] city was lit with lights on the Unisphere. There is a box at the bottom, where they unceremoniously cut all the wires off, so if we could do a Kickstarter and reconnect those wires and install LEDs to last longer to relight the Unisphere…”

Another ’64 World’s Fair unique design aspect was the luminaires, but now one would be hard-pressed to find even one. “There were 76 versions of these lampposts throughout the park, and they were broken down by different zones,” said Supley. They featured cubes in a variety of colors and shapes.

“By the time someone realizes that something is cool, it’s mostly all gone,” said Supley, referencing Googie architecture, as in The Jetsons. This style, featuring bold colors, large arches, and upswept roofs, was popular at the 1964 World’s Fair.

Supley introduced attendees to NYC Parks’ Retired Playground Animals (sculptures). “From the mid-century, they have been brought here to preserve them, and I love it,” he said. A sign reads, “You’ve found yourself in the beautiful, evergreen-shaded retirement home of some of New York City’s hardest-working employees – our beloved playground animals. They’ve spent their careers teaching kids important life lessons (wait your turn!), and happily enduring heatwaves, snowstorms, and a few facelifts for the greater good.”

Supley shared a postcard of what was the RCA Pavilion of the 1939 World’s Fair, designed by the famed Skidmore & Owings. “It was one of their biggest first projects. You can see it’s shaped like a radio tube. Radio glass tubes are what made radio and TV possible, so they celebrated that with the design of this building. Love it or hate it, television made its debut at the 1939 World’s Fair. Rohm & Haas came out with Plexiglas, so they used it throughout the Fair, such as in the Aqualons and televisions.”

Another main attraction is east of the Unipshere, known as the “Etched Granite Pavement.” It is not original to either Fair, but a striking and intricately configured enormous work of granite art from 1995, commemorating both Fairs, but also tracing the park’s history to prehistoric times. Tour attendees expressed their admiration and asked questions about various concepts. This pictograph style masterpiece was designed by New York’s-own sculptor Matt Mullican, in partnership with architect Miceli Kulik Williams. It features numerous pavilions, famed scenes, and inventions. A total of 464 square blocks in four groups span 3,000 square feet and offer days’ history lessons.

 

Supley highlighted the ancient Column of Jerash, and guests were shocked to learn that the top was not in sight after being vandalized. Talk is underway on how to properly secure this artifact, and even the stone historic marker along a pathway is graffitied. The inscription reads, “This column was presented to the New York World’s Fair and the City of New York by his majesty King Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the occasion of Jordan’s participation in the Fair. The column was received by the honorable Robert Moses, president New York World’s Fair 1964 – 1965 Corporation. This is one of many columns in a temple, erected by the Romans in 120 AD, that stood in the Roman City of Jerash, Jordan. The columns are known as The Whispering Columns of Jerash.”

The nearby area accommodates a soccer field, but Supley pulled out his album and explained, “Here we have the Borden’s Dairy World of Tomorrow pavilion. It is where Elsie The Cow was. Here she is inside her boudoir, getting dressed up and ready to go for her big star run.” From Elm Hill Farm in Brookfield, she made her way to the 1939 World’s Fair and toured countrywide, and made the Hollywood spotlight.

Pointing to an image of the Belgian Village pavilion, featuring a replicated 18^th century Flemish village, he said, “At first, I asked myself, ‘Why does this image of Europe keep popping up?’ Then I saw the street signs for the Long Island Expressway in the distance. Belgian waffles were most popular at the 1964 World’s Fair.” That was when an attendee of that Fair said, “That’s where the bus stopped, and they dumped you right in front of the Belgium pavilion.” With strawberries, whipped cream, and powdered sugar, the fluffy “Bel-Gem Waffles” came into a league of their own for America.

A 43-foot Modernist bronze sculpture known as the Rocket Thrower, stands prominently at the Hall of Astronauts, after undergoing restoration in 2013. Designed by Donald De Lue for the 1964 World’s Fair, it commemorates the “man conquering space” theme of the Fair.

Eyeing a should-be city landmark, Supley said, “We have the beautiful New York State Pavilion, designed by (the famed International style and Postmodernist) architect, Philip Johnson. “It has an open-air design, and the whole bottom floor was a terrazzo map of New York State, which was paid for by Texaco gas station. There was a man who came on my tour, where his dad was in the terrazzo guild in Long Island in the 1960s, and they didn’t understand why suddenly all of their parents had Cadillacs. They made so much money off the terrazzo from Texaco gas,” he continued.

The pavilion’s Tent of Tomorrow once featured colorful acrylic panels, and the walkable map once featured 567 terrazzo mosaics. People for the Pavilion and the New York State Pavilion Paint Project have generated historic awareness and engaged in a hands-on restoration. “Now the state has given an exorbitant amount of money to shore up most of the design,” said Supley. Its unique architecture can be appreciated despite scaffolding.

“Sky Streak elevators brought you on the exterior all the way up to the top. There’s a YouTube video of these boys chasing girls, and the girls take the elevator, and the boys have to go up the staircase all the way,” explained Supley. The three towers are known as the Astro-View Towers, and once offered commanding views of the 1964 World’s Fair, New York City, Connecticut, and New Jersey. The Sky Streaks sat on the bottom for a while, rusting away, and their whereabouts caused tour attendees to scratch their heads. Another component is the operational Queens Theatre, formerly Theaterama. The pavilion became the set for productions including “The Wiz,” “Men In Black,” and “Iron Man II.” It was an outdoor concert venue after the Fair, which accommodated the likes of Led Zeppelin and Santana, and a roller skating rink followed. A preservation-friendly use is to be determined.

The New York City Building is the only pavilion remaining from the 1939 World’s Fair, and holds a few leases on life. Today it is best known as the Queens Museum. “In 1964, they built The Panorama of the City of New York, which is a full scale of all five boroughs, and nearly every 15 minutes, the lights go down and the night lights glow. It’s really fantastic,” said Supley. Periodically, it is updated to reflect change, but the noteworthy buildings remain. From 1946 to 1950, it served as the United Nations General Assembly’s headquarters. The museum owns over 10,000 World’s Fair objects.

Other signature survivors of the 1964 World’s Fair include the bronze Freedom of the Human Spirit sculpture by Marshall M. Fredericks for the Court of States, the NASA Rockets, New York Hall of Science, and the Port of New York Authority Heliport & Exhibit Building, and is known today as Terrace on the Park. Another attraction is the geodesic dome, which was the Winston Churchill Pavilion, and is now Queens Zoo’s Aviary. The Westinghouse Time Capsules date to both Fairs. A remnant of the 1939 World’s Fair is The Parachute Jump, which was relocated to Coney Island after the Fair, and landmarked in 1989.

If you have World’s Fair photos among collectibles that you would like to share or donate, please email mperlman@queensledger.com to further preserve Queens meets international history and art.

Want to discover the numerous other long-forgotten treasures and unique concepts that made both World’s Fairs a quintessential experience? You are invited to Supley’s upcoming tours, usually held from April – November on the first Saturday monthly in Flushing Meadows: Boweryboyswalks.com