1964 New York World's Fair

The 1964 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair) was an international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activities, performances, films, art, and food presented by 80 nations, 24 U.S. states, and nearly 350 American companies. The five sections of the Template:Convert fairground were the Federal and State, International, Transportation, Lake Amusement, and Industrial areas. The fair's theme was "Peace through Understanding", and its symbol was the Unisphere, a stainless-steel model of Earth. Initially, the fair had 139 pavilions, and 34 concessions and shows.

The site had previously hosted the 1939 New York World's Fair. In the 1950s, several businessmen devised plans for a similar event in 1964, and the New York World's Fair 1964 Corporation (WFC) was formed in 1959. Although U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the fair, the Bureau International des Expositions refused to grant it formal recognition. Construction began in late 1960, and over 100 exhibitors signed up for the fair over the next three years. The fair ran for two six-month seasons from April 22 to October 18, 1964, and from April 21 to October 17, 1965. Despite initial projections of 70 million visitors, just over 51.6 million attended. After the fair closed, some pavilions were preserved or relocated, but most of the structures were demolished.

The fair showcased mid-20th-century American culture and technology. The sections were designed in various architectural styles. Anyone could host an exhibit if they could afford to rent the land and pay for a pavilion. There were several amusement and transport rides, various plazas and fountains, and at its peak, 198 restaurants that served dishes such as Belgian waffles, some of which were popularized by the fair. There were more than 30 entertainment events, 40 theaters, and various music performances. Exhibitors displayed sculptures, visual art and artifacts, and consumer products such as electronics and cars. The contemporaneous press criticized the event as a financial failure, although it influenced 21st-century technologies, and popularized consumer products such as the Ford Mustang.

Development

Before European settlement of the area, the site of the 1964 World's Fair, Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, was a natural wetland straddling the Flushing River.<ref name="Appendix: History">Template:Cite web</ref> In the early 20th century, the site was occupied by the Corona Ash Dumps,<ref name="Steinberg 2015">Template:Cite book</ref> before it was selected as the site of the 1939–1940 World's Fair.<ref name="nyt-1935-09-23">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Caro p. 1085">Template:Harvnb</ref> The theme of the 1939–1940 was "the world of tomorrow";<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1027">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 4">Template:Harvnb</ref> the event was unprofitable, recouping only 32% of its original cost.<ref name="Samuel p. 4" /><ref name="Hornaday 1965a" /> After the 1939 fair, the site was used as a park,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> but fell into disrepair due to a lack of funds.<ref name="Caro p. 1085" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The development of the 1964 fair coincided with social upheavals of the early 1960s, including the civil rights movement, Vietnam War protests, and the aftermath of U.S. President John F. Kennedy's assassination.<ref name="nyt-2018-04-24">Template:Cite news</ref>

Planning

World's Fair Corporation

The idea for the 1964 fair was conceived by a group of businessmen.<ref name="nyt-1959-08-10">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 3; Tirella p. 11">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Among them was Robert Kopple, a lawyer who first discussed the idea at a family dinner in 1958<ref name="Samuel p. 3; Tirella p. 11" /><ref name="nyt-1964-04-222">Template:Cite news</ref> before suggesting it at a meeting of the Mutual Admiration Society the following year.<ref name="Samuel pp. 3–4">Template:Harvnb</ref> The year 1964 was nominally selected to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the British conquest of the Dutch colony of New Netherland.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1027" /><ref name="nyt-1959-08-10" /><ref name="Tirella p. 12">Template:Harvnb</ref> Kopple and two friends, Charles Preusse and Thomas J. Deegan, met with 35 potential financiers at the 21 Club restaurant.<ref name="Samuel p. 4; Tirella p. 13">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> New York City mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. and parks commissioner Robert Moses formally endorsed the proposal in August 1959,<ref name="nyt-1959-08-13">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news.</ref> and 75 businessmen formed the New York World's Fair 1964 Corporation (WFC) that month.<ref name="nyt-1959-08-19">Template:Cite news</ref> Moses, who saw a 1964 fair as a means to develop the Flushing Meadows site,<ref name="Caro p. 1086">Template:Harvnb</ref> offered to let the WFC use Flushing Meadows for a nominal fee.<ref name="Samuel p. 4; Tirella p. 13" /> The fairground would include the 1939 World's Fair site and a part of the nearby Kissena Corridor Park.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref>

The bid required approval from the United States Congress and the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the French organization that was in charge of approving world's fairs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., were submitting competing bids,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 6; Tirella p. 13">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> so in October 1959, U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed a committee to review the 1964 world's fair bids,<ref name="Samuel p. 5; Tirella p. 13">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and he approved the New York bid later that month.<ref name="Samuel p. 6; Tirella p. 14">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> By late 1959, 75 nations had informally indicated an intention to attend the fair,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and the WFC began looking for a president and three additional managers in early 1960.<ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> Moses was tentatively selected as the WFC's president that March,<ref name="nyt-1960-04-01a">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> despite Kopple's objections that Moses was too old.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1027" /><ref name="Samuel p. 8">Template:Harvnb</ref> In turn, Moses would not take the job unless Kopple resigned,<ref name="Samuel p. 8; Tirella pp. 34–35" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1028">Template:Harvnb</ref> as the two men had disagreed bitterly over the canceled Mid-Manhattan Elevated Expressway.<ref name="Samuel p. 8; Tirella pp. 34–35">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1963-09-09">Template:Cite news</ref> After Kopple quit the WFC,<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1028" /><ref name="nyt-1960-04-09">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Moses formally became the WFC's president that May.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Moses wanted the fair to run for two years,<ref name="Chapman 1960">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and consultants for the WFC predicted the fair would have 70 million visitors during that time.<ref name="Collins 1960">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 9">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Moses traveled to Paris to ask for the BIE's recognition of the fair.<ref name="Tirella p. 372">Template:Harvnb</ref> The BIE allowed the WFC to begin planning the fair in November 1959,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> but its officials decided to not formally recognize the fair.<ref name="Samuel p. 10; Tirella pp. 40–41">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Under BIE rules, world's fairs could run for only one six-month period,<ref name="Tirella pp. 37–38">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1964-04-22">Template:Cite news</ref> though the WFC had tried to request an exemption.<ref name="nyt-1960-02-18">Template:Cite news</ref> The New York fair would also charge rent to foreign governments, contravening another BIE rule that prevented rent from being charged to exhibitors.<ref name="Tirella pp. 37–38" /><ref name="Caro p. 1092">Template:Harvnb</ref> In addition, the BIE allowed only one exposition per country every ten years.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-22" /><ref name="Tirella p. 40" /> These rules were not immutable; for example, the BIE had recognized the 1939 fair, even though the previous exposition had run for two seasons.<ref name="Caro p. 1092" /> Moses refused to negotiate with BIE officials and treated them derisively,<ref name="Tirella p. 39">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Caro p. 1094">Template:Harvnb</ref> belittling the BIE as a "bunch of clowns in Paris".<ref name="Samuel p. 10; Tirella pp. 40–41" /><ref name="nyt-1964-04-22" /> Due to Moses' behavior, the BIE instead decided to approve the 1962 Seattle World's Fair,<ref name="nyt-1964-04-22" /><ref name="Tirella p. 40">Template:Harvnb</ref> and directed its members to not host official exhibits at the 1964 New York World's Fair.<ref name="Samuel p. 10; Tirella pp. 40–41" /><ref name="Caro p. 1094" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Financing and initial exhibitors

File:6405 NY World's Fair 16 1964 (51190787295).jpg

Republic of China pavilion

The WFC planned to issue $500 million in bonds,<ref name="nyt-1959-08-13" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a figure that was later decreased to $150 million.<ref name="Samuel p. 6; Tirella p. 15">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Moses said the 1964 fair would be a "billion-dollar" event, though this included expenses for related projects such as roads and the nearby Shea Stadium.<ref name="Samuel p. 12; Tirella pp. 43–44">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> The WFC leased about Template:Convert from the city government in May 1960.<ref name=p1327670058>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Moses hired the former lieutenant governor Charles Poletti and the military engineer William Everett Potter to organize the exhibits.<ref name="Samuel pp. 8–9">Template:Harvnb</ref> A design committee proposed a massive, doughnut-shaped pavilion;<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1028" /><ref name="Tirella pp. 44–45">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Caro pp. 1091–1092">Template:Harvnb</ref> Moses rejected the plan<ref name="Caro pp. 1091–1092" /> and the design committee was forced out by the end of 1959.<ref name="Tirella pp. 44–45" /><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Moses did not devise a master plan for the fair;<ref name="Caro p. 1092" /> he wanted to save the WFC money by having exhibitors erect most of their own pavilions,<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1028" /><ref name="Tirella p. 42" /> The city government implemented a building code and health code,<ref name="nyt-1960-09-30">Template:Cite news</ref> which Potter enforced.<ref name="Tirella p. 42">Template:Harvnb</ref> Nearly all of the buildings were to be temporary structures.<ref name="Chapman 1960" /><ref name="Collins 1960" />

The 1964 fair was to be themed "peace through understanding".<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1027" /><ref name="Samuel p. 5">Template:Harvnb</ref> WFC member Jerome Weinstein suggested the motto, which was inspired by an ideal Kopple had wanted for his daughters.<ref name="Samuel p. 5" /> According to Moses, the fair was intended "to assist in educating the peoples of the world as to the interdependence of nations and the need for universal lasting peace".<ref name="Tirella p. 3">Template:Harvnb</ref> Exhibits were to be divided into five areas,<ref name="The Billboard 1960">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Newsday 1961">Template:Cite news</ref> including a transportation area the Port of New York Authority would operate.<ref name="Caro p. 1092" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="CY p. 61">Template:Harvnb</ref> The original plans called for an amusement park area,<ref name="The Billboard 1960" /> which was canceled after the WFC failed to find an operator.<ref name="nyt-1960-10-26">Template:Cite news</ref> By August 1960, the first ten exhibitors had applied for space at the fair,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and architectural blueprints for the fair's first pavilion had been submitted.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC began sending delegations abroad to invite foreign governments to the fair.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1961-06-15" />

