FARK.com: (6085127) Once in a while, the World's Fair could be pretty cool, even if that first photo of the '39 World's Fair looks like "Meet The Robinsons" at Shea Stadium

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		Once in a while, the World's Fair could be pretty cool, even if that first photo of the '39 World's Fair looks like "Meet The Robinsons" at Shea Stadium (nytimes.com)		84
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Adman12		2011-04-03 02:56:14 PM

What's cool is the colour film footage (new window) of the '39 fair.

itazurakko		2011-04-03 03:42:05 PM

I'm drinking iced coffee out of a 1964 New York World's Fair glass right now. Shows the Hall of Science.

bwilson27		2011-04-03 04:55:28 PM

Rufus Lee King: .jpg

"Nice pucker on that gal." - Jack Hoffman.

MAYORBOB		2011-04-03 04:57:56 PM

I've only attended one World's Fair in my life -- 1964 in New York. Went there as much to drink legally at 18 as possible and ended up seeing one of the most beautiful things my eyes ever beheld -- the Pieta.

studebaker hoch		2011-04-03 05:01:39 PM

We had no idea what we were in for in the next five years.

GrymRpr		2011-04-03 05:02:18 PM

Still have my enameled 64/65 Worlds fair pin.

Worst.Fark handle. ever.		2011-04-03 05:04:15 PM

One of the coolest parts of the 1939 NYWF was Elektro the Moto-Man, which was the Asimo of it's day.
www.davidszondy.com

By a miracle, the robot was rediscovered a few years ago and restored (albeit with a different chest, since it was modified a little during the 50's for traveling performances).

www.theoldmanandtheharley.com

To this day, I'm still baffled by what the engineers at GE were thinking. "Hey! We need to design a robot that will makes the people of America feel more comfortable around robots int he future. I know! Let's make a seven foot tall bronze Frankenstein with the head of Bennito Mussolini!".

CygnusDarius		2011-04-03 05:06:38 PM

Relevant to my interests.

UsikFark		2011-04-03 05:06:46 PM

Adman12: What's cool is the colour film footage (new window) of the '39 fair.

And introduced shaky-cam just a few years before Spielberg filmed Saving Private Ryan

Refudiated Strategerist		2011-04-03 05:06:52 PM

My Unisphere still sits on my desk, as shiny as the day I bought it in 1964.

I have been been to three Fairs, none compare to NY.

CygnusDarius		2011-04-03 05:12:58 PM

Worst.Fark handle. ever.: One of the coolest parts of the 1939 NYWF was Elektro the Moto-Man, which was the Asimo of it's day.

And here's the video (new window).

studebaker hoch		2011-04-03 05:14:38 PM

The robot was a fraud.

moops		2011-04-03 05:14:50 PM

All I got was a talking Al Gore doll.

James F. Campbell		2011-04-03 05:14:57 PM

All alone at the '64 World's Fair
Eighty dolls yelling, "Small girl after all"
Who was at the DuPont Pavilion?
Why was the bench still warm? Who had been there?

McDougal		2011-04-03 05:15:02 PM

I was 9 at the 64 fair. Still have that damn disney song in my head. my father loved it, must have made me and by brother ride it 20 times!

Bagelox-99		2011-04-03 05:15:29 PM

Worst.Fark handle. ever.: One of the coolest parts of the 1939 NYWF was Elektro the Moto-Man, which was the Asimo of it's day. [...]
To this day, I'm still baffled by what the engineers at GE were thinking. "Hey! We need to design a robot that will makes the people of America feel more comfortable around robots int he future. I know! Let's make a seven foot tall bronze Frankenstein with the head of Bennito Mussolini!".

Nasty-ass totalitarian automatons were pretty much what people thought of in 1939 when you said "the future." Besides, if they'd made Elektro look like a human being, people would have been giving him hotfoots and asking him to hold their kids for pictures.

TheDirtyNacho		2011-04-03 05:15:38 PM

Worst.Fark handle. ever.: One of the coolest parts of the 1939 NYWF was Elektro the Moto-Man, which was the Asimo of it's day.

