This photo was taken from the top of the New York State Pavilion's observation tower (over 200 feet high). If we could magically turn the camera just a bit to the left, we'd be able to see the impressive General Motors "Futurama" building. No such luck! Fortunately there is plenty of other neat stuff to see.
From left to right you can see the Travel and Transportation building including the distinctive Moon Dome, which showed a Cinerama production on a 360-degree screen that explored "man's environment from the nucleus of the atom to outer space".
The building that looks like a giant "T" is the Port Authority Heliport (see the helicopter landing on top?).
Between the Moon Dome and the Port Authority buildings is the huge Chrysler pavilion. Among the wonders that you would see here were a giant "one-million horsepower" engine that visitors could walk through. You could also take an airborn ride along a simulated assembly line. Sounds pretty cool!
U.S. Rubber constructed a huge tire-shaped ferris wheel that soared 80 feet into the air. There were 24 gondolas seating 4 people each. To the right of that was Sinclair Dinoland, which displayed 9 life-sized fiberglass dinosaurs (some animated). Inside its building you'd see "erupting volcanoes, flashing lightning and bubbling streams show what the earth was like at several stages of its growth starting with its birth 4.5 billion years ago."
If you look carefully to the right of Dinoland, you can see the Alpine building from Lowenbrau Gardens, and the Avis-sponsored Antique Car Ride. In the distance you can see the curvy Hall of Science building (which still stands today).
And finally, to the extreme right, there is the massive Ford Pavillion which holds Walt Disney's Magic Skyway.
For those of you interested in the 1964 New York World's Fair, I highly recommend this wonderful site!
Thanks for taking the time to create that widescreen look at the fair. How great it must have been to be there at that moment!
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. Tire still exists along the highway near Detroit (but it's no longer a Ferris wheel.)
The site you reccomended is a good one; I've spent many an hour there over the past few years.
Take care and keep up the good work...
dateline Oct 21, 2008
ReplyDeleteim writing from the future to thank you, Major, for the link to this website as well as this awesome image!! : )