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penpusherIt's the Most Important Fair in Human History. It's full of stories. Full of history. And millions came to visit. All of them sharing the belief that life in the universe originated here. At that fair. Well, it's what their kids believed. It's a nice story.
But as you know, the New York World's Fair really was quite the event. It introduced the Belgian Waffle to America. For that ALONE it deserves a revered place in everyone's heart! But there was so much more. We've previously talked about how Walt Disney basically had his fingerprints all over this event, a kind of Northeasterly Disneyland for the length of the go. And Disney used his exhibits at the fair as a kind of test market for the world to see what would and wouldn't work in his own parks and to perfect attractions that would eventually get used at Disneyland and the forthcoming Walt Disney World.
Let's Go Back Again to 1964, and have a look at a few more interesting snippets from a half century ago.
First up Ace Reporter Lowell Thomas, who was probably best known for his World War II dispatches, covers a slightly less dangerous assignment: the building of the Fair (as well as the wonderful new state of the art ball park, William A. Shea Stadium, which would host the 1964 All-Star Game as well). This clip is 13 minutes long, but it's especially notable because you get to see and hear Robert Moses explaining a bit about the fair to the gathered media, and President Kennedy, who was attending the fair's groundbreaking... a fair, of course, he would not live to see. If you just want to jump to the Kennedy and Moses segment, it's at 10:08 on the clock, but it's rather interesting to see the construction work going on.
Next, our friends at International Business Machines presented a computer system and a highly evolved view of the world via the IBM "Egg." You can see undercranked snippets of it dispersed throughout this short film titled "IBM At the Fair," which really sort of plays like an avant-garde cinema offering! It's 7 and a half minutes.
Additionally, we have the actual and complete film that audiences viewed inside the IBM Egg! Though you won't get to slide up into the theater to view it on the pre-IMAX style screens, it does give a taste of what the experience was like and shows the issues the company was attempting to explain and resolve. This runs About 13 minutes and is titled "View From The People Wall."
Here's the Local TV commercial that the MTA ran, advertising the "World's Fair Subway Special" that took attendees out to the fair grounds from Times Square and Grand Central. And yeah, 15 cents to ride the subway! A real shame they didn't spring for color photography to better showcase those attractive cream colored subway cars with their pale blue trim and orange accents. 60 seconds.
But maybe most comprehensively, we have this NBC TV Special, "Brought To You In (faded) Living Color," and telecast on Thursday, July 30, 1964, from 10-11pm. The program, hosted by Today show News Anchor, Edwin Newman, is titled "A World's Fair Diary." It's divided into five 9 minute segments and one final segment about 3 minutes. I almost wish the commercials of the day were included, but it's just the show.
After tagging along with Ed in Flushing Meadow Park, you really feel like you attended this fair! And with his very wry view of it all, you definitely get the flavor of New York, as well! Newman's dead pan delivery lets you know he's a serious journalist, and maybe gave Dave Letterman some ideas about his style, eventually. Here we go!
Part I - Speaking of Letterman, his eventual first announcer, Bill Wendell makes the "Living Color" call under the famed "Laramie" Peacock to open the show.
Notable here was at the 32 second mark - an uncredited closeup of Robert Moses staring out at the pathways through the fairgrounds and nodding his approval. But Newman also gives you some really candid commentary about the fair in this segment that's worth noting, and that I'm sure Moses would NOT have nodded about!
Also: We get to hear a calliope play as the theme song for the program. We're there for the opening gates. We get to ride the "Swiss Sky Ride" with Ed, who waxes philosophical about the fair on that excursion as we see the grounds from above. We get to attend a spectacular show presented by the Mexico pavilion. And we finish with a visit with the lumberjacks of the Oregon pavilion doing all their lumberjack games!
Part II - After our intrepid lumberjacks take their bows, Newman turns up the criticism again about the rest of the state and country pavilions. We get to see some of the art presented in the Florida pavilion (and not just the bathing beauties on the sand)! We catch a glimpse of the forgotten "Amusement" Area of the fair with its boring rides and New York's FIRST monorail (you can tell a lot about a town by its monorail) presented by AMF! We glimpse the circus tent from our monorail ride and see some elephants feeding in the backyard. And more Newman critical commentary about the fair on THIS ride, with Robert Moses mentioned by name this time. Plus, Ed braving the log flume ride in his suit and visiting IBM's version of Sherlock Holmes and Watson - they give you the entire segment here, so there's no mystery.
Part III - The punchline to the Holmes and Watson segment is revealed here to start, and we see how IBM stored headlines for the New York Times in a computer, and how, by simply writing a date on a card, and inputting it into the computer's drive, it can retrieve a headline from that date and display it! AMAZING! Also, more machines in the National Cash Register pavilion. We catch a glimpse of the American Express "Money Tree," and we catch a glimpse of Newman in the Clairol Color Care Salon, which must be seen to be believed.