In late 1960, the group began issuing $67.5 million in promissory notes to fund construction;<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> the WFC later reduced the amount to $64 million, consisting of $40 million in notes plus $24 million from the city.<ref name="Chapman 1961">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC's finance chairman predicted the fair would earn over $200 million.<ref name="nyt-1960-11-04">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By the end of 1960, seven countries had agreed to sponsor exhibits.<ref name="nyt-1960-11-26">Template:Cite news</ref> and one-third of the industrial pavilion sites had been leased.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Early in 1961, Moses announced the Unisphere would be built as the fair's symbol,<ref name="nyt19610215">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and the WFC also hired the detective agency Pinkerton to provide security and first-aid services.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> A report published that January said the fair itself would cost $768 million,<ref name="Newsday 1961" /> although individual exhibitors would pay much of the cost.<ref name="Sederberg 1964">Template:Cite news</ref>

Construction

View of the Unisphere, a steel structure depicting the Earth; there are world flags in the foreground

The Unisphere was selected as the fair's symbol in early 1961.<ref name="nyt19610215" />

Exhibitors designed their own pavilions and construction contractors hired members of local labor unions to build the structures.<ref name="Samuel p. 422">Template:Harvnb</ref> Wagner predicted 10,000 people would be employed during construction.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC hosted "preview days" where selected guests could view the construction.<ref name="Samuel p. 28">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Travelers Companies built information centers across the U.S. to promote the fair,<ref name="Caro p. 1094" /><ref name="The Hartford Courant 1963a">Template:Cite news</ref> and local chapters of the Elks, Kiwanis, and Rotary clubs promoted the fair nationwide.<ref name="Caro p. 1094" /> The WFC issued collectible medallions in bronze and silver<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> that were manufactured by Medallic Art Company.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Commemorative postage stamps were issued to celebrate the fair, both inside and outside the U.S.<ref name="nyt-1964-01-05">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some New York license plates also bore slogans advertising the fair.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 55">Template:Harvnb</ref> Several hotels were built nearby to accommodate fair visitors,<ref name="Ferretti 1962">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and public transit and roads linking the venue were also upgraded.<ref name="New Pittsburgh Courier 1964" /><ref name="Samuel p. 13; Tirella p. 44" /> The WFC opened an information office to answer visitors' questions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Private businesses promoted their products for the fair,<ref name="Samuel pp. 29–30">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Schmedel 1964b">Template:Cite news</ref> and discounted tickets were sold in advance of the opening.<ref name="Hornaday 1963" /><ref name="Samuel p. 12">Template:Harvnb</ref>

1961 and 1962

William Whipple Jr., the fair's chief engineer, said in September 1960 exhibitors would be able to begin erecting pavilions by 1962.<ref name="nyt-1960-09-09">Template:Cite news</ref> Construction of the first building, an administration structure, began in August 1960<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and was finished in January 1961.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> In early 1961, almost all of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park was closed to allow the fair's construction,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and the Long Island Rail Road's (LIRR) World's Fair station opened.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Workers moved trees<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and diverted parts of the Flushing River into tunnels.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> By April 1961, thirty-four countries had accepted invitations to the fair,<ref name="nyt-1961-04-24">Template:Cite news</ref> and the city agreed to spend $24 million improving the park.<ref name="Chapman 1961" /><ref name="Caro p. 1091">Template:Harvnb</ref> Moses secretly obtained additional funds from the city government; according to Moses's biographer Robert Caro, the city government may have spent as much as $60 million on the fair.<ref name="Caro p. 1091" />

A large fountain-lined pool lined leads to a large, globe-like structure representing Earth.

Fountains and a reflecting pool mark the approach to the Unisphere.

In May, the WFC announced it would proceed with the planned amusement area around Meadow Lake,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> hiring the billionaire H. L. Hunt to operate the rides.<ref name="Samuel p. 20; Tirella p. 95">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> By mid-1961, the WFC had privately raised $25 million and was predicting a $53 million profit.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The groundbreaking ceremony for the first pavilion took place that June.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC had difficulty selling the remaining bonds;<ref name="Schmedel 1961">Template:Cite news</ref> it had sold around $30 million in promissory notes—three quarters of the total—by the end of 1961.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the fair's construction, civil-rights activists expressed concerns the WFC's leadership included very few African Americans.<ref name="Tirella pp. 58–59">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1961-06-15">Template:Cite news</ref> Moses met with activists but he still did not appoint African Americans to leadership positions,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel pp. 26–27">Template:Harvnb</ref> which attracted controversy amid the ongoing civil rights movement.<ref name="Tirella pp. 58–59" /><ref name="Samuel pp. 26–27" /> The WFC hired an African American executive to the fair's international division in 1962.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 27">Template:Harvnb</ref> Later that year, New York governor Nelson Rockefeller formed a committee to investigate persistent complaints about discrimination within the WFC.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

By the beginning of 1962, more than 60 nations, the governments of 30 U.S. states, and 50 companies had agreed to exhibit at the fair.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC also created a scale model of the fairground.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The LIRR constructed a siding from the Port Washington Branch, allowing trains to deliver material onsite.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> At a luncheon in March that year, Moses said construction had fallen behind schedule.<ref name="nyt-1962-03-23">Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC had allocated $6 million to advertise the fair by mid-1962, and Deegan predicted its participants would spend another $75 million of their own money on promotion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC tried to attract Latin American countries to the fair.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> By late 1962, exhibits were being finalized and many pavilions were being constructed.<ref name="Kenney 1962a">Template:Cite news</ref> Either 68<ref name="nyt-1962-09-13">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1962">Template:Cite news</ref> or 71 nations had announced plans for exhibits at the fair by then,<ref name="Kenney 1962">Template:Cite news</ref> though only 35 countries had formally leased space.<ref name="Samuel p. 141">Template:Harvnb</ref> Additionally, 125 businesses had expressed interest,<ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1962" /> and the WFC had finished installing utilities on the fairground.<ref name="Kenney 1962" /> At the end of 1962, a small number of state and international pavilions were being built, while work in the industrial and transportation areas was progressing.<ref name="nyt-1962-12-02">Template:Cite news</ref> Groundbreaking ceremonies were hosted for many of the international pavilions.<ref name="Samuel p. 149">Template:Harvnb</ref>

1963 and 1964

A large fountain in front of a white building. A man and a girl are walking in the foreground.

A fountain in the fair

In early 1963, the World's Fair Housing Bureau was formed to coordinate the development of hotel rooms for the fair.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Despite commitments from state and national governments, only some of these governments were actively constructing pavilions.<ref name="The Reporter Dispatch 1963">Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC wanted to hire 40 concessionaires and sell 70 intellectual property (IP) licenses, which the corporation hoped would raise $130 million.<ref name="nyt-1963-05-19">Template:Cite news</ref> On April 22, 1963, exactly a year before the fair's opening,<ref name="Samuel p. 28" /> the U.S. President John F. Kennedy activated a clock that would count down to the opening.<ref name="Hornaday 1963">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Only 48 of the 200 proposed buildings had begun construction,<ref name="Schmedel 1963">Template:Cite news</ref> even though construction of all major structures had to be underway by the following month.<ref name="The Reporter Dispatch 1963" /><ref name="Schmedel 1963" /> The press building opened that May,<ref name="nyt-1963-05-05">Template:Cite news</ref> and the following month, an insurance syndicate was formed to protect the exhibits.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> By mid-1963, civil-rights groups were protesting the lack of racial diversity in the fair's development,<ref name="Samuel p. 27" /><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and filed a lawsuit to halt construction.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> That July, Moses denied rumors construction had fallen behind schedule.<ref name="nyt-1963-07-24">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Tirella pp. 91–92">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Materials from overseas began arriving in August 1963,<ref name="nyt-1963-08-15">Template:Cite news</ref> though work on 50 structures had not started by the next month.<ref name="nyt-1963-09-09" /> Moses became increasingly hostile toward journalists who doubted that the fair would be completed on time.<ref name="Tirella pp. 91–92" /> There were also disagreements over discounted tickets for students; Moses opposed the plan<ref name="Tirella pp. 93–94">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but the city government ultimately forced him to sell discounted tickets.<ref name="Tirella pp. 93–94" /><ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1963">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The first pavilion, the Port Authority Heliport, was opened in October 1963.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The same month, Hunt resigned as the amusement area's operator following disagreements over ticket prices and rides.<ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 20; Tirella p. 95" /> Work on many of the pavilions was behind schedule due to funding issues, labor shortages, and poor weather.<ref name="nyt-1963-09-09" /> There were also labor strikes, exhibitor withdrawals, and continuing racial tensions.<ref name="Sederberg 1964" /><ref name="The Hartford Courant 1963">Template:Cite news</ref> Despite these difficulties, many pavilions were nearly completed by late 1963,<ref name="The Hartford Courant 1963a" /><ref name="The Hartford Courant 1963" /> and the WFC had sold 3.8 million advance tickets by the year's end.<ref name="nyt-1963-12-31">Template:Cite news</ref> To draw attention to the fair, the WFC displayed models of exhibits at the Time-Life Building in Manhattan.<ref name="Samuel p. 28" /> Exhibits were installed through late 1963 and early 1964,<ref name="Samuel pp. 28–29">Template:Harvnb</ref> and the WFC borrowed $3 million to fund the fair's completion.<ref name="Sederberg 1964" />

In January 1964, the Chicago Tribune reported the site was filled with raw material, incomplete building frames, and unpaved roads.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That month, WFC officials said work on 26 buildings was behind schedule,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and they sought to demolish a pavilion that would not be ready for the fair's opening.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC signed a document outlining ways profits from the fair were to be used.<ref name="nyt-1965-05-212">Template:Cite news</ref> By that February, most of the major pavilions and attractions were complete,<ref name="nyt-1964-02-22">Template:Cite news</ref> but Whipple estimated up to 10 pavilions would not be finished before the fair's opening.<ref name="Snyder 1964">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1964-02-27">Template:Cite news</ref> The same month, the WFC stopped selling advance tickets, having sold 28 million.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> There were still 4,800 construction workers on site in late March,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> when the state government began hiring people for the fair.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Before the fair opened, the WFC had spent $30 million.<ref name="Caro p. 1102">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Operation

A lake with fountains and sculptures. Futuristic buildings line the far shore.