By a miracle, the robot was rediscovered a few years ago and restored (albeit with a different chest, since it was modified a little during the 50's for traveling performances).

To this day, I'm still baffled by what the engineers at GE were thinking. "Hey! We need to design a robot that will makes the people of America feel more comfortable around robots int he future. I know! Let's make a seven foot tall bronze Frankenstein with the head of Bennito Mussolini!".

White people like lothario, cigarette smoking robot

SharkInfested		2011-04-03 05:15:56 PM

reading The Devil in the White City at the moment, which is about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Great book, fascinating hitherto unknown history for me. Highly recommend it.

we need another world's fair

TravisBickle62		2011-04-03 05:18:19 PM

I went to the World's Fair when it was in New Orleans around 1981 ... most boring POS in the history of the world.

Ishkur		2011-04-03 05:19:46 PM

I remember....

vancouverisawesome.com

Science World. Other than BC Place, the only part of Expo 86 that's still there.

almandot		2011-04-03 05:20:15 PM

The two most popular sites at the 1964-65 fair, Mr. Ruff said, were the General Motors Futurama exhibition, which took visitors on a ride through imagined scenes of life in the future, and the Vatican pavilion, where Michelangelo's Pietà was on display.

Walt Disney frowns at your shenanigans

FreakinB		2011-04-03 05:22:16 PM

SharkInfested: reading The Devil in the White City at the moment, which is about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Great book, fascinating hitherto unknown history for me. Highly recommend it.

we need another world's fair

Holy shiat that book is fantastic. Anyone who hasn't read it, change that ASAP.

Supposedly they're going to make a movie out of it with DiCaprio playing Holmes.

Hit-Enter-Too-Soon Man		2011-04-03 05:28:23 PM

I'm just amazed that someone made a "Meet the Robinsons" reference! If you haven't seen it, and like animated movies, you might want to. It's good stuff - a lot better than some of the crap Disney was putting out in the years before it came out.

Savoir-Faire		2011-04-03 05:29:44 PM

FreakinB: SharkInfested: reading The Devil in the White City at the moment, which is about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Great book, fascinating hitherto unknown history for me. Highly recommend it.

we need another world's fair

Holy shiat that book is fantastic. Anyone who hasn't read it, change that ASAP.

Supposedly they're going to make a movie out of it with DiCaprio playing Holmes.

I didn't read it, but I am familiar with the story. Doctor what-his-face is considered one of the most prolific serial killers in history, and research indicates that he may have done in a lot more people that first thought. farking terrifying, the shiat that dude did, what they found in his house...just horrible.

jayessell		2011-04-03 05:30:46 PM

At the 1939 World's Fair, the RCA exhibit had a Lucite television, to show
It didn't contain a hidden projector.

The Westinghouse exhibit also had a time capsule meant for future historians.
Do not open until 6939.

Check out "The Middletons at the World's Fair" at archive.org.

TravisBickle62		2011-04-03 05:31:34 PM

Just ordered Devil In The White City from Amazon, less than $5 including shipping (used).

FreakinB		2011-04-03 05:37:02 PM

Savoir-Faire: FreakinB: SharkInfested: reading The Devil in the White City at the moment, which is about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Great book, fascinating hitherto unknown history for me. Highly recommend it.

we need another world's fair

Holy shiat that book is fantastic. Anyone who hasn't read it, change that ASAP.

Supposedly they're going to make a movie out of it with DiCaprio playing Holmes.

I didn't read it, but I am familiar with the story. Doctor what-his-face is considered one of the most prolific serial killers in history, and research indicates that he may have done in a lot more people that first thought. farking terrifying, the shiat that dude did, what they found in his house...just horrible.

Yeah it's terrifying, but the book's not just about the killer. It also focuses on Daniel Burnham (the guy in charge of that World's Fair) and all the preparation that went into it. Fascinating stuff.

TravisBickle62: Just ordered Devil In The White City from Amazon, less than $5 including shipping (used).

Did I just help to pimp a book and make a sale? Can I get a cut, Amazon?!

