1964 New York World's Fair construction pix

I was lucky enough to acquire some fun construction photos from the 1964 New York World's Fair. Who doesn't love a good construction pic? 

All of these are date-stamped "March, 1964"; and while we all know that they could have been taken weeks or months before that, I have the feeling that they are from around that date. The Fair opened on April 22, 1964, so the place must have been a beehive of activity in the final push to get everything ready.

First up is this neat photo, taken (I believe) along the "Avenue of Enterprise", and showing luminaires aplenty, in interesting hues of green, yellow-green, and white. Obviously construction workers could just drive onto the site and park their cars, which is pretty cool. The building in front of us is the "Pavilion of American Interiors". 

The souvenir guidebook tells us: The world of home furnishings is on display in this circular, four-story building with two turretlike wings. More than 120 manufacturers and a number of interior designers are represented in exhibits dealing with everything that goes into a house: furniture, fabrics, floor coverings, paints, tableware, decorations and lighting. Among the features are 14 integrated room settings, each of which reflects a distinctive way of life in a different region of the United States. Other exhibits feature unusual uses of wood, displays of crafts, and showings of award-wining furniture design. There is a restaurant.

Here's a photo from my blog, showing the pavilion in its finished state. Unfortunately it was not popular, and did not return for the 1965 season.

Next up is this photo of the Mormon Church pavilion, with its stylized representation of the temple in Salt Lake City. Judging from the amount of photos taken, it was surprisingly popular (as were some of the other religious pavilions, such as the one for the Vatican). Is that a little tree on the topmost spire? It would be replaced by a golden statue of the Angel Moroni. (Luminaire alert #2, this time, in red, white, and blue).

You may recall this photo from GDB, posted not too long ago.

The "Festival of Gas" was an impressive winged structure, beneath which was a restaurant, displays, and... A giant elevated carousel (which) carries visitors on a tour of the World of Gas, from the gaslit streets of yesteryear to a futuristic City of Tomorrow. The carousel is visible here. Notice the worker up in one of the round carousel vehicles. Work faster guys, you only have a few weeks left!

And here is a photo from my collection showing the Festival of Gas building as it looked in 1965.

There are more construction photos from the 1964 World's Fair, so I hope you liked these!