1964-65 World's Fair

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...

 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.

 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...

 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.

 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

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...

  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.

 By Bruce Shawkey The range of edibles at the Fair was extensive, with nearly all ethnic cuisines represented. Here is a partial list of foods fair-goers could eat. The big hit for many people at the fair was the Belgian waffles, served at the Belgium Pavilion. Many people raved about them, piled high with strawberries and whipped cream. 99 cent dishes at the Chun King Inn: egg foo young, fried rice, shrimp egg roll, chicken or shrimp chowmein, beverage of your choice. HAWAII: Daily buffet luncheons, 12-course luaus, fruits and nuts at the Sandwich Island Bar, all at the Aloha Theme Pavilion. AFRICA PAVILION: Stewed chicken with peanuts. BELGIUM: beef, crepes, lobster with cream, waffles, as mentioned above. DENMARK: Seafoods and open-face sandwiches. FESTIVAL OF GAS: America's contributions to gourmet cooking: Stuffed Amish ham, Indian grilled salmon, pumpkin pie. FRANCE: buffet and wines, French beer. GREECE: stuffed grape leaves, Greek lamb dishes. INDIA: Charcoal roasted chicke...

 By Bruce Shawkeyccri Many exhibits at the World's Fair had ties to the Walt Disney Corporation. Here's an example from the General Electric Corporation.  The Carousel of Progress ended up as a rotating theater Audio-Animatronics stage show attraction in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The attraction's premise is an exploration of the joys of living through the advent of electricity and other technological advances during the 20th century via a "typical" American family.

By Bruce Shawkey UNDERGROUND WORLD HOME  Something really different in housing is displayed here: a three-bedroom house. completely below ground level. It is presented as the forerunner of dwellings that the builder says have marked advantages for today's living. Guides explain during the 20-minute tour why underground homes can provide more control over air, climate and noise than conventional houses — as well as protection from such hazards as fire and radiation fallout. The house occupies most of the area inside a rectangular concrete shell, the top of which is two and a half feet underground; a wide staircase brings visitors down to the front door. Windows in the house face scenic murals placed on the walls of the shell. * Admission: $1.00.  As the name implies, it was truly underground, making it one of the least seen exhibits at the Fair. Not only couldn’t you see it just by walking by, but there was an admission charge to tour the home, and it couldn’t handle large crow...

Hammond Organ had one of their models on display at the fair, and M-102 spinet model. The ad mentions no guest organist playing it, it was probably just on display as a piece of furniture. The organ could be viewed in the House of Good Taste near the main entrance to the Fair. HOUSE OF GOOD TASTE  Three houses—traditional, contemporary and modern—fully furnished and provisioned down to liqueurs on the coffee table, are on exhibition in this homemakers' center. The buildings are sponsored not by one exhibitor but by scores of building, decorator and house-wares companies. Their aim is to provide visitors with a yardstick of home building and decorating standards. In addition, there is a stripped-down house that enables visitors to look into the walls and see secrets of construction that are ordinarily invisible. Admission: 50 cents.  TRADITIONAL HOUSE. This house, of white plastic clapboard, with terrace and swimming pool, is an adaptation of a rambling New England farmhouse. I...

 By Bruce Shawkey Automobiles garnered a great amount of attention at the '64-'65 World's fair. Here's an ad for the exhibit by Ford. The ride  takes fairgoers through a "magic skyway" that surely was the inspiration for Disney's "Spaceship Earth" at Epcot.  No fewer than nine carmakers were represented at the Fair, including Ford, Buick, American Motors, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Mercury, Lincoln, Oldsmobile, and Datsun (which eventually became Nissan). Honda was also at the Fair, but with motor scooters instead of cars. Here is their ad: What? No helmets? Imported cars were just starting to gain traction in America at the time. The "Big 3" automakers owned the lion's share of the car market, with American Motors coming in at number four. Volkswagen didn't even come to the fair, though their "Beetle" was already gaining popularity.

  The symbol of the New York World's Fair 1964/1965 is this 12-story-high stainless steel model of the earth designed, built and presented to the Fair by United States Steel. Dedicated to "Peace through Understanding," the Unisphere will remain on its site when the Fair is over, as a permanent gift to the City of New York for the improved Flushing Meadow Park that will be created on the fairgrounds. It is located at the Fountain of the Continents, near the center of the Fair. Seen from the edge of the pool, it shows the world as it appears from 6,000 miles in space. THE STATISTICS The Unisphere is the largest representation of the earth man has ever made. It is 140 feet high and 120 feet in diameter, and—with its tri-pod-like base—weighs 900,000 pounds. The sphere is formed of an open grid of meridians and parallels. Laid on them are curved sheets of stainless steel representing the land masses; the capital of every nation is marked by a light. THE DESIGN. Unprecedented p...

 By Bruce Shawkey I have long been fascinated by '64-'65 World's Fair. My brother, Curt, and his friend, Bert Hart, went to the Fair in Curt's car and made a giant road trip out of it. His wife, Karen, also attended the fair and drove with her friend, Alice, in Karen's Volkswagen Beetle (she and Curt hadn't even met yet). It was really the last Worlds Fair in my mind. Yes, there was '82 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tenn., but it paled in comparison to its predecessor. And no attempts have been made since (at least in my mind) since technology is advancing as such a rapid pace that a fair could not be built fast enough to keep up. But back to the '64-'65 Fair.  It was such a spectacle of contrasts, a world of wonders and possibilities set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and Civil Rights movement. I was only eight when the Fair took place, so I was too young to attend and appreciate its splendor and significance. But recently, I was able to v...