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The Swiss Pavilion

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By Bruce Shawkey SWITZERLAND  In an exhibit area sponsored by the industries of Switzerland, displays of clocks, watches, chocolates and cheese are housed in buildings reminiscent of Alpine chalets. A tourist information center and a restaurant are part of the, pavilion.  Electronic equipment in the Time Center controls 10 modern clock towers which provide accurate time at the Fair entrances. * Admission: free. * Hours: Le Chalet Restaurant remains open until midnight to accommodate patrons of the adjacent Swiss Sky Ride. Highlights TIME TO 'THE SPLIT SECOND. The "Time Center," near the-entrance to the pavilion, is a concentrated display of the controls which regulate the official clocks of the Fair. At the front of the exhibit are the dials and indicators of a large "Master Clock," so accurate that it can measure irregularities in the earth's rotation. This clock registers the year, day, hour, minute, second, 10th of a second and 100th of a second; visitors...
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Bulova Accutron

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 By Bruce Shawkey As far as I can tell, Bulova was not an exhibitor at the Fair. Nevertheless, the company bought a two-page spread in the Official Guide to showcase their latest tuning fork technology, which had been introduced four years earlier in 1960.
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IBM

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 By Bruce Shawkey INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES  The world of the computer and the methods both man and machine use to solve problems are on display in a startling white egg-shaped theater, 90 feet high and covered with the letters IBM, repeated nearly 1,000 times. The structure towers above 45 rust-colored metal trees; located in this artificial grove are exhibit courts, a maze of walkways suspended above a reflecting pool, and a pentagon of little theaters where mechanical puppets perform. The exhibit was one of the last projects on which the late architect Eero Saarinen worked. The wonders inside the ovoid building were wrought by the noted designer Charles Eames. * Admission: free.  HIGHLIGHTS SONGS FROM THE TREES. Perched on ramps in the metal trees, musicians entertain the crowds on the elevated walkways.  THE PEOPLE WALL. A steep grandstand entered from ramp level below the theater is one of the features of the exhibit. After the audience of some 500 is seat...
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Arlington Hat Company

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 By Bruce Shawkey One of the more obscure exhibitors at the Fair was the Arlington Hat Company. Here is their writeup from the Official Souvenir Book: ARLINGTON HAT COMPANY Hats of all kinds—the largest, smallest, funniest, oldest and the most unusual hats gathered by Junior Chambers of Commerce and other organizations in contests across the country—are displayed in a museum sponsored by the Fair's official hatter, the Arlington Hat Company. Eight similar Arlington "Hat-a-rama" concessions located throughout the grounds sell a variety of souvenir hats priced from $1.00 to $5.00. They also carry the official World's Fair balloons. * Admission: free. * Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.  Hats are still big business, certainly in New York City, where hat stores are still very much in business. I bought one myself (a white fedora) when I worked in New York City during the summer of '84.
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Norelco

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 By Bruce Shawkey Founded in 1939 as the Philips Electric Company in the U.S. Introduced the first electric shaver in 1948, revolutionizing personal grooming. Became known for its innovative rotary shaving technology. Merged with Philips in 1974, expanding its global reach. Launched the Norelco brand name in the U.S. in 1966. Continued to innovate with products like electric toothbrushes and grooming kits. They also made miniature tape recorders. See below. I had one of these. They took mini cassettes and as I recall could record up to 30 minutes of dictation. Norelco ran lots of TV ads around Christmas, promoting electric razors for Dad, emphasizing their patented "floating heads." According to this ad from the Fair, they also made hearing aids and household appliances. Here's an iron and a clothes steamer Norelco hearing aid on eBay for $650 Micro cassette recorder
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The Pieta

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By Bruce Shawkey  Arguably, the most important work of art at the Fair was Michelangelo's 465-year-old masterpiece in carved Carara marble, the Pieta, generally held to be one of the finest examples of Christian art in any medium. Installed in Old St. Peter's Basilica in 1499, it had never been taken from the Vatican until the late Pope John XXIII granted permission for it to be brought to the Fair. The pavilion in which it is exhibited is an oval-shaped building topped by a cross, with a curving wall extending from the entrance. The pavilion and its contents have as their theme, "The Church is Christ Living in the World."  The Pieta represents the body of Christ in the arms of His mother just after He was taken down from the cross. The work, six feet long by five feet nine inches high, is shown in a setting created by stage designer Jo Mielziner. Spectators are carried past it on three moving platforms at different heights. There is a walkway for those who wish to vi...
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Sinclair Dinoland

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  Ankylosaurus These dinosaurs were the prehistoric tanks of their time. Ankylosaurus was covered with hard, bony plates that offered superb protection from its most formidable predator— the T. rex. Rows of spikes ran along Anklyosaurus's body, and small horns adorned its head to complete an impressive defense array.
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