The fair's Fountain of the Planets

The WFC originally predicted a daily attendance of 225,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Deegan predicted at least 6.7 million foreign visitors, out of an estimated total of 70 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Visitors 13 and older were originally charged the adult admission price of $2.00 (Template:Inflation), while children 2–12 years old were charged $1.00 (Template:Inflation).<ref name="nyt19650113">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="McPherson 1964" /> The WFC sold discounted tickets in packs of 20;<ref name="McPherson 1964" /> some major companies like AT&T bought hundreds of thousands of tickets for their employees.<ref name="Samuel p. 12" /> Students paid 25 cents if they visited with their teachers,<ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1963" /> and the WFC sold certificates that allowed a class of 25 students to enter the fair for $6.25.<ref name="nyt-1964-05-17">Template:Cite news</ref> Moses predicted ticket sales of $120 million<ref name="Samuel p. 11">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1964-01-06">Template:Cite news</ref> and a net profit of $40 million.<ref name="nyt-1964-01-06" /> Initially, city officials predicted people would spend $5 billion in the city due to the fair,<ref name="The Globe and Mail 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> an estimate that was later reduced to $2.5 billion.<ref name="Alden 1964" />

Though the fair employed up to 20,000 people<ref name="The Globe and Mail 1964" /> but the WFC directly employed only between 180 and 200 people.<ref name="nyt-1963-09-09" /><ref name="Sederberg 1964" /> There were 3,000 Pinkerton employees on the grounds, including firefighters, police officers, medics, matrons, and ticket sellers.<ref name="nyt-1964-02-08">Template:Cite news</ref> Nine garbage trucks, nine emergency medical services (EMS) vehicles, 25 police cars, and three fire engines traveled the fairgrounds.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-225" /> Nine city health inspectors examined all of the on-site restaurants.<ref name="nyt-1964-11-01" /> United Press International (UPI) was the fair's official photographer,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while United World Films had exclusive rights to produce and publish films about the fair.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Allied Maintenance was the only maintenance firm allowed to work at the fair; it charged exorbitant fees, earning $10 million during 1964 alone.<ref name="Caro p. 1087">Template:Harvnb</ref> Allied also handled deliveries during the 1964 season but was replaced the following year with Rentar Corporation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Other companies, such as Hertz and Cities Service, sponsored free services or events.<ref name="nyt-1964-08-16" /> The WFC selected symbols of a boy and a girl as the fair's mascots.<ref name="Yan 2024 c647" />

Exhibitors were required to operate from 10 am to 10 pm daily,<ref name="nyt-1964-04-22_Phillips" /> although the fairground opened at 9 am.<ref name="Shipp 1964" /> Exhibits were prepared and cleaned throughout the night;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Vatican pavilion was the only attraction with a live-in caretaker.<ref name="nyt-1964-07-25">Template:Cite news</ref> Many exhibitors hired racially diverse staff.<ref name="Samuel pp. 36–37" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, the WFC required each exhibitor to purchase insurance from Campo & Roberts, which earned $3 million from insurance commissions.<ref name="Caro pp. 1087–1088">Template:Harvnb</ref>

1964 season

Opening

A crowded street with low-rise buildings and trees.

The Belgian Village was not completed until the end of the 1964 season.<ref name="Samuel p. 43"/>

The WFC did not host official press previews in the weeks before the official opening, though several exhibitors hosted previews of their pavilions.<ref name=p964068615>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The night before the fair opened, the television series The Bell Telephone Hour broadcast an opening celebration.<ref name="Samuel pp. 30–31">Template:Harvnb</ref> When the World's Fair officially opened at 9:00 am on April 22, 1964,<ref name="The Sun 1964" /><ref name="Samuel p. 32; Tirella p. 188">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> the first visitor was a college student from New Jersey.<ref name="Samuel p. 32; Tirella p. 188" /><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The opening was celebrated with speeches by Robert Moses, Nelson Rockefeller, and the U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson.<ref name="The Sun 1964" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The same day, Johnson dedicated the United States Pavilion,<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> while Rockefeller and Moses dedicated the New York State Pavilion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

During the opening ceremonies, hundreds of civil-rights activists organized a sit-in and were arrested.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="The Sun 1964">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The civil-rights group Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) proposed a "stall-in" to block roads leading to the fair,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel pp. 27–28; Tirella pp. 81–82">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> but few activists participated.<ref name="The Sun 1964" /><ref name="Tirella h843">Template:Cite web</ref> The opening ceremony attracted 90,000 attendees, fewer than half of the predicted number,<ref name="The Sun 1964" /> in part due to inclement weather.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The WFC banned picketing on the grounds, prompting lawsuits from civil-rights groups;<ref name="Samuel pp. 36–37">Template:Harvnb</ref> a federal judge later ruled protesters could give out handbills to passers-by.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref>

The New York Times reported fifteen pavilions and three amusement attractions were not finished by opening day.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-22a">Template:Cite news</ref> One pavilion, the Belgian Village, was not completed until the end of the 1964 season,<ref name="Samuel p. 43">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> though it did operate for part of that year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some pavilions could not open on schedule because artifacts in the pavilions had been damaged<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> or were incomplete.<ref name="McPherson 1964">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1964-04-22a" /> Exhibitors also accused workers of delaying some pavilions' construction to collect overtime pay.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Three incomplete pavilions were abandoned,<ref name="McPherson 1964" /> and work on other pavilions continued for several months after the opening.<ref name="Samuel p. 43" /> The rich and famous, including government officials and heads of state, visited the fairground in the weeks after it opened.<ref name="Samuel pp. 39–40">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Tirella pp. 207–208">Template:Harvnb</ref>

May to October

A huge, skeletal, globe-like structure representing Earth dominates a concrete plaza with trees and a bus, and a futuristic building rises in the background.

Looking south from the Unisphere toward the New York State Pavilion

The fair needed 220,000 daily visitors to recover its operating expenses of $300,000 per day.<ref name="Caro p. 1102" /> In its first week, the fair recorded nearly a million visitors,<ref name="Samuel p. 38">Template:Harvnb</ref> and 150,000 daily visitors—60 percent of initial projections—in the first month.<ref name="Los Angeles Times 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> Several problems arose;<ref name="Samuel p. 422" /><ref name="Schwartz 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> disputes occurred over labor unions,<ref name="Samuel p. 422" /><ref name="nyt-1964-06-27">Template:Cite news</ref> maintenance fees,<ref name="Samuel p. 422" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a mural in the Jordan pavilion.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel pp. 53–54">Template:Harvnb</ref> Thefts and breakdowns regularly occurred.<ref name="Samuel pp. 45–46">Template:Harvnb</ref> Exhibitors complained about high rental rates and insufficient maintenance of the fairground.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Lake Amusement Area was especially unprofitable;<ref name="nyt-1964-08-01" /><ref name="Tirella pp. 235–236">Template:Harvnb</ref> it had few attractions and was difficult to access.<ref name="Los Angeles Times 1964" /><ref name="Samuel pp. 46–47">Template:Harvnb</ref> Many of the most-popular exhibits charged an additional fee, and visitors often did not bring enough money for food or for high-priced exhibits.<ref name="Samuel p. 49">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The WFC unsuccessfully attempted to entice visitors by offering discounts to taxi drivers and improving fairground lighting,<ref name="Samuel pp. 46–47" /> and the WFC was planning promotional campaigns by the end of June.<ref name="nyt-1964-06-27" /> The J. Walter Thompson Company advertised the fair in New York City–area media.<ref name="nyt-1964-08-07">Template:Cite news</ref> By mid-1964, some exhibitors had gone out of business,<ref name="Tirella pp. 235–236" /><ref name="Samuel pp. 47–48">Template:Harvnb</ref> including the two largest shows in the Lake Amusement Area.<ref name="nyt-1964-07-27">Template:Cite news</ref> Employees, especially the 4,000 college students who worked the fair, faced occupational burnout.<ref name="Samuel pp. 50–51">Template:Harvnb</ref> Despite the troubles, the WFC was able to buy back one quarter of its promissory notes in mid-1964,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 54">Template:Harvnb</ref> and to attract visitors, exhibitors publicly downplayed their grievances with the WFC.<ref name="nyt-1964-07-04">Template:Cite news</ref> The industrial and international pavilions were more profitable than the amusement area,<ref name="Schmedel 1964">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> whose financial troubles did not bother Moses.<ref name="nyt-1964-08-01">Template:Cite news</ref>

