Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Around the World's Fair

One of my favorite sights at the 1964 New York World's Fair is this green cheese moon dome that covered part of the Travel and Transportation pavilion. I'm sure it looked great at night, presumably lit up by strategically placed spotlights. I'll go see the "Sea Hunt" show, and you can check out "To The Moon and Beyond" - in CINERAMA! (I sure would love to see a DVD collection of all of the films that were shown at various pavilions around the Fair).


As long as we are at the Travel and Transportation pavilion, let's take a look around. See those tires? They are not ordinary gigantic tires! They were known as "M-6 Rolling Liquid Transporters". Here's what that sign says: The Rolling Liquid Transporter makes it possible for Army units to more than double their operating range. Carrying up to 500 gallons of fuel or water in each of their huge tires, RLTs can be towed singly or in tandem over any terrain which trucks, tanks or amphibious vehicles can negotiate. Five of these Army transporters can hold enough gasoline to supply the average motorist's automobile with fuel for eight years.


I believe that this photo was taken from the Monorail; you can see part of the track and another Monorail vehicle in the distance. We are zipping past a part of the Amusement Area, including the Log Flume Ride. I guess New Yorkers were way too cool to ride in a hollowed-out log, there are two "empties" floating down the trough. I have no idea what "Franksville" was; maybe they sold hot dogs!


Here's a little somethin' for the ladies! Somebody's nekkid. For a microsecond I thought that this might be from General Electric's "Magic Skyway", but thanks to nywf64.com I know that this scene is from the Travelers Insurance's "Triumph of Man" show, which was a series of 13 dioramas showing the progress of humans from grunting goons to smart-alecky astronauts. This photo shows the first diorama - The Dawn of Man! This is East Africa and man; your ancestor of a million and a half years ago. He is ape-like. Clothed in coarse hair. But he stands upright. He can think. He can learn. Early man uses rocks and clubs to kill animals for food. He fashions small stone tools to help him cut through tough hides. His world is violent; cruel. But he survives. And this simple pebble tool is the beginning of a technology which will take man to the stars.

9 comments:

Bill Cotter said...

I believe the middle photo was taken from the log flume ride itself - I think you can just spot the beginning of a sign for it in the lower left. The ride was actually pretty popular, as flume rides were brand new then and this was the first one in the NY area. Franksville was indeed a hot dog stand and was actually relocated somewhere in the Chicago area after the fair ended.

By the way, the Travel and Transportation Pavilion was one of the last buildings torn down when the fair closed. The owners ran out of money and simply walked away from it, so the Fair Corporation had to find the money to tear it down. As such it sat there for quite some time as a sad reminder of the vanished fair. The dome you liked was a visible reminder of what had once been.

Bill

Major Pepperidge said...

Bill, thank you very much for the info; You could be right about the Log Flume ride photo. I didn't notice the sign! The Franksville building reminds me of an old Der Wienerschnitzel building that is near me.

I think I've read similar stories about other pavilions at the fair sitting vacant. While I don't like the idea of the decaying Fair that was once so lively and amazing, there IS something fascinating about an abandoned place. Imagine exploring the Fair site right after it closed....

Vintage Disneyland Tickets said...

Thanks Major and Bill, great post with lots of info.

The "To The Moon and Beyond" roof make me hungry for Quisp.

Those M-6 Rolling Liquid Transporters are too cool, what a great idea!

Flume rides rocks - not so sure about those wooden stairs to get to this one however....

Katella Gate said...

Dear Major,

I love it when you sex it up with audioanamatronic booty.

I always leave Pirates of the Caribbean satisfied knowing that under her Victorian cloths, that Red Head Bride robot is buck naked.

Mecho-prOn for ever!

Nancy said...

haha.....yes, he sure is!

"Sea Hunt" with Lloyd Bridges was a favorite show of mine as a kid, thanks for reminding me of it with that first photo! i wonder what their presentation was about. i would have loved to have seen this pavillion.

ill buy that dvd, too, Major. let me know when you find them all...


thanks as always for a visit to NYWF ;)

Major Pepperidge said...

Katella, didn't Daveland have a photo of The Redhead with her clothes off? Maybe it was all a dream.

Nancy, I barely remember Sea Hunt; I mean, I remember when it came on, but I don't think I watched it. I was all about cartoons I guess.

Chiana_Chat said...

FranksVille was Frank Sinatra's NYWF venture. It's a very small intimate club, so he could perform there while resting his voice after a regular gig. Plus he could try new tunes while minimizing risk. And if he didn't like anyone, he'd have some friends take 'em next door and send 'em up the flume. Without the log, see. The only down side was the small take from the limited seating, but he saved money on meals, you see it was also called FranksVille because it served cheap franks...

Ron Schneider said...

General Electric did not sponsor the Magic Skyway, Ford did; GE sponsored Progressland.

Major Pepperidge said...

You are right of course; I don't know how I managed to screw that up!