Saturday, June 17, 2017

Eastman Kodak, 1964 New York World's Fair

The Eastman Kodak pavilion was one of the more distinctive buildings at the 1964/65 New York World's Fair, and that's saying something! 

Here's a previously-posted exterior. See what I mean? I'm not sure what architectural style was used, except something like "Spaceage Googie", perhaps?


Today's photo were taken from the "moon deck" an undulating surface from which fairgoers could get some sweet views of the rest of the Fair. 

In this first photo we can see things such as a helicopter, probably on its way to the roof of the Port Authority building; the Sky Ride; and from left to right, a "moon berry" (that's what I calls 'em), indicating the location of a "Brass Rail" eatery; the red roof of the Republic of China pavilion; the blocky "House of Japan"; the spindly crown of the Indonesia pavilion (with the large U.S. pavilion barely visible in the distance); Shea Stadium; and the wooden A-frames of the Austria pavilion. The grassy area closest to us was the "Garden of Meditation".


In this view we can see the medieval buildings of the Brussels pavilion; the fluted roof of the Vatican pavilion; the sharp angle of the Christian Science building; the barbed wire cylinder of the Astral Fountain; and the "Tent of Tomorrow", part of the New York State pavilion.


We can just see a sliver of the Schaefer Center; the blocky hexagonal "Better Living Center; and closest to us, Pepsi Cola and Unicef's "it's a small world" (all lower case for K. Martinez), with the infraggable Tower of the Four Winds.


What a Fair!


14 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

"What a fair", indeed-! It seems we just can't get enough of it. As far as that architectural style is concerned, let's just call it "a floating carpet of concrete". It doesn't quite have the same verve as 'Googie something-or-another', but that seems to be the official description.

Thanks, Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

Wow, great views from up there on the Moon Deck! I think I spy one of Snow White's dwarfs (maybe two!) on the upper level of the Tower of the Four Winds. I'll say it again.....it's too bad they couldn't have found a use for the Tower of the Four Winds at Disneyland. If it's scale was too big for inside the park, perhaps they could have placed it at the entrance to the parking lot or even over at the DL Hotel.

K. Martinez said...

In the third pic, the red and yellow shade "discs" remind me of the ones that are/were? in front of Redd Rockett's Pizza Port in Tomorrowland.

Other than that comment, I'm brain dead. Thanks, Major.

Chuck said...

Despite the grey skies, these pictures are fair-ly spectacular!

It's simply amazing how much it's a small world looks like the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre & Museum in Vancouver.

Scott Lane said...

TM There is indeed at least one dwarf on deck.

It boggles my mind and offends my sensibilities that nearly all of this was demolished when the fair closed And that what little wasn't was left to rot and rust away. All except the Unisphere, of course, and we all know what happened to that. Has Will Smith paid to rebuild it yet?

Chuck said...

Scott Lane, I understand what you're saying. While they always tear down most of what they build for each World's Fair, there was something special about this one that makes it feel like such a loss. And the way they've (not) maintained so much of what was left over makes it that much more bittersweet of a loss. At least here in St Louis we still have a gorgeous art museum, a free-flight aviary, and a beautifully-maintained city park left as a legacy of our fair.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, perhaps the lack of exhuberance that one might have found in a Googie coffee shop or gas station is due to the sheer size of the pavilion. Who knows. I still think it’s pretty kooky!

TokyoMagic!, you’re right, I see two Dwarfs there. Rollie Crump has always claimed to have hated the way the Tower turned out - I wonder how much that had to do with its demise? If he had loved it, perhaps he would have tried to influence Walt to keep it.

K. Martinez, don’t I get extra credit for typing “it’s a small world” with no caps? A gold star? Something?

Chuck, I would be amazed at the similarity between those structures, except that I’ve never heard of the H.R. (Pufnstuf) MacMillan Space Centre & Museum. Now I need to look it up.

Scott Lane, the whole “build it, and then tear it down a year or so later” is the World’s Fair way, but it seems so wasteful, not only of materials, but of so much wonderful creativity. I don’t know what they could have done with those buildings - seems like they barely knew what to do with the few that survived. But I sure wish I could have seen them. Also, now that you’ve revealed yourself, Will Smith is going to show up at your doorstep with a nearalyzer!

Chuck, when I see photos of the crumbling New York pavilion, I can only imagine what would have happened to other structures, such as the massive “Futurama” building or the beautiful “Progressland” dome. I think Seattle maintained many of their Fair buildings and they are being used as museums, etc. Glad that St. Louis was smart about the use of their resources.

K. Martinez said...

Yeah, sure. I'll give you a gold star. Just stop by my office and pick it up during business hours.

K. Martinez said...

Oh, no! I didn't even see my name on your post. I told you I was brain dead. Now I need to wipe the yoke off my face.

dennis said...

World's Fair pictures on a Saturday! Nice!
Dennis - Levittown, NY

Nanook said...

Major-

At the moment, I'm drinking coffee in one of many re-purposed Seattle World's Fair buildings. Currently it's the KEXP Cafe and Showroom - a rather large and swell space, with a great 'vibe' (literally) - as all the kids say. With the exception of the Space Needle, Pacific Science Center (originally the United States Science Pavilion), Key Arena (originally the Washington State Coliseum) and the International Fountain, I'm afraid the remaining buildings constructed specifically for the Fair - although decidedly 1960's in design - lack the true design genius of those populating the 1962 NY World's Fair.

With GDB a daily reminder of just how fleeting so many "permanent and popular attractions" really are, I cherish what IS left of the 1962 World's Fair. Usually once/week, find myself walking the Seattle Center Campus, as the property is now known, and take the time to observe the features and buildings still in constant use, so as to appreciate what still remains. For as we know all too well, 'permanence' & 'popularity' are not guaranteed going forward.

Dean Finder said...

Moon berry, eh? I bet those would make a fine moon pie.

I read that the Tower of the Four Winds did not make it back to Disneyland because Rolly Crump was disappointed in the way it came out. The actual construction was visually much heavier than the airy design he started with.

I think that many of the structures built for the NYWF were exempted from the usual building codes (such as foundations), so they would not be sound decades later, even without the neglect.

Chuck said...

Major, here's the view of the Pufinstuf Space Center that really makes me think of iasw.

Dan Heaton said...

I love the grand style of these pavilions (there's a reason I enjoyed the original EPCOT Center structures). It's sad that a lot of them are more impressive than what's often built today, given that 53 years have passed.