The fair had difficulty attracting more than 200,000 daily visitors, even during July and August when students were on summer break.<ref name="Caro p. 1102" /> The fair recorded 13.4 million visitors by the season's midpoint in July 1964,<ref name="nyt-1964-07-21">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The Hartford Courant 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> and it received 5.8 million visitors that August, the highest of any month during the 1964 season.<ref name="Samuel pp. 56–57">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1964-08-31">Template:Cite news</ref> Nearly half of visitors came from the New York City area,<ref name="Samuel pp. 56–57" /> and prospective visitors expressed fears about crime and unrest.<ref name="Samuel pp. 56–57; Tirella pp. 234–235">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Attendance declined significantly in September<ref name="Schmedel 1964" /><ref name="The Hartford Courant 1964" /> when children returned to school.<ref name="Samuel p. 57">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In response, Moses said journalists were tarnishing the fair's reputation<ref name="Samuel p. 57" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and accused them of suppressing attendance.<ref name="Samuel p. 57" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> An exhibitors' committee made several recommendations for increasing attendance but Moses rejected nearly all of them.<ref name="Tirella p. 268">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The fair closed for the season on October 18, 1964.<ref name="nyt-1964-10-19a">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Hornaday 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> There had been 33 million visitors, including 27 million who paid admission.<ref name="Hornaday 1964" /><ref name="Variety 1964">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The New York Times cited several reasons for the reduced attendance figures; these included fears of crime, lengthy queues, and high prices.<ref name="Alden 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC had significantly overpaid several contractors,<ref name="Caro p. 1089">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Caro 1965">Template:Cite news</ref> and the fair's operating expenditures during 1964 amounted to $33.3 million, twice the original budget.<ref name="Caro p. 1089" /> Moses had projected a $53 million surplus, but the surplus stood at only $12.6 million at season's end, barely enough to pay back the city government.<ref name="nyt-1964-10-14">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 58">Template:Harvnb</ref> The WFC reduced its estimated total profit for both seasons to $30 million.<ref name="Variety 1964" /> Despite the financial problems, many industrial pavilions had long queues and tens of thousands of daily visitors,<ref name="Schmedel 1964" /><ref name="Alden 1964" /> and the General Motors and Vatican pavilions each saw more than 10 million visitors during 1964.<ref name="Samuel p. 54" /> The New York Times reported many international exhibitors were pleased with the fair but wanted someone else to operate it.<ref name="nyt-1964-10-19b">Template:Cite news</ref>

Off-season

Between the 1964 and 1965 seasons, the WFC hired 400 security guards to oversee the fairground,<ref name="Frederick 1964"/> though exhibitors were obligated to maintain and guard their own pavilions.<ref name="Frederick 1964">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Long 1964" /> The WFC planned to spend $1.3 million on renovations,<ref name="Hornaday 1964" /><ref name="Long 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> and 3,000 workers began winterizing the fairground in November 1964.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC planned to create a promotional film and advertisements for the fair,<ref name="Schmedel 1964a">Template:Cite news</ref> and it kept some of the paths and fountains illuminated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Deegan said several pavilions would be renovated and 12 new restaurants would be added.<ref name="nyt-1964-11-17">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 59">Template:Harvnb</ref> Moses also traveled around the world to persuade foreign exhibitors to display additional artifacts, such as a Gutenberg Bible and Spanish artwork, during 1965.<ref name="Caro p. 1106" />

WFC officials said attendance would rise during the 1965 season,<ref name="Samuel p. 58" /><ref name="Tirella p. 270">Template:Harvnb</ref> and anticipated 37.5 million visitors.<ref name="Caro 1965" /> The prediction was unrealistic; previous world's fairs typically had fewer visitors during their second season<ref name="Samuel p. 58" /> and no new pavilions were being planned.<ref name="Tirella p. 270" /><ref name="Frederick 1964" /> In its balance sheet, the WFC counted profits from advance ticket sales as part of its income for 1964, which meant revenue would be much lower than expected during 1965.<ref name="Caro p. 1103">Template:Harvnb</ref> Unless the fair had at least 37.5 million visitors in 1965, it would not be profitable.<ref name="Caro 1965"/> WFC officials, fearing reprisal from Moses, waited weeks to tell him about the fair's financial troubles.<ref name="Caro p. 1103" /> In November 1964, Moses told Wagner the WFC might not be able to repay the city's $24 million loan.<ref name="Samuel p. 59" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC's financial advisors raised suspicions of financial mismanagement the next month.<ref name="Caro pp. 1104–1105">Template:Harvnb</ref>

In January 1965, several of the WFC's financial advisors quit following bitter disputes,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 70; Tirella pp. 274–275">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> and the WFC requested $3.5 million to reopen the fair.<ref name="Samuel p. 70; Tirella pp. 274–275" /><ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1965">Template:Cite news</ref> The city controller Abraham Beame began auditing the WFC,<ref name="Samuel p. 71; Tirella p. 276">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and the WFC fired Deegan's public-relations firm, which had been receiving $300,000 annually for four years, following criticism over the firm's compensation.<ref name="Tirella p. 276">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC's internal audit found a $17.5 million deficit,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> but lawsuits delayed Beame's audit for several months.<ref name="Samuel p. 71; Tirella p. 276" /><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> By February 1965, at least 14 exhibitors in the 1964 season had declared bankruptcy.<ref name="Samuel p. 65">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1965-02-13">Template:Cite news</ref> Franklin National Bank offered to lend the WFC $3.5 million,<ref name="Tirella p. 276" /><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> but the WFC indicated it needed only $1 million.<ref name="The Wall Street Journal 1965">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Though city officials wanted to remove Moses as the WFC's president,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> he retained his position.<ref name="The Wall Street Journal 1965" /><ref name="Tirella pp. 277–278">Template:Harvnb</ref> When Moses said he would spend $6.4 million to renovate Flushing Meadows–Corona Park before repaying debts,<ref name="Samuel pp. 71–72; Tirella p. 278">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the WFC's finance chairman resigned.<ref name="Samuel pp. 71–72; Tirella p. 278" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Two Marine Midland Bank branches provided a $1 million loan to the WFC that March,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 73">Template:Harvnb</ref> which the WFC repaid two months later.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Newsday 1965a">Template:Cite news</ref>

During the off-season, several exhibitors renovated and modified their pavilions,<ref name="Samuel p. 65" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> spending over $7 million between them.<ref name="nyt-1965-04-21">Template:Cite news</ref> At least 50 exhibits were upgraded<ref name="Kursh 1965">Template:Cite news</ref> and five major attractions were added,<ref name="The Wall Street Journal 1965a">Template:Cite news</ref> along with free entertainments and science demonstrations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> New artworks and films were added to several pavilions.<ref name="nyt-1965-07-20">Template:Cite news</ref> The struggling Lake Amusement Area became the Lake Area.<ref name="Joseph 1965">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel pp. 67–68">Template:Harvnb</ref> The WFC asked the New York City Transit Authority to increase subway service to the fair, and 26 exhibitors collaborated on a promotional campaign.<ref name="Samuel pp. 63–64; Tirella p. 273">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Fifty-three exhibitors proposed naming the first week of the 1965 season Fair Festival Week,<ref name="Samuel p. 73" /><ref name="nyt-1965-02-05">Template:Cite news</ref> to which Wagner agreed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC produced a promotional film titled To the Fair,<ref name="Samuel pp. 63–64">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and individual exhibitors produced their own films.<ref name="Samuel pp. 63–64" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> To reduce its debts, the WFC decreased its budget for the 1965 season and dismissed some employees.<ref name="nyt-1965-04-212">Template:Cite news</ref>

1965 season

In a misty aerial view, a large building, a major road, a helipad, and two colored domes are visible.

Aerial view of the Transportation and Travel Pavilion and Port Authority Heliport

More than 150,000 people attended the reopening of the fair on April 21, 1965.<ref name="Alden 1965n">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel pp. 73–74">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Ethiopian long-distance runners Abebe Bikila and Mamo Wolde participated in a ceremonial half marathon,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> running from Central Park in Manhattan to Singer Bowl at the fairground.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Unlike the 1964 opening ceremony, no protests occurred at the fair's reopening,<ref name="Samuel pp. 73–74" /> and almost all exhibits were completed on time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> For the 1965 season, adult admission fees were raised to $2.50 (Template:Inflation).<ref name="nyt19650113" /><ref name="The Christian Science Monitor 1965" /><ref name="Samuel pp. 63–64; Tirella p. 273" /> During the first 20 days of the 1965 season, attendance declined 22 percent compared with the same time period in 1964,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> putting many exhibitors at risk of bankruptcy.<ref name="nyt-1965-05-13">Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, fewer visitors were paying at the gates because more than half of them carried advance tickets.<ref name="nyt-1965-05-13" /> Exhibitors requested a reduction in admission fees,<ref name="Newsday 1965a" /><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and that a reduced-price evening admission ticket be sold.<ref name="Samuel p. 75">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Moses refused both proposals,<ref name="Samuel p. 75" /><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and several exhibitors threatened to close their pavilions before retracting.<ref name="Samuel p. 75" /><ref name="nyt-1965-05-29">Template:Cite news</ref>

