Editing 1964 New York World's Fair (section)

==== Economic and regional influence ====
[[File:Unisphere in summer.jpg|thumb|The Unisphere, one of the fair's remaining structures|alt=On a sunny day, in a pool with a  fountains, sits a huge, skeletal representation of Earth, with North and South America visible.]]

The fair was credited with increasing [[tourism in New York City]], even before the formal opening.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 14, 1964 |title=Manhattan Still Remains the Attraction as the Tourists Start Pouring Into the City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/14/archives/manhattan-still-remains-the-attraction-as-the-tourists-start.html |access-date=May 31, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The city's hotels and garages were often overcrowded during the fair's 1964 season.<ref name="The Sun 1964a">{{Cite news |date=July 3, 1964 |title=Fair City Has Number of Problems: New York Seen More Foul-Up Than 'Festival' in Some Ways |work=The Sun |page=3 |id={{ProQuest|533657040}}}}</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 55" /> [[Broadway theater]]s recorded increased ticket sales,<ref name="The Sun 1964a" /> as did other visitor attractions such as the [[Empire State Building]] and [[Radio City Music Hall]].<ref name="Alden 1964" /><ref name="Samuel p. 58" /> Though major department stores and restaurants saw increased business,<ref name="Samuel p. 55" /> other merchants reported the fair had not had a measurable effect on their businesses.<ref name="nyt-1964-07-03">{{Cite news |date=July 3, 1964 |title=Fair No Big Boon to City's Business; Visitors Spend Little Here, Many Merchants Report |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/03/archives/fair-no-big-boon-to-citys-business-visitors-spend-little-here-many.html |access-date=June 2, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> To avoid crowds, many residents left the city during the fair.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 9, 1964 |title=The Talk of New York; Invasion of Kinsfolk; New Yorkers Are Erecting Defenses Against Hordes Arriving for the Fair |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/09/archives/the-talk-of-new-york-invasion-of-kinsfolk-new-yorkers-are-erecting.html |access-date=June 2, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Attendance at local amusement parks declined during the fair and some parks, such as [[Freedomland U.S.A.]], permanently closed.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Phillips |first=McCandlish |date=May 8, 1966 |title=With Fair Over, Amusement Parks See a Big Year |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/08/archives/with-fair-over-amusement-parks-see-a-big-year.html |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

At the end of the 1964 season, the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated the city had earned $400&nbsp;million due to the fair.<ref name="Schmedel 1964a" /><ref name="nyt-1964-10-14" /> ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' wrote in 1965 the fair had only partially benefited the area's economy.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hornaday |first=Mary |date=July 14, 1965 |title=New York: What Kind of Future?: Crime and Crowding Budget Soars Major Problems Noted |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=1 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|510739085}}}}</ref> After the fair ended, ''The New York Times'' estimated it had increased local restaurant profits by eight percent, while stores in [[Midtown Manhattan]] saw their profits increase by approximately four percent.<ref name="nyt-1965-10-17b" /> The highways leading to the fairground remained in use after the fair's closure, and residential development in Queens increased.<ref name="Samuel p. 86" /><ref name="nyt-1966-05-01">{{Cite news |last=Porterfield |first=Byron |date=May 1, 1966 |title=Fairs Come and Go but Growth They Spawned Goes On in Queens; Borough 'Discovered' by the Visitors to Expositions—New Roads Help |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/01/archives/fairs-come-and-go-but-growth-they-spawned-goes-on-in-queens-borough.html |access-date=June 6, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>