Wednesday, June 27, 2012

New York World's Fair

It's Fair time again!

We've seen the crazy Eastman Kodak pavilion before, but this is an especially cool angle. The giant photos at the other end get most of the attention, but the rest of  this 360 foot-long building was pretty eye-catching too. Arches, domes, spires, this baby had it all. 


Walt Disney's presence at the Fair is well known (G.E.'s "Progressland", Illinois' "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln", Ford's "Magic Skyway", and Pepsi's "It's a Small World"), but this diorama could be found inside the Eastman Kodak pavilion. Kodak was a major sponsor at Disneyland as well as "The Wonderful World of Disney" on NBC. Strange that Mickey Mouse is absent.


Here's a great view of the United States pavilion. It's huge! Inside there was a "Hall of Presidents", and exhibits about the "Voyage to America" and "The Great Society" (featuring the many accomplishments of the USA in the realms of art, science, and world peace). The thing that intrigues me the most is something called "American Journey", in which ...visitors travel on a moving grandstand through 472 years of American History as an extraordinary 15-minute film production unfolds. Novel multiscreen techniques and startling sound effects bring the past to life; lightning flashes as Ben Franklin flies his kite; the waters churn as Fulton launches his steamboat; old-time movies recall the Roaring Twenties. In the finale, the viewer is swept into the future on an imaginary rocket flight into space. Sounds pretty cool! Notice Shea Stadium in the background; the Beatles would perform there in about a year.


And finally, a not-very-inspiring view taken from "Meadow Lake Bridge", which crossed the Long Island Expressway to the Amusement Zone; that huge industrial shed in the foreground is part of the "Bourbon Street" area (see the stylized trumpet player?), while the New York State pavilion looms beyond.


20 comments:

Chiana_Chat said...

*looks at 3rd pic*

*dazed by mid-century urban architecture overload*

Shea Stadium looks so cheerful. :)

TokyoMagic! said...

Wow, I'd like to know more about that Disney display in the Kodak pavilion. Were there other Disneyland or Disney character scenes? Were these figures used for stop-motion animation by any chance? And just what did Pluto, Goofy and Donald do with Mickey.....did they throw him in the Castle moat so they wouldn't have to share the spotlight with him?

K. Martinez said...

That 3rd image is fantastic! There’s so much to look at. I like the color and style of the US Pavilion.

My arrival to the fair would've been at the bottom of the 4th image as I traveled all over the United States by bus as a young adult. "It's such a comfort to travel by bus - Go Greyhound and leave the driving to us."

Anonymous said...

That New York Pavilion structure (in image 4) looks like an oil platform you might see off-shore at Long Beach or Galveston these days. Or something Lando Calrissian would have landed on?

Bill in Denver

ps: very cool pics!!

TokyoMagic! said...

I believe the United States pavilion remained standing (empty) in Flushing Meadow Park up until the nineties when it was finally torn down and replaced with the Arthur Ashe Stadium. :-(

TokyoMagic! said...

Oh, and Shea Stadium was torn down just three years ago and turned into a parking lot for the newer Citi Field. No respect for historical buildings, I tell ya!

TokyoMagic! said...

My last comment of the day! I really hope someone or some group can save the New York State pavilion before it's too late! I'm sure it's days are numbered.

K. Martinez said...

TokyoMagic!, Thanks for all the historical info. It saddens me that we are not more interested in preserving our historical buildings and architecture. I'm a big fan of 50s and 60s architecture and so much of it has been bulldozed in the name of progress.

Major Pepperidge said...

Chiana, I have to admit that Shea Stadium actually does manage to look cheerful! And that isn't a word I would use to describe most stadiums.

TokyoMagic!, I don't know anything about the display except that I've seen a couple of other photos of it, and they are basically from the same perspective. I seriously doubt that the figures were used for any sort of stop motion, but you never know!

K. Martinez, I've travelled by bus a little, and never really associated the word "comfort" with it… but I guess it is nice to not have to do your own driving!

Bill, the producers of the original "Men in Black" movie certainly thought that the New York State pavilion looked like a pair of flying saucers.

TokyoMagic! again, you are right about the US Pavilion… nobody could figure out what to do with that huge nice building, so they tore it down and made a tennis stadium. A shame! And we've seen enough stadiums (like old Yankee Stadium) torn down to know that Shea Stadium didn't stand a chance. Sports teams make too much money and want the latest accommodations for the very rich patrons (sky boxes, etc). And YES, I hope they manage to save the old New York State Pavilion. Folks are making efforts, but they don't get much in the way of money, and that poor pavilion is in sad shape.

Douglas McEwan said...

visitors travel on a moving grandstand through 472 years of American History as an extraordinary "15-minute film production unfolds. Novel multiscreen techniques and startling sound effects bring the past to life; lightning flashes as Ben Franklin flies his kite; the waters churn as Fulton launches his steamboat; old-time movies recall the Roaring Twenties. In the finale, the viewer is swept into the future on an imaginary rocket flight into space. Sounds pretty cool!"

I experienced it and trust me, it was MAJORLY cool!

K. Martinez said...

Major, The bus was never comfortable IMO. It was Greyhound's slogan of that era. For me it was super cheap transportation when I decided to travel alone all over the United States back in 1978.

The Viewliner Limited said...

WONDERFUL !!! pictures Major. Amazing. Great pic of the Disney characters at Kodak. And Shea looked awesome. Thanks!

Nancy said...

These are beautiful!!! Love Shea Stadium (reminds me of our own beloved Three Rivers Stadium) and American pavilion, by far my fave of this set.

The picture of the meadow atop the Kodak building reminds me of the one they show during the opening of Wonderful World of Color (color, color) Sunday night tv program that meant so much to me growing up

It is odd to see these characters together sans Mickey. Must have been out with Minnie!

Thanks for more cool pics from the Fair!!

walterworld said...

The U.S. Pavillion was broken into and vandalized heavily during the late 60's and early 70's and was trashed beyond restoration. It was torn down in the mid 70's. Sad indeed.

Kevin Kidney said...

Really great post. There seems to be no end to the eye candy captured on film from this fair.

Oh, and that Disneyland DIORAMA!

Bill Cotter said...

The Disneyland diorama was one of several in which guests could practice close-up photography. They would put their camera on a pedestal and get shots like the diorama, a bird in a nest, squirrel in a tree, etc. They characters didn't move, so no stop motion was employed.

Major Pepperidge said...

Thank you Bill... I have at least one photo of the bird in the nest, which I actually thought was a photo of a photo. I might have the squirrel too!!

Bill Cotter said...

There were actually two versions of the bid in the nest diorama. In one the bird is looking at two eggs; in the second the bird is feeding a worm to some newly hatched chicks. I'm not sure which one came first - yes, it would seem the eggs came before the chicks, ha ha, but perhaps people didn't like to see the worm being offered up.

Major Pepperidge said...

Bill, I just checked, I have the version with the worm and the chicks! I'm almost positive I have the squirrel, but couldn't find it in my main box of Fair slides. Maybe it's in one of my other boxes.

Chuck said...

I feel like I should be looking at the diorama through a ViewMaster viewer. Reminds me of so many storybook reels from the period.