At the beginning of the 1965 season, there were issues such as race-related protests,<ref name="Samuel pp. 76–77; Tirella pp. 294–295">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Vietnam War protests,<ref name="Samuel p. 78" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a controversy over a racially insensitive song in one pavilion,<ref name="Samuel pp. 76–77; Tirella pp. 294–295" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and disputes between Jewish and Arab exhibitors.<ref name="Samuel pp. 76–77; Tirella pp. 294–295" /><ref name="nyt-1965-05-02">Template:Cite news</ref> Vandalism also increased due to the reduced police presence,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a fairgoer was murdered that May.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 78">Template:Harvnb</ref> WFC officials also tried to invalidate their January 1964 agreement for disbursing the fair's profits,<ref name="nyt-1965-05-212" /> and exhibitors continued to lose money due to lower-than-expected attendance.<ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> Fewer visitors came during the evening,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but the WFC again rejected a proposal for discounted evening admission in July 1965.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Despite increased attendance in mid-1965, the fair continued to record decreased revenue compared with 1964.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Many exhibitors recorded substantial losses from the costs of their pavilions.<ref name="nyt-1965-08-16">Template:Cite news</ref> By August 1965, the WFC was preparing to clear the fairground after the fair,<ref name="nyt-1965-08-01">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Johnson 1965">Template:Cite news</ref> though 13 exhibitors had declared bankruptcy and could not afford to demolish or move their pavilions.<ref name="nyt-1965-08-11">Template:Cite news</ref>

Beame's interim report, which was published at the end of August, found the WFC had squandered money by not awarding contracts through competitive bidding and by spending nearly everything it had on expenses it incurred before and during 1964.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 79">Template:Harvnb</ref> Despite Moses's denials of wrongdoing,<ref name="Samuel pp. 79–80; Tirella p. 313">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Queens district attorney Frank D. O'Connor opened a criminal inquiry into the WFC shortly afterward.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Moses installed highway signs promoting the fair and refused to remove them, even after city traffic commissioner Henry A. Barnes called the signs a safety hazard.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel pp. 78–79; Tirella p. 313">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> By mid-September, estimates of the fair's total attendance had been reduced from 70 to 50 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By the end of September, the fair had recorded 17 million visitors during the 1965 season, less than half the number of visitors needed to break even. At this point, the WFC had barely enough money to pay its weekly expenses.<ref name="Caro p. 1112">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Toward the end of the 1965 season, there was a sustained increase in attendance,<ref name="Samuel p. 82" /><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and the fair recorded more than 250,000 daily visitors for three consecutive weeks.<ref name="Caro p. 1112" /> Exhibitors worried potential visitors would be dissuaded by the overcrowding.<ref name="nyt-1965-10-13">Template:Cite news</ref> The architect and writer Robert A. M. Stern attributed the increase in attendance to a prevailing feeling the 1964 fair would be one of the last lavish world's fairs.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1055">Template:Harvnb</ref> Pope Paul VI visited the fair on October 4, 1965, during the first-ever papal visit to the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The fair closed on October 17, 1965,<ref name="Abrams 1965">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 83; Tirella pp. 320–321">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> and recorded its highest-ever daily attendance of 446,953 on its final day.<ref name="Los Angeles Times 1965">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 83; Tirella pp. 320–321" /> The fair's final day was chaotic, with reports of vandalism and theft.<ref name="Abrams 1965" /><ref name="Los Angeles Times 1965" /> In total, the fair had recorded 51,607,448 admissions,<ref name="Los Angeles Times 1965" /><ref name="Samuel p. 83">Template:Harvnb</ref> seven million more than the 1939 fair and ten million more than Expo 58.<ref name="Samuel p. 83" /><ref name=nyt-1965-10-17b>Template:Cite news</ref> The GM and Vatican pavilions had been the most popular.<ref name="nyt-1965-10-17b" /> The fair had lost an additional $1 million in 1965<ref name="nyt-1967-04-08">Template:Cite news</ref> and had a deficit of up to $40 million at its closing;<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The New York Times partly attributed the fair's underperformance to Moses's stubborn attitude and refusal to take advice.<ref name="nyt-1965-10-17b" />

Fairground

The fairground was divided into five regions.<ref name="Lane 1963" /> Exhibits for individual U.S. states and the U.S. federal government were concentrated in the Federal & State Area at the center of the fairground near the Unisphere.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-22" /><ref name="Samuel p. 125">Template:Harvnb</ref> The international exhibits were concentrated in the International Area—a group of pavilions surrounding the Unisphere.<ref name="nyt-1963-09-09" /> Industry pavilions were concentrated around the Industrial Area on the eastern end near the Van Wyck Expressway.<ref name="Lane 1963">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Robbins 2014 m690">Template:Cite web</ref> The Transportation Area was on the western side of the fairground.<ref name="Lane 1963" /> South of the Long Island Expressway, connected with the rest of the fair only via one overpass, was the Lake Amusement Area<ref name="Los Angeles Times 1964" /><ref name="Lane 1963" /><ref name="Robbins 2014 m690" /> (known as the Lake Area during 1965).<ref name="Joseph 1965" /> Eight gates provided access to the fairground.<ref name="Samuel p. 38" />

The 1964 World's Fair had 139 pavilions on opening day, in addition to 34 concessions and shows.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-225">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn Of the pavilions and shows, either 121<ref name="nyt-1964-04-225" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> or 124 were free, and the rest required an additional payment.<ref name="Alpert p. 21">Template:Harvnb</ref> Scattered across the fairground were 5,300 trees, 3,500 benches, 1,400 telephones, and 60 mailboxes.<ref name="Rhoades 2014 k912">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Travelers p. 4">Template:Harvnb</ref> There were also bank branches, picnic areas, and restrooms.<ref name="Travelers p. 4" /> Accessible bathrooms, wheelchair rental stands, and Braille guidebooks were provided for disabled visitors.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-26">Template:Cite news</ref> There were also several hotels nearby,<ref name="Ferretti 1962" /> albeit few campgrounds.<ref name="nyt-1964-03-22">Template:Cite news</ref> A spokesman for the 1964 fair said the exposition was supposed to be "cultural and sophisticated",<ref name="nyt-1962-04-29">Template:Cite news</ref> and Deegan claimed that the exposition would be the "greatest single event in history".<ref name="nyt-1962-09-13" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Pavilions

Each section of the fair was designed in several architectural styles,<ref name="nyt-1964-04-22_Phillips">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 99">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Barry 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> and many of the pavilions were designed in a Space Age style.<ref name="p426610123">Template:Cite news</ref> Some pavilions used experimental designs; for example, the Bell System Pavilion was supported by massive cantilevers, while the IBM Pavilion was shaped like a giant egg.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Most of the structures were designed so they could easily be demolished after the fair and rebuilt elsewhere.<ref name="Hornaday 1965">Template:Cite news</ref> Any person or entity who could afford to rent the land and construct a pavilion could rent exhibition space at the fair.<ref name="Beckerman 2024 c752" /><ref name="Tirella p. 205">Template:Harvnb</ref> Thus, the space was dominated by large corporations.<ref name="Beckerman 2024 c752">Template:Cite web</ref> Private companies spent a combined $300 million on their pavilions.<ref name="Samuel p. 98">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Big Three car manufacturers—Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors—alone spent a combined $110 million on attractions such as Chrysler's artificial islands, Ford's Magic Skyway, and General Motors' Futurama car ride.<ref name=nyt-1964-04-05/>

Twenty-three state pavilions were built.<ref name="Hornaday 1963a">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Tirella p. 47">Template:Harvnb</ref> The fair included exhibits from 24 U.S. states;<ref name="park">Template:Cite web</ref> these were Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the six states in New England.<ref name="nyt-1963-09-09" /> New York City had its own pavilion, as did the neighborhood of Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1039">Template:Harvnb</ref> Nineteen of the state pavilions were in the Federal and State Area,<ref name="Samuel p. 128">Template:Harvnb</ref> and three of the other four state pavilions were clustered around Meadow Lake at the southern end of the fair.<ref name="Hornaday 1963a" /> None of the state governments had to pay rent for the land,<ref name="Samuel p. 128" /><ref name="The Washington Post, Times Herald 1963">Template:Cite news</ref> but they had to fund the buildings. Twenty states and Washington, D.C., did not pay for exhibits at the fair.<ref name="The Washington Post, Times Herald 1963" />

There were 45 pavilions in the International Area, most of which featured exhibits from foreign countries.<ref name="Alpert p. 22" /> Individual exhibits were presented by 66 nations,<ref name="nyt-1964-04-22" /><ref name="Samuel p. 149" /> including the United States, whose pavilion was in the Federal and State Area.<ref name="Samuel p. 124">Template:Harvnb</ref> If nations that were represented only by one city or region are included,Template:Efn the fair had attractions from 80 countries.<ref name="Alpert p. 22" /><ref name="Tirella p. 202">Template:Harvnb</ref> Foreign nations rented land from the WFC,<ref name="Nicoletta p. 503">Template:Harvnb</ref> and paid for staff lodgings, food, and other expenses.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-20">Template:Cite news</ref> Many nations from Asia, Africa, and Central and South America, though relatively few from Europe, exhibited at the fair.<ref name="nyt-1962-12-02" /><ref name="Gray 1964">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Tirella p. 202" /> Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, boycotted the fair because the BIE had not approved it.<ref name="Caro p. 1094" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> Because of a lack of participation from BIE members, only six major countries—Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and Pakistan—had official exhibits at the fair.<ref name="Caro p. 1094" /> Some BIE member countries hosted unofficial exhibits or were represented by those of private companies,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Newsweek 1964a p. 44">Template:Harvnb</ref> and several countries were represented solely by an industry exhibit.<ref name="Lane 1963" /> Other countries were represented by regional pavilions, such as those for the Caribbean and Africa.<ref name="Tirella pp. 202–203">Template:Harvnb</ref> Many of the international pavilions sold merchandise.<ref name="Samuel pp. 104–105">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite book</ref>