But most importantly here you see a segment of the General Motors "Futurama" exhibit, which featured that Robert Moses vision of the future, with massive superhighways as people drove their cars from here to there (wherever those places were). We see the Vatican pavilion with Michelangelo's heartbreakingly gorgeous (even with the odd and faded bluish lighting here) Pietà. And a few minutes from General Electric's Carousel of Progress with the Disney animatronic robots! We get to wait on a line, listen to a Peter, Paul & Mary inspired folk group, and get a look inside the Johnson Wax Funhouse for the Kids and get a shoe shine there, though I don't know about the shoes being shined here. We see the mundane elements of waiting and we get caught in a Queens thundershower.
Part IV - The rain falls a bit more, while Newman has nice comments about the tourists that attended the fair. We finally get to the eating, with Newman noting you can get a hot dog at the Missouri pavilion for 30 cents, or a chicken dinner at the Oklahoma pavilion for $0.99. Pizza? A quarter a slice or 2 bucks for the pie. Or you can go to the expensive Toledo restaurant in the Spain pavilion. Dinner with drinks can cost as much as $15 a person! Newman also gets to take another swipe at the fair for making it difficult for people to BYO food and drink. More looks at the architecture of the fair including a few seconds of that Johnson pavilion in the midst. We get a look at the New York State pavilion, one of the last remaining remnants of the fair that still exists. Newman goes to the Japan pavilion and meets Tick Tock, the Seiko (watch hawking) Robot. We learn a difficult truth: this really isn't a World's Fair, proper. We get a good look at the Spanish pavilion: a 7 million dollar investment! And we see some of the art there, with Picasso naturally highlighted, and the politics of what that meant.
Part V - Nudity on a network television program during prime time? You get Goya's Duchess of Alba both clothed and nude here in all her glory (though today it is believed that these paintings were NOT the Duchess of Alba). And the music of the guitarras! We see the failure of the Belgium pavilion. We examine some of the art from the India pavilion, and get a look at the lovely Thailand, Republic of China and Indonesia pavilions. And Doctor Who fans will want to stick around for Ed Newman's visit to the Morocco pavilion. Then there's all the walking and how to deal with the affliction noted as "World's Fair Feet." Hint: don't soak 'em in any of the fountains! Keep off the grass. We watch Ed try to sleep while being stared at by a creepy corporate icon. And we get to do some girl watching with some of the lovelies of the Summer of '64. Then we hang with Susie the Giraffe at the African pavilion, and a moment of a dance performance by a group from the Ivory Coast, more properly called Côte d'Ivoire today. Greyhound sponsored trams that took people across the grounds. And Colonel (or was that spelled with a "K?") Keds, and his jet pack!
Part VI - Edwin Newman concludes during an evening to give you a sense of what the grounds look like at night, and gives his final reflections on the entirety of the experience. And we finish with a Fireworks Display and one last furtive glance at the fair grounds.
See you at the fair!
But as you know, the New York World's Fair really was quite the event. It introduced the Belgian Waffle to America. For that ALONE it deserves a revered place in everyone's heart! But there was so much more. We've previously talked about how Walt Disney basically had his fingerprints all over this event, a kind of Northeasterly Disneyland for the length of the go. And Disney used his exhibits at the fair as a kind of test market for the world to see what would and wouldn't work in his own parks and to perfect attractions that would eventually get used at Disneyland and the forthcoming Walt Disney World.
Let's Go Back Again to 1964, and have a look at a few more interesting snippets from a half century ago.
First up Ace Reporter Lowell Thomas, who was probably best known for his World War II dispatches, covers a slightly less dangerous assignment: the building of the Fair (as well as the wonderful new state of the art ball park, William A. Shea Stadium, which would host the 1964 All-Star Game as well). This clip is 13 minutes long, but it's especially notable because you get to see and hear Robert Moses explaining a bit about the fair to the gathered media, and President Kennedy, who was attending the fair's groundbreaking... a fair, of course, he would not live to see. If you just want to jump to the Kennedy and Moses segment, it's at 10:08 on the clock, but it's rather interesting to see the construction work going on.
Next, our friends at International Business Machines presented a computer system and a highly evolved view of the world via the IBM "Egg." You can see undercranked snippets of it dispersed throughout this short film titled "IBM At the Fair," which really sort of plays like an avant-garde cinema offering! It's 7 and a half minutes.
Additionally, we have the actual and complete film that audiences viewed inside the IBM Egg! Though you won't get to slide up into the theater to view it on the pre-IMAX style screens, it does give a taste of what the experience was like and shows the issues the company was attempting to explain and resolve. This runs About 13 minutes and is titled "View From The People Wall."
Here's the Local TV commercial that the MTA ran, advertising the "World's Fair Subway Special" that took attendees out to the fair grounds from Times Square and Grand Central. And yeah, 15 cents to ride the subway! A real shame they didn't spring for color photography to better showcase those attractive cream colored subway cars with their pale blue trim and orange accents. 60 seconds.
But maybe most comprehensively, we have this NBC TV Special, "Brought To You In (faded) Living Color," and telecast on Thursday, July 30, 1964, from 10-11pm. The program, hosted by Today show News Anchor, Edwin Newman, is titled "A World's Fair Diary." It's divided into five 9 minute segments and one final segment about 3 minutes. I almost wish the commercials of the day were included, but it's just the show.