YouPeopleAreCrazy		2011-04-03 05:39:48 PM

Rufus Lee King *.jpg

OK, that was funny

Pinhead Patriot		2011-04-03 05:40:07 PM

How about a fair? Not just a county fair, not just a Europe fair, but a World's fair -- the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee!

upload.wikimedia.org

DavidVincent		2011-04-03 05:41:26 PM

Left over from 1915

26.media.tumblr.com

zerkalo		2011-04-03 05:48:44 PM

Expo 86 Vancouver! Still have the souvenir book here somewhere. My only drinking story relates to eating liquor chocolate candies. I believe my 16-year-old self got a little tipsy I ate so many

Sass-O-Rev		2011-04-03 06:11:13 PM

SharkInfested: reading The Devil in the White City at the moment, which is about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Great book, fascinating hitherto unknown history for me. Highly recommend it.

we need another world's fair

I loved that book, and somehow my copy of it has disappeared. I need to find another copy.

I went to the 1964 World's Fair a couple of times as a 9-year-old. I saw the Pieta, but didn't realize till I saw the earlier posts here, that it was part of a World's Fair exhibit. In my memories, it was at one of the NYC museums. I remember riding in a row of seats, reminiscent of a movie theatre, on a moving track. Would that have been the 'Futurama' exhibit?

Missicat		2011-04-03 06:16:21 PM

spottymax		2011-04-03 06:23:45 PM

Lives in Knoxville, getting a kick and wigs out of the replies.

itsfullofstars		2011-04-03 06:30:45 PM

Flushing 1939 would be my first stop in a time machine.

National Building Museum had a very cool exhibit on the worlds fairs of the 30's a while back:
http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/exhibitions/worlds-fairs.html

Slartibartfaster		2011-04-03 06:32:06 PM

Ishkur: Science World. Other than BC Place, the only part of Expo 86 that's still there

As I sit here looking over the skytrain (still called the ALRT around here, get off my lawn) I would have to disagree with that.
Not looking much different to the photo you posted of it.

Worst.Fark handle. ever.		2011-04-03 06:35:26 PM

jayessell: Check out "The Middletons at the World's Fair" at archive.org.

I've been trying to lobby the folks at Rifftrax to take on that short. I wish other people would pester them to do it too. :)

dodecahedron		2011-04-03 06:41:53 PM

The '39-'40 World's Fairs in SF and NY had some interesting exhibits in the midway that would never be allowed today. Sally Rand's Nude Ranch (new window, NSFW) was one and Salvador Dali's Dream of Venus was another (new window, also NSFW). There was some weird shiat going on at some of these early fairs. In 1904 St. Louis, they had an exhibit of Igorrote native villagers from Philippines who would walk around nearly naked and cook and eat dogs in front of fair attendees.

I love World's Fairs, especially the 30s Chicago, NY and SF, and have a huge collection of memorabilia from them. I attended the 64-65 in NYC when I was 11 but I really remember it as being just "meh" except for the GE and the GM exhibits and the Pieta. Oh, and those belgian waffles and the big tire ferris wheel. The most fun for me was taking the train to and from the fair.

There was so much cool stuff to see at world's fairs way back in the day when it was difficult to travel. The Hawaiian pavilion at the Panama Pacific Expo in SF in 1915, scene of those gorgeous pavilions upthread a bit. That's where the ukulele was introduced to America and it and Hawaiian music subsequently became a huge hit in the US.

World's fairs are mostly obsolete today; the only similar thing we have is Disney World/Epcot, with the international pavilions, the rides and the corporate-sponsored exhibits.

Mad_Radhu		2011-04-03 06:48:41 PM

It's a shame what happened to the fairgrounds years later, though.

i336.photobucket.com

kenny's mom		2011-04-03 06:53:37 PM

Dear itsfullofstars:

If I ever find that elusive time machine, I promise to let you know and take you back for the '39-40 NYWF. The surviving newsreel and home-movie footage and published stuff give me some sense of it, but the ultimate experience would be actually being there.

BTW, the NYWF 1939-40 corporation records at The New York Public Library are WAY cool, if you're a digging-through-the-archives type.

Regards,

kenny's mom

somemoron		2011-04-03 06:57:20 PM

Best quote from a Worlds Fair EVER:

Sorry Dad!