The Industrial Area had 43 pavilions,<ref name="Alpert p. 22">Template:Harvnb</ref> representing nearly 350 American companies.<ref name="Newsweek 1964a p. 43">Template:Harvnb</ref> Most of the companies were consolidated within four exhibit buildings, though about 36 companies had their own pavilions.<ref name="Samuel p. 94"/> Corporations rented land from the WFC, while religious organizations were not required to pay for their space.<ref name="Nicoletta p. 503" /> Large firms such as Bell Telephone Company, DuPont, IBM, Kodak, RCA, The Travelers Companies, and US Royal Tires participated.<ref name="Tirella p. 47" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 1964 fair included only a few companies in the food, chemical, tobacco, cosmetic, or pharmaceutical industries.<ref name="nyt-1963-09-09" /> Transportation companies, including the Big Three car makers,<ref name="Tirella p. 47" /><ref name="Wood pp. 10–11">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name=nyt-1964-04-05/> displayed products in the Transportation Area of the fairground.<ref name="Robbins 2014 m690" /> Several of the industry pavilions offered free merchandise or other sponsorships,<ref name="nyt-1964-08-16">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel pp. 101–102">Template:Harvnb</ref> which often attracted customers.<ref name="Schmedel 1964" /> Moses provided about Template:Convert of land for religious groups and invited every major sect of Christianity to the fair.<ref name="Samuel p. 21">Template:Harvnb</ref> Eight religious pavilions were built,<ref name="nyt-1964-04-224">Template:Cite news</ref> each of which was staffed by volunteers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some exhibits were planned but never built, such as the Soviet and Israel pavilions, but were displayed on official maps, causing confusion among visitors.<ref name="nyt-1964-08-11">Template:Cite news</ref>

Amusement

In addition to pavilions, the Lake Area included several rides and attractions during 1964.<ref name="Travelers p. 19">Template:Harvnb</ref> John Ringling North operated a circus<ref name="nyt-1962-02-07">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="New York Amsterdam News 1962">Template:Cite news</ref> that performed in a 5,000-seat tent.<ref name="nyt-1962-02-07" /> Nearby was a wax museum.<ref name="Samuel p. 21" /><ref name="Kursh 1964" /> The amusement area also included a children's play area, a puppet show, a porpoise show, and other amusements.<ref name="Kursh 1964" /> A lake cruise traveled off the shore of Meadow Lake<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and an early log flume ride was also installed at the fair.<ref name="Rhoades 2014 k912" /><ref name="Calise 2019 c695">Template:Cite web</ref> A replica of the ship Santa María was displayed in the lake.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1054">Template:Harvnb</ref> There was a 10,000-seat outdoor theater in the amusement area as well.<ref name="Newsweek 1964a p. 44" /> Two Coney Island carousels were combined to form the Flushing Meadows Carousel.<ref name="Queens Gazette w424">Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref>

The Florida pavilion took over much of the Lake Area in 1965,<ref name="Samuel pp. 67–68" /><ref name="nyt-1965-03-03">Template:Cite news</ref> and two amusement areas called Carnival and Continental Park were added.<ref name="The Wall Street Journal 1965a" /> Outside the Lake Area were the Fiesta Playground<ref name="Kursh 1965" /> and the Sculpture Continuum Playground.<ref name="Weitekamp l955">Template:Cite web</ref>

Transportation

A tall, white building with a curved roof serves as a monorail station. A white train leaves the station while another arrives.

Monorail at the 1964 fair

The American Machine and Foundry Company constructed a suspended monorail with two Template:Convert tracks in the Lake Area.<ref name="nyt-1963-05-08">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The Washington Post, Times Herald 1963a">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="The Washington Post, Times Herald 1965">Template:Cite news</ref> The line had seven 80-passenger, two-car-long trains.<ref name="The Washington Post, Times Herald 1965" /> Another transport attraction at the fair was the Swiss Sky Ride, a ski lift or aerial gondola that was sponsored by the Government of Switzerland.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1043">Template:Harvnb</ref> During the 1964 season, visitors could rent one of 147 Greyhound Escorters, which were driven by chauffeurs. Sixty-one Glide-a-Ride trolleys also served the fairground during both seasons.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref>

The fairground was accessed via highways on Long Island that had been upgraded.<ref name="Hornaday 1963a" /><ref name="Samuel p. 13; Tirella p. 44">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> An expanded World's Fair Marina provided access via Flushing Bay.<ref name="Hornaday 1963a" /><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The fair was also served by a short-lived ferry service to Manhattan,<ref name="Samuel p. 41" /> as well as other ferry routes to ports in New York and New Jersey.<ref name="nyt-1964-05-03">Template:Cite news</ref> A helicopter shuttle provided services to the Pan Am Building and Lower Manhattan heliports.<ref name="New Pittsburgh Courier 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> Local buses, airport shuttle buses, the New York City Subway, and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) also stopped near the fairground.<ref name="New Pittsburgh Courier 1964" /> The subway cars R33S and R36WF were constructed for the number seven route that served Willets Point station near the fair.<ref name="Kursh 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> Although a dedicated subway line had served the 1939 fair,<ref name="Cunningham 1993" /> no such route was built for 1964.<ref name="Cunningham 1993">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 41">Template:Harvnb</ref> A luxury bus service carried "distinguished guests" to and from the fair.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> There were 20,000 parking spaces,<ref name="Rhoades 2014 k912" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and shuttle buses transported people from the parking lots to the main gate.<ref name="Alpert p. 21" />

Other features

Against a twilight cityscape stand two rockets, a space capsule, a rocket engine, and a lunar lander. They are illuminated with floodlights.

Space Park, as it appeared in December 1963 before its official opening

The fairground had nine fountains and eleven reflecting pools.<ref name="Shipp 1964">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Rhoades 2014 k912" /> Seven of the fountains had custom designs, although none have survived.<ref name="CY p. 88">Template:Harvnb</ref> At the center of the fair was the Unisphere, which was constructed by American Bridge Company.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1032">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="AR 1964">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Weighing Template:Convert,<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1032" /><ref name="NYCL p. 4">Template:Cite report</ref> the globe was created to symbolize "man's achievements on a shrinking globe in an expanding universe".<ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 1032–1033">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Fountain of the Planets (Pool of Industry), which is located at the far eastern end of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, could spray water up to Template:Convert high,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and it hosted nightly fireworks displays and music performances.<ref name="Samuel p. 94">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Unisphere and Fountain of the Planets are connected via the Fountain of the Fairs,<ref name="Parry 2020 p831">Template:Cite web</ref> which included a five-section reflecting pool and two rectangular pools.<ref name="ASCE l774">Template:Cite web</ref>

The fairground had Template:Cvt,<ref name="McPherson 1964" /> Template:Cvt,<ref name="Alpert p. 21" />Template:Efn or Template:Cvt of paths,<ref name="nyt-1964-04-225" /> and numerous plazas.<ref name="Lane 1963" /> Throughout the fairground were information booths operated by Greyhound Bus.<ref name="Alpert p. 21" /> Near the northern end of the fairground was a customs building,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> where customs officials examined items bound for the fair's international pavilions and concessionaires.<ref name="nyt-1964-05-05">Template:Cite news</ref> There was a press building next to the Grand Central Parkway, with a reporters' bullpen, offices for major news agencies, a press conference room, and offices.<ref name="nyt-1963-05-05" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The on-site, 22-room Atomedic Hospital was constantly staffed, and there were five first-aid stations.<ref name="nyt-1964-11-01">Template:Cite news</ref> About 300 closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) were installed across the fairground,<ref name="Snyder 1964" /><ref name="Kursh 1964" /> and a film studio for independent filmmakers was also built.<ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> Pinkerton matrons operated a lost-child bureau with activities and games for lost children.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Culture

Foreign cultures and American technologies were featured at the fair.<ref name="wsj-2014-04-23">Template:Cite news</ref> While WFC rules technically prevented the fair's officials from influencing the design or contents of any exhibits, the WFC retained a significant influence on the contents of exhibits. For example, developing nations were encouraged to show their art and culture rather than technology, and WFC officials pressured Islamic nations to emphasize their religion.<ref name="Nicoletta (2010) p. 504">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Cuisine

The fair had a large number of restaurants and eateries.<ref name="Snyder 1964" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When it opened, there were between 110 and 114 eateries, 61 of which were within pavilions.<ref name="Alpert p. 21" /><ref name="Samuel p. 153">Template:Harvnb</ref> There were six specialty restaurants and 25 fine-dining restaurants operated by Brass Rail.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Restaurant Associates was contracted to operate several of the restaurants but its contract was canceled because of a dispute over signage,<ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> and Brass Rail instead received the contract.<ref name="Alpert p. 21" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ten of Brass Rail's restaurants were designed by Victor Lundy and had canopies shaped like bunches of white balloons.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-223">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1054" /> For the 1965 season, the fair was expanded to include 198 restaurants.<ref name="nyt-1965-04-21" /><ref name="Samuel p. 65" />

Cuisine sold at the fair included Belgian waffles, 7 Up drinks, dumplings, pizza, tacos, kimchi, Turkish coffee, tandoori chicken, and hummus. Many of these dishes became popular in New York City and in the U.S. after the fair closed.<ref name="Smith2015">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Levy t903">Template:Cite web</ref> The Thailand pavilion included North America's first Thai restaurant, while the Malaysia pavilion served Tiger Beer and satay.<ref name="Van Esterik">Template:Cite book</ref> During the 1964 season, many meals cost 99 cents because any food below $1 could not be taxed.<ref name="nyt-1965-05-17">Template:Cite news</ref> Brewers spent millions of dollars persuading exhibitors to sell their beers.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-24">Template:Cite news</ref>

Performances

A single-story, glass-fronted building with a sign saying "Les Poupées de Paris" (The Dolls of Paris).

