May 16, 2022
At the tail end of the Great Depression, a former ash dump in Queens New York became the site of the 1939 World’s Fair. Groups from around the world, including government agencies, corporations, and civic groups arrived at the 1,200-acre location to construct the pavilions and exhibitions that would create “The World of Tomorrow” as imagined by a world just beginning to emerge from the Great Depression. The Fair, which intended to “show the most promising developments of production, service and social factors of the present day in relation to their bearing on the life of the great mass of the people” covered an area that was three miles long, and in some places, it was a mile wide. After it opened, 44 million people attended the World’s Fair.
The Fair opened on April 30, 1939, the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration, although some of the pavilions were still under construction. Approximately 206,000 visitors attended on opening day, and just before the Fair’s lights were ceremoniously lit on that first day, Albert Einstein spoke about cosmic rays. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the opening speech. In his address, he said that America has “hitched her wagon to a star of goodwill” and voiced his hope that the “many barriers of intercourse” between European nations would be broken down. The speech was broadcast throughout the fair on televisions, which were introduced to the public at the Fair. Of course, people were skeptical of these new devices, and so RCA created one set with a transparent case to showcase the internal components; visitors were also able to see themselves on sets. People were also introduced to View-Masters, nylon fabric, and the first fully constructed computer game.
The Seven Different Zones Offered A Plethora Of Experiences
The Fair was divided into seven zones: Communications and Business Systems, Community Interest, Government (where countries had their individual pavilions), Food, Production and Distribution, Transportation, and Amusement.
Many of the buildings were experimental, and designers were encouraged to be creative and innovative. In the AT&T Pavilion, visitors first hear the Voder, which was a precursor to the electronic voices that were used decades later. In the IBM Pavilion, they were introduced to the electric typewriter.
The Trylon And The Perisphere Were The Iconic Structures
Two iconic structures, the Trylon and the Perisphere, became symbols for the Fair. People entered the Perisphere on a moving stairway and exited on the “Helicline,” a grand curved walkway. Inside the Perisphere, people could view the “Democracity” from a moving walkway high above the floor level. The “Democracity was a diorama of the utopian city of the future, which would house more than 1 million and have five satellite towns, connected by roadways into the center of the city. The Trylon stood 610 feet high, which was shorter than the 700-foot structure they had planned for. The Perisphere, was also smaller than planned, 185 feet in diameter. However, money ran out, so they had to shrink the two structures which were constructed of 2,000 cubic yards of concrete and reinforced steel, as well as 3,000 tons of structural steel, and they rested on more than 1,000 pilings of creosoted Douglas fir. All told, they weighed 10,000 tons.
Another imagined city, Futurama, designed by Norman Bel Geddes for the General Motors Exhibit, showed a vision for a city of 1960. In this model the streets were double-deckers, and on the roofs of low buildings, there were parks and landing pads for helicopters and auto-gyros.
It Was A Financial Failure
One of the exhibitions, the Lagoon of Nations, put on a nightly show starting at 9. Using 1,400 water nozzles that shot 20 tons of water at a time, 400 gas jets, 350 firework guns, and three million watts of light, all while a band performed music which was broadcast over speakers. To create the spectacle, three technicians followed scrolling instructions which told them which switches to throw, as it was all in time with the music. The nightly cost for the colored flame display, noiseless fireworks, band, etc. was $1,000. It may have been costly, but it did earn rave reviews.
Four months after the 1939 World Fair opened, World War II began, which affected many exhibits. When the Fair closed in 1940, some buildings were kept and used for the 1964-1965 World’s Fair, although many were demolished or removed, and the rides became part of Luna Park. Although it made $48 million, the Fair was a complete financial disaster since the total cost for construction, promotion, and operation was $160 million forcing the Fair Corporation to declare bankruptcy.