April 10, 2006
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Don and I are watching (well, he's "watching" while I'm listening with one ear) a show on the History Channel and there's something on it about World Fairs.
Which led Don to ask, "Whatever happened to World Fairs, anyway?"
Excellent question. I recall when they occurred with some regularity. Most likely the cities holding them also regularly lost money on them, which would pretty well put the kibosh on 'em. Still, they seemed to be popular for a long while.
Who remembers that Seattle's Space Needle was built because of that city's 1962 World Fair?
Comments (17)
Well, DUH! Anyone who saw "It Happened at the World's Fair."
Any sister of Hazel Kriner knows THAT!
me<><
I've never seen it. Is it a movie?
For me, the info came the old-fashioned way...I read it in a 1962 Life (or maybe Look?) magazine.
My husband and I both went with our respective families to the Seattle World's Fair in 62. (we weren't dating then)
My Mom went to the World's Fair on Treasure Island in 1939 which as you probably know became a Naval Base after the World's Fair(It is the island that the San Francisco Bay Bridge passes through.) Of course, it is no longer a Naval Base.
BTW, did you know Seattle also built a monorail in honor of the World's Fair? It was one of the first on the West Coast.
No, I had no idea Seattle had a monorail. Is it still operational?
"Meet me in St. Louis, Louis" is about the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.
Here's a fascinating page -- http://www.expomuseum.com/
I had no idea they'd been around since 1851. And they're still going on, under the name of "Expo." I remember visiting Montreal with my parents sometime after the 1967 Expo -- it must have been several years after, because I was much too young in 1967 to remember that. Anyway, we toured the grounds that had been used for Expo. It was still set up as some sort of exhibition grounds with displays -- I don't really remember what was there.
Excuse me? You're talking to someone from Knoxville, and you ask about World Fairs? How much boring detail do you want to know. It was here for 6 months in 1982, and I had a season's pass. It cost $55, and it was my goal to make it cost me $1 per entrance. I made it. (Of course, it did help that I worked downtown, and we could go at lunchtime for an hour or so, but still . . . ) The fair itself broke even in Knoxville, but lots of people who thought they'd get rich quick lost a lot of money. And of course, it did contribute to bringing down a corrupt banking empire in East Tennessee, but that's another matter. I can send you pictures and tell you stories for hours and hours. Just let me know! I even have the souvenir World's Fair Beer cans -- in all 9 colors -- that I'm still waiting to get valuable and help me retire!
2 years later, there was one in New Orleans. I went to that one too, but on the day we went, you'd'uv thought it was there just for me. Hardly ANYONE there. NO lost a lot of money on theirs.
But, you're right. You don't hear about them like you used to. It would be my guess that the Epcots of the world and cheap airfare and even the Internet have killed them, because people are not fascinated with Saudi Arabia and China anymore because you can "go there" with the click of a mouse or on vacation with the mouse.
That's exactly what Don and I suggested to each other, Plummy, with the exception of WDW's Epcot. I daresay you're correct, however, since that park's "international" area is at heart a "world's fair", isn't it?
I worked at the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana. That is when Conrad and I began dating. He DOESN'T like Ferris wheels ,and I didn't like the Sky Car across the Mississippi River! Yikes!
Was the attendance always poor, such as Plummy found the day he went? Or did it pick up eventually?
yeah, attendance was pretty consistently poor. My cheerleading squad had a performance in one of the pavilions. The Sky Car was totally freaky....the Ferris Wheel was not my idea of fun either. I still have the twin china dolls my dad got me as a souvenier though. Ahhh....vague memories... ;0)
It Happened At The World's Fair...is it a movie? ELVIS PRESLEY!
HELLO!
Hazel's a huge Elvis fan.
She and Dennie want to the World's Fair in NYC in...1965? 66? Thereabouts. She brought Kim and me these nifty vinyl bags, round, hard bottom, drawstring top, that had designs of various WF attractions. Great for wet swimsuits!
me<><
I think those are the reasons, too. There's a permanent commercial one at Disney World, as you say. And, I think, the point is lost: what with the Internet accessing us to any newspaper or info source in the world, and being able to talk instantaneously to nearly anyone-- well, what's there to see? There's internationals by the thousand here at Purdue, and the unoiveristy is always showcasing its technology to excite donations and grants-- that's what all the universities are doing. Anymore, if there's some exciting New Thing, it gets taken on the road to the museums in New York and CHicago and LA and is a travelling show. Cheaper that way, probably.
Check this out...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_Fair
Velly intelesting.
me<><
Sisters,
At the NOWF, I rode the Sky Buckets over the Mississippi River. As I recall, there wasn't a bottom in them, or maybe it was a metal grate. Either way, it was an eery ride, but I'm glad I did it. There was a Mardi Gras Museum with floats and stuff on the other side of the river. We didn't ride the Ferris Wheel, but we had a giant one in Knoxville that I rode a bunch when it was here, so I was all ferrised up. I remember going to the Baptist pavillion to check out their presentation (Knoxville's was better). I remember they had a Space Shuttle there (very cool), and I bought a baseball shirt that I still have and use as a sleep shirt. Gee. It's 22 years old now, isn't it. Anyway, we walked around it in "compare and contrast" mode, and it came up lacking in our minds, but we were biased to be sure.
Margaret, where did you work at the fair?
Margaret sold video tapes of a tour of the fair, by Ed Mcmahon, and you film the person in the back of it like they were on the tour with him...she also worked at Haagen Dazs with Conrad. She was 17 or 18 yrs. old.
Not to mention Pier 1. All those miniature elephant sculptures aren't quite as fascinating when you can pick up your very own for $20 at the mall.
Aren't those towers on Staten Island, that were featured in "Men in Black," World's Fair artifacts? I didn't see them in the Wiki article, but I think they are.
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