\obscure, yet not.

DavidVincent		2011-04-03 06:57:43 PM

Mad_Radhu: It's a shame what happened to the fairgrounds years later, though.

www.movievillains.com

Ishkur		2011-04-03 06:58:28 PM

Slartibartfaster: As I sit here looking over the skytrain (still called the ALRT around here, get off my lawn) I would have to disagree with that.

Oh yeah, that too.

A lot has been added to it since then. But the Expo 86 line (and the trains) are still in use.

wookalar		2011-04-03 07:22:11 PM

DavidVincent: Left over from 1915

The original was in such bad shape that it was torn down and rebuilt. (In the fifties I think) There are pictures of the construction around. Almost none of what you see there is from the original.

try fect taa daa		2011-04-03 07:25:51 PM

my mom and aunt used to take me to play in the unisphere's fountains in the early eighties... ah sweet memories...

alexanderplatz		2011-04-03 07:40:04 PM

James F. Campbell has said what I came here to say. And his Fark profile is much more interesting than mine.

MAYORBOB		2011-04-03 07:43:51 PM

Sass-O-Rev: "I went to the 1964 World's Fair a couple of times as a 9-year-old. I saw the Pieta, but didn't realize till I saw the earlier posts here, that it was part of a World's Fair exhibit. In my memories, it was at one of the NYC museums. I remember riding in a row of seats, reminiscent of a movie theatre, on a moving track. Would that have been the 'Futurama' exhibit?"

The Pieta most definitely was at the 64 World's Fair, at the Vatican Pavilion. It was on exhibit in a living room sized space as I recall. I don't recall any seats. As I recall me and the other visitors stood on a moving tramway. The nice thing was that the tramway corridor was not wide so that nobody was robbed of a good look at the masterpiece. It was, as I said, the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life.

If you go to St. Peter's today, you can see the statue in an alcove near the entrance. But it isn't as well lit as it was at the World's Fair and the Vatican makes sure there's enough room and security between visitors and the statue that you really don't get as good a look.

Any Pie Left		2011-04-03 07:47:25 PM

I was more a fan of the Stark Expo.... just stay away from the Hammer pavilion.

Sass-O-Rev		2011-04-03 07:57:44 PM

MAYORBOB: Sass-O-Rev: "I went to the 1964 World's Fair a couple of times as a 9-year-old. I saw the Pieta, but didn't realize till I saw the earlier posts here, that it was part of a World's Fair exhibit. In my memories, it was at one of the NYC museums. I remember riding in a row of seats, reminiscent of a movie theatre, on a moving track. Would that have been the 'Futurama' exhibit?"

The Pieta most definitely was at the 64 World's Fair, at the Vatican Pavilion. It was on exhibit in a living room sized space as I recall. I don't recall any seats. As I recall me and the other visitors stood on a moving tramway. The nice thing was that the tramway corridor was not wide so that nobody was robbed of a good look at the masterpiece. It was, as I said, the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life.

If you go to St. Peter's today, you can see the statue in an alcove near the entrance. But it isn't as well lit as it was at the World's Fair and the Vatican makes sure there's enough room and security between visitors and the statue that you really don't get as good a look.

Mayorbob, I realized from your comment that I didn't explain myself very well. I did see the Pieta exhibit, but the moving seats were in an entirely different part of the fair. Just wondering if that was "Futurama."

Dodecahedron I loved the train ride too- LIRR, with a logo on the side of a running man clutching his hat. "The Route of the Dashing Commuter," I think it said. Been almost 40 years since I moved away. I doubt they still have the logo or the motto. (They still had some double-decker cars in '64. My favourites!)

dodecahedron		2011-04-03 08:06:48 PM

wookalar: DavidVincent: Left over from 1915

The original was in such bad shape that it was torn down and rebuilt. (In the fifties I think) There are pictures of the construction around. Almost none of what you see there is from the original.

That's because the original was never built to be a permanent structure. World's fair buildings back then were intended to be short term temporary buildings. I'm so glad they rebuilt the Palace of the Fine Arts though, one of my very favorite places in San Francisco, a city with a million favorite places.

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