A puppet show building at the fair

There were more than 30 entertainment events at the fair.<ref name="nyt-1963-06-14">Template:Cite news</ref> Moses disdained carnival-style attractions,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Tirella pp. 236–237">Template:Harvnb</ref> saying there would be "no whiskered women, tattooed giants, nudes on ice ... The appeal of a world's fair should not be entirely below the Adam's apple".<ref name="Gray 1964" /> As the WFC's president, Moses reserved the right to ban any project from the fair.<ref name="Tirella p. 2112">Template:Harvnb</ref> Shows that appealed to prurient interests, like semi-nude dancing, were excluded.<ref name="Samuel p. 21" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> An exception was the adult-only, musical puppet show Les Poupées de Paris (The Dolls of Paris).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The lack of adult shows may have contributed to the amusement area's unpopularity in 1964.<ref name="Tirella pp. 236–237" /> The ban on adult shows was relaxed in 1965, and nine discotheques opened at the fair during that season.<ref name="Caro p. 1106">Template:Harvnb</ref> That May, a striptease show in the Louisiana pavilion lasted two performances before it was canceled.<ref name="Samuel p. 75" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Musical and theatrical performances took place at several pavilions, and there were fireworks and water shows at the Pool of Industry.<ref name="nyt-1963-06-14" /> Among the theatrical shows were the revues To Broadway With Love,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 48; Tirella p. 235">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> Wonder World—which lasted two months—<ref name="Samuel pp. 47–48" /><ref name="nyt-1964-07-06">Template:Cite news</ref> and Summer Time Revue.<ref name="nyt-1964-07-19">Template:Cite news</ref> DuPont presented a musical revue in its own pavilion, The Wonderful World of Chemistry.<ref name="CY p. 96">Template:Harvnb</ref> A controversial minstrel show in the Louisiana pavilion was canceled after two days.<ref name="Samuel p. 48; Tirella p. 235" /><ref name="Gan e936">Template:Cite web</ref> International pavilions, such as the African, Indonesia, and Spain pavilions, also hosted dance and other live shows.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sporting events, such as wrestling, boxing, gymnastics, fencing, judo, and weightlifting, took place at the fair.<ref name="Kursh 1964" /> Some of these events were presented as part of the 1964 Summer Olympics tryouts in New York City.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Other shows included the ice-skating show Dick Button's Ice-Travaganza at the New York City Pavilion,<ref name="nyt-1963-06-14" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Auto Thrill Show in the Transportation Area.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-05">Template:Cite news</ref> To Broadway With Love and the Ice-Travaganza closed within a few months of the fair's opening.<ref name="nyt-1964-07-27" /> A parade traveled across the fairground every day.<ref name="New York Amsterdam News 1962" /> The evangelist Billy Graham gave daily sermons at the Billy Graham Pavilion.<ref name="p279956694">Template:Cite news</ref>

Music and film

The fairground did not emphasize music, although a "World's Fair Festival" took place at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Popular and classical music was broadcast from 800 lampposts on the fairground.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The fair also had an official band; Cities Service's World's Band of America, a 50-piece ensemble, was headed by the conductor Paul Lavalle.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-23">Template:Cite news</ref> Other ensembles, including Guy Lombardo, the United States Marine Band,<ref name="nyt-1964-04-23" /> and the United States Navy Steel Band, performed throughout the fair.<ref name="Martin 2017 f838">Template:Cite book</ref> During 1964, the amusement area hosted rock-and-roll concerts that were popular among local youth; Moses, who abhorred the genre, canceled these concerts when he learned about them.<ref name="Tirella pp. 240–241">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The fairground contained about 40 movie theaters, most of which were housed within pavilions, for which fifty films were produced.<ref name="nyt-1964-04-22_Shepard">Template:Cite news</ref> These included several religious films: Parable at the Protestant and Orthodox pavilion;<ref name="Tirella p. 2112"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Man in the 5th Dimension at the Billy Graham pavilion;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Man's Search for Happiness at the LDS pavilion.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Johnson's Wax pavilion screened a film titled To Be Alive!, which later won an Academy Award.<ref name="CY p. 61" /> The WFC produced a film promoting the fair in seven languages in 1964.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Art and artifacts

Originally, the WFC made no effort to coordinate art exhibitions at the 1964 World's Fair, and Moses did not wish to subsidize art exhibits on the fairground,<ref name="Nicoletta p. 503" /> nor did he want to pay for an art pavilion himself.<ref name="nyt-1964-03-02">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Tirella pp. 97–98">Template:Harvnb</ref> After commentators spoke about the lack of art at the fair, Moses changed his mind and allowed states to display art in their pavilions.<ref name="Nicoletta pp. 503–504">Template:Harvnb</ref> Ten pop artists designed art for the New York State Pavilion's Theaterama,<ref name="Goldberger 2014">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1036">Template:Harvnb</ref> and the Fine Arts pavilion displayed 250 contemporary artists' work.<ref name="Barry 1964" /><ref name="nyt-1964-05-13">Template:Cite news</ref>

Foreign nations also displayed art and artifacts at the fair.<ref name="The Globe and Mail 1963">Template:Cite news</ref> Spain displayed works from artists such as Francisco Goya, El Greco, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Diego Velázquez.<ref name="Tirella p. 202" /><ref name="Nicoletta (2010) pp. 505–506">Template:Harvnb</ref> The United Arab Republic displayed artifacts from several historical eras;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Nicoletta (2010) pp. 505–506" /> the Sudan pavilion displayed a 1,300-year-old Madonna fresco;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Jordan pavilion showed the Dead Sea Scrolls; and the Republic of China pavilion displayed Chinese jade.<ref name="The Globe and Mail 1963" /> During the 1965 season, the Mexico pavilion displayed art, including Mesoamerican pieces and works by José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo.<ref name="Nicoletta (2010) pp. 508–509">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1965-05-26">Template:Cite news</ref> Though art was also displayed in gift shops throughout the fair, WFC officials generally only publicized artwork that was exhibited in pavilions.<ref name="Nicoletta (2010) pp. 512–513">Template:Harvnb</ref>

There were 95 sculptures at the fair,<ref name="Rhoades 2014 k912" /> including five permanent sculptures,<ref name="Rhoades 2014 j066">Template:Cite web</ref> four which remain in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park: Forms in Transit by Theodore Roszak, Freedom of the Human Spirit by Marshall Fredericks, Free Form by José de Rivera, and Rocket Thrower by Donald De Lue.<ref name="Rhoades 2014 j066" /> Armillary Sphere by Paul Manship, was vandalized and the remaining pieces were stolen in 1980.<ref name="Rhoades 2014 j066" /><ref name="Colangelo 2014 k247">Template:Cite web</ref> The temporary sculptures included Pietà by Michelangelo at the Vatican pavilion,<ref name="The Globe and Mail 1963" /><ref name="Rhoades 2014 j066" /> which was one of the fair's most-popular exhibits.<ref name="Tirella p. 48">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Consumer products

The 1964 World's Fair introduced and showed many consumer products,<ref name="Spokesman u062">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Bonanos 2014 v186">Template:Cite web</ref> in what one magazine called "the ultimate marketing bonanza of [its] time".<ref name="p211850935">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Color television was popularized at the fair,<ref name="nyt-2014-04-18">Template:Cite news</ref> and the Ford Mustang was launched just before its appearance at the fair.<ref name="Bonanos 2014 v186" /><ref name="Associated Press k397">Template:Cite web</ref> The fair also displayed technologies such as Picturephones and IBM computers,<ref name="Tirella pp. 201–202">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="CBS News 2014">Template:Cite web</ref> as well as electronic devices that could display personalized data to visitors.<ref name="p426610123" /> Some pavilions incorporated personal computers into their exhibits, and many visitors saw touchtone phones for the first time while at the fair.<ref name="Associated Press k397" /> Other innovations, such as thermonuclear fusion power plants, undersea hotels, underground houses,<ref name="Bonanos 2014 v186" /> jet packs, and Corfam synthetic leather, never became popular.<ref name="Rhoades 2014 o150">Template:Cite web</ref>

Aftermath

Site usage

Site clearing

A futuristic, one-story building is elevated on two concrete columns.

Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was built as the heliport for the 1964 World's Fair but now houses a restaurant.

