DuPont Sign, New York World's Fair - March 1964

Today I am presenting the second installment of slides that feature the building and installing of the huge sign that was outside the DuPont pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair (part one was posted on January 3rd). 

As you can see, the finished components of the sign have been loaded up on a big flat-bed truck for the  journey to Flushing Meadows in Queens. Thanks to this photo, we know that the sign was built by Belsinger Sign Works, in Baltimore. Looking at Google Maps, that's roughly a four hour drive (though it is rush hour as I write this). 

Here's a photo of Belsinger Sign Works; at first I thought it was still a going concern today (you know how it is, the Internet is full of old articles). But then I found this statement from a former Belsinger employee ("NJ", since it might be impolite to reveal his name here): The sign company I worked 36 years for in Baltimore [Belsinger Signworks] made it to almost 102 years when it closed two years ago (it closed in 2021). A great legacy and a great ride. My first real job out of high school! I continue my almost 40-year sign journey with one other coworker of those 36 years at a great, larger sign company nearby. This trade truly gets in your blood, lol!

I absolutely love photos like this, showing the Fair site as a hive of activity in the weeks leading up to opening day (which was only a month or so after these photos were taken - April 22nd, 1964). Just drive your car onto the property and park in front of your pavilion! The partially-wrapped pole near the center of the image is where the DuPont sign would be mounted. The blue structure behind the gentleman to the right is a cluster of phone booths.

That tall arched structure behind the sign pole indicated the location of the 7-Up Sandwich Garden, where fresh sandwiches (hot and cold) grew on trees.

What a picture! I have another similar example for the next DuPont blog post. The giant "egg" of the IBM pavilion is to the left, the red umbrella roof of the Travelers Pavilion is above the red pickup truck, and the Bell System pavilion is in the distance, almost out of frame to the right.

It's hard to believe that the Fair would be ready for guests in a matter of weeks! There's a man above the "Sofia Movers" vehicle doing a ceremonial dance to ensure good luck. The sign is hooked up to a crane, but they have to wait for the giant hot glue gun to warm up before they can put the sign in place. Yes, I know a lot about this sort of thing. Don't be jealous. 

Stay tuned for PART THREE, whenever I get around to it!