New York World’s Fair 1964/65.

by Amy@AQ-V on February 21, 2011

New York World’s Fair 1964/65 / Photographer: George Silk, April 1964
Workers tending to the enormous fiberglass roof of the Tent of Tomorrow.
( Fine art print available for purchase here )
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The Tent of Tomorrow is one of three components of the New York State Pavilion designed by architects Philip Johnson and Richard Foster and structural engineer Lev Zetlin. The additional two components include the observation towers and the Theaterama. The latter is now the Queens Theater in the Park.

[ All images ©LIFE photo archive / ©LIFE ]

New York World’s Fair 1964/65 / Photographer: Mark Kauffman, August 1964
Visitors gazing at sculpture entitled ‘Pinta’ by Vaquero Turcios at the Spanish Pavillion during the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
( Fine art print available for purchase here )

New York World’s Fair 1964/65 / Photographer: George Silk, April 1964
United States Pavillion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair
( Fine art print available for purchase here )
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The 1964/1965 New York World’s Fair was the third major world’s fair to be held in New York City. Hailing itself as a “universal and international” exposition, the fair’s theme was “Peace Through Understanding,” dedicated to “Man’s Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe”; although American corporations dominated the exposition as exhibitors. The theme was symbolized by a 12-story high, stainless-steel model of the earth called Unisphere. The fair ran for two six-month seasons, April 22–October 18, 1964 and April 21–October 17, 1965.

[...]

The fair is best remembered as a showcase of mid-20th century American culture and technology. The nascent Space Age, with its vista of promise, was well-represented. More than 51 million people attended the fair, less than the hoped-for 70 million. It remains a touchstone for New York–area Baby Boomers, who visited the optimistic fair as children before the turbulent years of the Vietnam War, cultural changes, and increasing struggles for civil rights.

–Wikipedia

To learn more about the fair including its controversial beginnings, the current plight to save the Pavilion and to view or purchase vintage film and ephemera plus contemporary images, you can begin your quest below. And yes, ’tis a long list and this is just the tip of the iceberg for space age geeks, modernists and history buffs alike…

>> NYWF64
>> Tent of Tomorrow
>> New York 1964-1965 World’s Fair
>> New York State Pavilion – NYC Architecture
>> New York World’s Fair 1964/1965 – Flickr set
>> New York World’s Fair – Flickr group
>> 360° Panorama by Sam Rohn
>> Peace Through Understanding – Documentary Film
>> New York World’s Fair 1964-65, Coney Island and More – Short Film Collection
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