Thursday, March 31, 2011

A World's Fair Assortment

Here's another pipin' hot batch of images from the '64 World's Fair.


This first photo is from the Avis Pan-Am Gardens. As you can see, this photo shows a billboard that heralds the wonders of the Pan American Highway as it passes through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Altogether the Pan American Highway system totals almost 30,000 miles of roadway!


I believe that this is the Chun King Inn: A pagoda-style restaurant with a lake-dotted garden offers comfortable, inexpensive dining. I would have had the Hong Kong Burger, a double-decker burger with bean sprouts, cheese, lettuce, and a special sauce. So authentic!


As you can see, the Caribbean pavilion had no salty old pirates. In fact, it mostly consisted of a large restaurant that served up calypso music, steaks, and rum drinks.


This one is kind of a mystery to me (though I'm sure that one of you out there will know what it is); I thought that this must be a display of crowns and various trophies and other precious royal objects from Great Britain. BUT... apparently there was no pavilion for Great Britain! So I'm wrong as usual. Help!


Here's "Lowenbrau Gardens" (... a replica of an open-air cafe in a village square) looks like something that Frankenstein's monster should be stomping through - along with a horde of angry villagers (pitchforks & torches in hand).

9 comments:

Chuck said...

Could this have been in the Spanish Pavilion? I've just read that the Crown of Isabella, the Sword of El Cid, and other national treasures were on display there.

Major Pepperidge said...

Chuck, I am sure you are right! Thanks for the correction.

Katella Gate said...

I'm gonna tell you something that's better now than before: Chinese Food. Back in the 60s all we got was "sweet and sour yuck", but to day, it's positively yummy.

The crowns are reproductions of the British Crown Jewels. (England has a lot of crowns). The one a the top opens Parliament (The state crown), the one in the middle left is the coronation crown (St. Edward's crown), The crown at bottom left is actually a coronet used at the installation of the Prince of Wales (there are several of these too). The crown at right is the Crown of India, when there used to be an Emperor of India. There's a scattering of orbs and scepters in there as well.


Most of the large gold items that looks like table service... is table service. Coronation is actually a religious ceremony, and many of the other items contain salt, oil, etc. for anointing.

Chuck said...

Any idea which pavilion this was in?

Major Pepperidge said...

OK Katella, you definitely sound like you know what you are talking about (which is more than I can say)! Thanks for the details. Maybe this was in the Winston Churchill building? I'll have to do some research later.

Nancy said...

beautiful pics, these. thanks as always for a trip to the Fair ;)


i dont remember knowing there is a Pan-American Highway (just the airline). i need to read up on some history

Bill Cotter said...

The copies of the Crown Jewels were in the Tower of London pavilion. It was a privately spnsored pavilion, like the neighboring British Lion Pub. That's the best shot I've seen of the display.

What you list as the Chun King Pavilion was actually Hong Kong. It was a collection of rather tacky shops and had a trio of Chinese junks outside that hosted a beer garden. Chun King was a very popular eating spot, boasting complete meals for 99 cents! I have a shot of it at http://www.worldsfairphotos.com/nywf64/chun-king.htm

Bill

Major Pepperidge said...

Thank you for the correction on my Hong Kong/Chun King mistake.

Thanks also for the info about the Crown Jewels... I didn't know about the Tower of London pavilion. Privately sponsored? Do you know who the sponsor was?? Not many entities could get the rights to show the Crown Jewels, I'd imagine.

Katella Gate said...

Major, I don't think there's any problem with the British government about displaying reproductions of the crown jewels, as long as it's done respectfully.

The authentic crowns may not leave the UK by law. When George V was crowned Emperor of India in that country, he had to have a crown specifically made that was exempt from the travel prohibition laws.