More New York World's Fair
I've got four from the Fair today!
I love this first picture, with two women in traditional Japanese costumes; it's possible that they were visitors who just wanted to proudly represent their country, but the fact that the two kimonos are exact matches makes me assume that they probably worked at the Pavilion of Japan.
Over at the Illinois pavilion, you would see this bronze statue of "Abraham Lincoln: On the Prairie" by Anna Hyatt Huntington. The artist clearly depicted Abe wearily returning home from a day of hunting vampires. Of course, inside the pavilion was Walt Disney's "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln". Maybe you've heard of it!
Here is the architecturally striking building for the "Festival of Gas" pavilion, sponsored by the gas industry. In addition to a carousel, there were puppet shows, a Fun House, a magic show, a "Garden of Giants", and a popular (and huge) restaurant.
One of the shows that you would see at the Dupont Pavilion demonstrated the magic of chemistry. Flowers and rubber balls would shatter after being dipped in freon; a large beaker full of clear liquid turns blue when shaken, and then gradually turns clear again - only to turn blue with more shaking; conductive paint is used to create a "wire" between a tape recorder and a speaker (you can see the recorder and speaker in the background); you'll see the creation of "instant nylon"; and much much more!
11 comments:
Does anyone know what happened to that statue of Lincoln after the Fair closed down?
A quick Google image search of the statue seems to indicate that it has ended up in Lincoln City, Oregon.
The Festival of Gas was surprisingly popular with grandfathers, especially the "pull my finger" display located on the second floor.
Bill in Denver
The layered gas pavilion is so cool! You get a sense of imposing bulk and airy space all at the same time.
(And thank you, Bill, for making the joke so I didn't have to.)
Your description of the Dupont Pavilion show reminds me of the "Professor Wonderful" segments from the Mickey Mouse Club that were filmed at Disneyland. Sounds like my kind of show.
I want to know why we don't this level of style in architecture these days. It's like everything has to look like an outlet mall any more: "Corporate Dreary," I think it's called.
This is one of the two World's Fairs I would attend if my time machine were operating properly.
TokyoMagic!, you should always pay attention to Pegleg Pete!
Bill, if you only knew how hard it was for me to avoid a gas joke.
Melissa, I agree, and I think I have a better (less dark) photo of it to show sometime in the future.
K. Martinez, it does sound like a fun show, I used to love that kind of stuff.
Tom, I'm sure a lot of it has to do with cost, as well as practicality. A box-shaped building is easy to design and build, and holds lots and lots of tiny gray cubicles!
Those two kimonos are super cool. Nice find.
Glorious NYWF...
love that cool Festival of Gas pavilion....I never fail to marvel at how modern that Fair was :-)
The first photo reminds me that "Mothra" is on the Turner Movie Channel tomorrow night!
So, years late, but I'll throw this out there for future researchers. In answer to TM!'s question, the Anna Hyatt Huntington statue shown in this photo is today located at the entrance to Lincoln's New Salem State Park, a few miles northwest of Springfield, IL. There are several copies, including the one in Lincoln City, OR.
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