After tagging along with Ed in Flushing Meadow Park, you really feel like you attended this fair! And with his very wry view of it all, you definitely get the flavor of New York, as well! Newman's dead pan delivery lets you know he's a serious journalist, and maybe gave Dave Letterman some ideas about his style, eventually. Here we go!
Part I - Speaking of Letterman, his eventual first announcer, Bill Wendell makes the "Living Color" call under the famed "Laramie" Peacock to open the show.
Notable here was at the 32 second mark - an uncredited closeup of Robert Moses staring out at the pathways through the fairgrounds and nodding his approval. But Newman also gives you some really candid commentary about the fair in this segment that's worth noting, and that I'm sure Moses would NOT have nodded about!
Also: We get to hear a calliope play as the theme song for the program. We're there for the opening gates. We get to ride the "Swiss Sky Ride" with Ed, who waxes philosophical about the fair on that excursion as we see the grounds from above. We get to attend a spectacular show presented by the Mexico pavilion. And we finish with a visit with the lumberjacks of the Oregon pavilion doing all their lumberjack games!
Part II - After our intrepid lumberjacks take their bows, Newman turns up the criticism again about the rest of the state and country pavilions. We get to see some of the art presented in the Florida pavilion (and not just the bathing beauties on the sand)! We catch a glimpse of the forgotten "Amusement" Area of the fair with its boring rides and New York's FIRST monorail (you can tell a lot about a town by its monorail) presented by AMF! We glimpse the circus tent from our monorail ride and see some elephants feeding in the backyard. And more Newman critical commentary about the fair on THIS ride, with Robert Moses mentioned by name this time. Plus, Ed braving the log flume ride in his suit and visiting IBM's version of Sherlock Holmes and Watson - they give you the entire segment here, so there's no mystery.
Part III - The punchline to the Holmes and Watson segment is revealed here to start, and we see how IBM stored headlines for the New York Times in a computer, and how, by simply writing a date on a card, and inputting it into the computer's drive, it can retrieve a headline from that date and display it! AMAZING! Also, more machines in the National Cash Register pavilion. We catch a glimpse of the American Express "Money Tree," and we catch a glimpse of Newman in the Clairol Color Care Salon, which must be seen to be believed.
But most importantly here you see a segment of the General Motors "Futurama" exhibit, which featured that Robert Moses vision of the future, with massive superhighways as people drove their cars from here to there (wherever those places were). We see the Vatican pavilion with Michelangelo's heartbreakingly gorgeous (even with the odd and faded bluish lighting here) Pietà. And a few minutes from General Electric's Carousel of Progress with the Disney animatronic robots! We get to wait on a line, listen to a Peter, Paul & Mary inspired folk group, and get a look inside the Johnson Wax Funhouse for the Kids and get a shoe shine there, though I don't know about the shoes being shined here. We see the mundane elements of waiting and we get caught in a Queens thundershower.
Part IV - The rain falls a bit more, while Newman has nice comments about the tourists that attended the fair. We finally get to the eating, with Newman noting you can get a hot dog at the Missouri pavilion for 30 cents, or a chicken dinner at the Oklahoma pavilion for $0.99. Pizza? A quarter a slice or 2 bucks for the pie. Or you can go to the expensive Toledo restaurant in the Spain pavilion. Dinner with drinks can cost as much as $15 a person! Newman also gets to take another swipe at the fair for making it difficult for people to BYO food and drink. More looks at the architecture of the fair including a few seconds of that Johnson pavilion in the midst. We get a look at the New York State pavilion, one of the last remaining remnants of the fair that still exists. Newman goes to the Japan pavilion and meets Tick Tock, the Seiko (watch hawking) Robot. We learn a difficult truth: this really isn't a World's Fair, proper. We get a good look at the Spanish pavilion: a 7 million dollar investment! And we see some of the art there, with Picasso naturally highlighted, and the politics of what that meant.
Part V - Nudity on a network television program during prime time? You get Goya's Duchess of Alba both clothed and nude here in all her glory (though today it is believed that these paintings were NOT the Duchess of Alba). And the music of the guitarras! We see the failure of the Belgium pavilion. We examine some of the art from the India pavilion, and get a look at the lovely Thailand, Republic of China and Indonesia pavilions. And Doctor Who fans will want to stick around for Ed Newman's visit to the Morocco pavilion. Then there's all the walking and how to deal with the affliction noted as "World's Fair Feet." Hint: don't soak 'em in any of the fountains! Keep off the grass. We watch Ed try to sleep while being stared at by a creepy corporate icon. And we get to do some girl watching with some of the lovelies of the Summer of '64. Then we hang with Susie the Giraffe at the African pavilion, and a moment of a dance performance by a group from the Ivory Coast, more properly called Côte d'Ivoire today. Greyhound sponsored trams that took people across the grounds. And Colonel (or was that spelled with a "K?") Keds, and his jet pack!
Part VI - Edwin Newman concludes during an evening to give you a sense of what the grounds look like at night, and gives his final reflections on the entirety of the experience. And we finish with a Fireworks Display and one last furtive glance at the fair grounds.
See you at the fair!