They went to a big World's Fair in the country with lots of room to play

February 14, 2022 8:29 PM

What happens to all the stuff after a World's Fair? It's a question I hadn't really asked myself before, but After The Fair: The Legacy Of The 1964-65 NY World's Fair [1h41m] is a documentary (apparently from 2020) that gives a brief history of that famous World's Fair and then details what happened to various pavilions, entertainments, and other bits since the Fair closed. Delightful and informative in ways I was neither asking for nor expecting, If you like this kind of thing, you will LIKE this one.
posted by hippybear (10 comments total)

Not specifically a World's Fair, but the Great Columbian Exposition in Chicago featured a lot of construction. The book Devil in the White City (half about the Exposition and the birth of capital A architecture in the city, half about a serial killer, all amazing) goes into fantastic detail about all of the buildings and things that were built for it. Nearly all of the buildings are gone, except for one, which is the modern day Science and Industry Museum. Visiting the museum after reading the book is fascinating when you realize that it was one of (I think) ten other buildings of similar size, with dozens of smaller pavilions all constructed along the lake shore.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:50 PM on February 14, 2022 [2 favorites]

I have yet to watch the documentary, but I sent it to a friend who is extremely knowledgeable about the fair, especially its dinosaurs. He owns a couple of the small originals that wildlife sculptor Louis Paul Jonas used to craft the large ones on display at the fair.; he also collects enormous fiberglass dinosaurs (and a turtle and a rabbit).

He said there were a few things wrong with the dinosaur portion of the documentary: "The main thing I noticed is that they credited the donation of the dinos to Sinclair, but it was actually Atlantic Richfield, which had bought Sinclair." (One of his large dinos used to grace a Sinclair gas station, and he's a wealth of information about that, too.)

I'll rejoin the thread if he comes up with anything more interesting. Meanwhile, I believe we can all safely enjoy the video.
posted by bryon at 11:47 PM on February 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

Walt Disney’s father was a construction worker on the White City.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:12 AM on February 15, 2022

I wish we still had World's Fairs.
posted by NotLost at 6:31 AM on February 15, 2022 [3 favorites]

After the World's Fair in STL, people built houses from the demolished structures. My wife's paternal grandfather grew up in such a house.

The fairgrounds themselves became much of Forest Park, one of the nice parts of STL.
posted by schyler523 at 7:40 AM on February 15, 2022 [1 favorite]

The fairgrounds themselves became much of Forest Park, one of the nice parts of STL.

Did you catch this article from a few years ago where they found the hub from the Ferris Wheel?

It wasn't taken apart for scrap or reused into something else - they buried it.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:58 AM on February 15, 2022 [3 favorites]

If you're interested in reading my recollections, see my three-part 1987 reminiscence of New York City and the World's Fair in 1965. I'll be watching this new doc with interest. And while we're on this subject let me recommend a half-hour promo film from 1964, To The Fair!
posted by Rash at 8:16 AM on February 15, 2022 [1 favorite]

An adult ticket was $2, child’s $1, roughly $18 and $9 today. A book of 20 passes was 25% cheaper.

I get a kick out of seeing the Unisphere on my way to JFK Airport. To me, it’s like the Eiffel Tower except, as Tommy Lee Jones says, in Queens. The 64-65 Worlds Fair is so iconic—Belgian Waffles! Animatronic Lincoln! Picture phones! It’s A Small World! But I wonder if it will be less iconic once the baby boom generation passes on and MCM falls out out of the trend cycle again. Is anyone nostalgic for the Knoxville one in 1982 except Tennesseans? There’s one going on right now in Dubai and in 2025, it will be in Osaka.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:10 AM on February 15, 2022 [1 favorite]

See also Disposing of Modernity: The Archaeology of Garbage and Consumerism During Chicago's 1893 World's Fair
posted by mecran01 at 3:21 PM on February 15, 2022 [1 favorite]

Did Expos stop being "World's Fairs"? Milan, Italy, 2015. I was there, taking photos.
posted by Goofyy at 4:36 PM on February 15, 2022