Moses predicted the WFC would need to spend $11.6 million to clear Flushing Meadows–Corona Park after the fair closed.<ref name="O'Neill 1965">Template:Cite news</ref> He recommended the demolition of most of the pavilions.<ref name="Newsday 1965">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> By mid-1965, the WFC proposed the preservation of 19 structures,<ref name="Hornaday 1965a" /><ref name="nyt-1965-08-01" /> while the remaining pavilions were offered to anyone who could afford to relocate them.<ref name="nyt-1965-08-01" /><ref name="Johnson 1965" /> Several exhibitors, including U.S. Steel and Thailand, chose to sell their buildings due to the high cost of demolition,<ref name="Samuel p. 82">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while others sold the contents of their pavilions,<ref name="Samuel p. 81">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name=p155262802>Template:Cite news</ref> and people offered to salvage parts of some buildings.<ref name=p155262802/><ref name="nyt-1965-08-15" /> Any other buildings had to be demolished within 90 days of the fair's closure.<ref name="Hornaday 1965" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 84">Template:Harvnb</ref> Each exhibitor was supposed to have placed money in escrow or posted a bond to cover the demolition costs, but most exhibitors had not done so. The WFC feared exhibitors would abandon their pavilions.<ref name="nyt-1965-10-20">Template:Cite news</ref>

Demolition began the day after the fair closed<ref name="Samuel p. 84" /> and the rubble was dumped into Flushing Bay.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By November, the site was filled with rubbish and rats.<ref name="nyt-1965-11-28">Template:Cite news</ref> Scientists temporarily preserved three of the fair's buildings for structural testing.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The deadline for demolition was extended to December 1966,<ref name="nyt-1966-02-20">Template:Cite news</ref> and by the middle of that year, about 24 structures remained.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Moses suggested his Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority should provide funding to convert the fairground into a park.<ref name="Samuel p. 86">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The city government took over Flushing Meadows–Corona Park from the WFC in June 1967.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Few improvements were made to the park for several years<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The Washington Post 1974">Template:Cite news</ref> and many of the remaining structures were vandalized.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The Washington Post 1974" /> According to a 1986 report, the city government had to spend $107 million ($Template:Inflation million in Template:Inflation/year) to turn the fairground into a park.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 1980s, a 1989 World's Fair was proposed for the site to mark the 25th Anniversary of the 1964 fair, but the proposal was unsuccessful.<ref name="p278141630">Template:Cite news</ref> The paths remain almost unchanged into the 21st century.<ref name="Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation 2015">Template:Cite web</ref>

Remaining structures

On a sunny summer day, a futuristic building and a huge sculpture representing Earth are visible behind trees and parkland.

The New York State Pavilion (left) and the Unisphere (right) remain in Flushing Meadows.

Some of the structures from the 1964 World's Fair, including the fair's symbol the Unisphere, remain in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.<ref name="Samuel p. 197" /><ref name="Caro p. 11132">Template:Harvnb</ref> Near the Unisphere is the Column of Jerash from Jordan's pavilion, a stone bench marking the site of the Vatican pavilion,<ref name="p408480364">Template:Cite news</ref> and a plaque on the site of the Garden of Meditation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The New York City Pavilion houses Queens Museum,<ref name="Samuel p. 196">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the New York Hall of Science is also preserved as a museum.<ref name="Samuel p. 197" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The western side of the fairground site includes the Port Authority pavilion, which became the Terrace on the Park banquet hall; the Winston Churchill Tribute, which became an aviary for Queens Zoo; and the Flushing Meadows Carousel.<ref name="Samuel p. 197" /> The New York State Pavilion is largely unused Template:As of,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but its former Theaterama is used by Queens Theatre in the Park.<ref name="p408480364" /><ref name="Samuel p. 197">Template:Harvnb</ref> The World's Fair Marina along Flushing Bay still operates.<ref name="Marinas l738">Template:Cite web</ref> Other buildings, including the Travel and Transportation Pavilion, the United States Pavilion,<ref name="Cotter Young">Template:Harvnb</ref> the Aquacade amphitheater,<ref name="Marzlock j896">Template:Cite web</ref> and the Singer Bowl remained for several years before their demolition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other structures were relocated after the fair closed;<ref name="Hornaday 1965a">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel pp. 85–86">Template:Harvnb</ref> among these were the Austria, Christian Science, Denmark, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mormon, Parker Pen, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, and Wisconsin pavilions. the Uniroyal Giant Tire and Golden Rondelle Theater.<ref name="Cohn 1967" /><ref name="Samuel p. 85">Template:Harvnb</ref> In some cases, only parts of buildings were preserved due to the high cost of full preservation.<ref name="nyt-1965-08-15">Template:Cite news</ref> The LIRR, Mormon, Socony Mobil, and West Berlin pavilions, as well as the monorail, Poupees des Paris, and the wax museum, were preserved within New York.<ref name="Cohn 1967">Template:Cite news</ref> Other objects, including parts of the Hollywood and Ireland pavilions,<ref name="Cohn 1967" /> the Coca-Cola pavilion's carillon, the It's a Small World ride, Progressland carousel, and the Swiss Sky Ride, were sent further afield.<ref name="NRHP-12000021">Template:Cite report</ref> Some pavilions, such as Clairol's "color carousel" and Sinclair Oil's dinosaur exhibits, became traveling exhibitions.<ref name="Cohn 1967" /><ref name="Samuel pp. 85–86" />

Profitability and effect on other world's fairs

Profits from the fair would have been used to improve Flushing Meadows–Corona Park,<ref name="nyt-1960-11-04" /><ref name="Sederberg 1964" /> and many of its restaurants broke even.<ref name="nyt-1965-10-14">Template:Cite news</ref> On the fair's closing day, the WFC had $11.58 million in cash.<ref name="Caro p. 1112" /> Moses anticipated the WFC would not be able to repay the remaining $22.4 million in promissory notes,<ref name="O'Neill 1965" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the WFC was expecting to default on 60 percent of the bonds it had issued.<ref name="Samuel p. 87">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1965-12-22a">Template:Cite news</ref> In December 1965, Beame determined the fair had lost $20.1 million in 1964 due to improper management.<ref name="nyt-1965-12-22a" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The WFC later agreed to pay noteholders another $4 million in mid-1966,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> although it struggled to fulfill its obligation to restore the fairground.<ref name="nyt-1965-12-11">Template:Cite news</ref>

During the late 1960s, the WFC was separately investigated on charges of financial mismanagement regarding the Belgian Village pavilion,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the New York state government opened a racketeering investigation into the fair's construction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The city government received $1.5 million in profits from the fair in 1972, following several years of legal disputes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The fair recorded a net loss of $21.1 million,<ref name="nyt-1967-12-29">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and bondholders received back about one-third of their original investments.<ref name="Caro p. 11132" /><ref name="nyt-1967-12-29" /> In total, the WFC and other public agencies had spent $83.832 million on permanent improvements to the site during the 1964 fair.<ref name="Caro pp. 1113–1114">Template:Harvnb</ref>

In part because of the 1964 fair's unprofitability, many industrial exhibitors were reluctant to sponsor major exhibits at the next world's fair, Expo 67 in Montreal, Canada,<ref name="nyt-1965-06-25">Template:Cite news</ref> and two other American cities withdrew proposals for world's fairs in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name="nyt-1965-08-16" /> Citing the 1964 fair, Expo 67's organizers heavily invested in amusement attractions, sought and received BIE approval, and constructed pavilions ahead of schedule.<ref>Template:Cite magazine; Template:Cite news</ref> Expo 67 officials also sought positive press coverage for their fair, a significant departure from Moses's negative reaction to every perceived criticism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Impact

Reception

A foggy aerial view of city shows a long, white, low-rise building with the words General Motors on its roof.

The General Motors Pavilion

Contemporaneous

Before the fair opened, The Washington Post called it a "mixed boon" to New York City because BIE members had boycotted the fair.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In late 1963, just before the fair opened, an Associated Press reporter called it "a big city cousin to the familiar county fair" and said it was becoming one of the United States' most comprehensive exhibits of industries and businesses.<ref name="Lane 1963" /> A British newspaper called the fair "a great big grown-up Disneyland".<ref name="Newsweek 1964a p. 43" />

After the fair's opening, Life and Ebony magazines called it one of mankind's largest expositions, and Newsweek wrote the attractions and pavilions were "hard to resist".<ref name="Samuel p. 38" /> Several writers criticized the large number of industrial exhibits at the fair, and observers complained about the wastefulness of the pavilions' temporary nature.<ref name="Samuel pp. 95–96">Template:Harvnb</ref> During the second season, Time magazine wrote the fair was unsuccessful because of long queues, meager exhibits, high prices, and the overwhelmingly large number of attractions for visitors.<ref name="Time 1965 d891">Template:Cite magazine</ref> When the fair closed, a Wall Street Journal reporter wrote it had failed because it "lacked coordination, a common purpose that could be transmitted to the community".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Russell Lynes said the concept of the fair was flawed because instant communication between countries was already possible.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1055" /><ref name="Lynes p819">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

There was also commentary on the conflicting architectural styles,<ref name="Bernstein 2014">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 42; Tirella pp. 208–209">Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> which were controversial even before the official opening.<ref name="Schmedel 1961" /><ref name="Samuel p. 99" /> In 1961, John Canaday of The New York Times wrote he would be surprised if the fair were not "a mess and disaster architecturally".<ref name="nyt-1961-07-30">Template:Cite news</ref> After the fair opened, Ada Louise Huxtable of The New York Times wrote the fair was architecturally "grotesque",<ref name="Bernstein 2014" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while other critics criticized the structures as befitting Coney Island or a street fair.<ref name="Samuel p. 422"/> The critic Vincent Scully Jr., in a Life magazine article, wrote: "If This Is Architecture, God Help Us".<ref name="Bernstein 2014" /><ref name="Samuel p. 42; Tirella pp. 208–209" /> In June 1964, Time said the fair had "grace and substance" despite the presence of some "tacky" attractions,<ref name="Samuel p. 422"/><ref name="Time 1964 p823">Template:Cite magazine</ref> a sentiment repeated in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.<ref name="Shipp 1964" /> The American Institute of Architects gave awards for excellence in design to several pavilions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A Newsday reporter described the fair as "both garish and subtle, tawdry and tasteful, ephemeral and lasting".<ref name="Schwartz 1964" /> After the fair closed, architectural critic Wolf Von Eckardt said the fair was "a frightening image of ourselves" because of its "chaotic" architecture.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1055" /><ref name="Von Eckardt q189">Template:Cite book</ref>

Retrospective

In 1967, New York Times reporter Robert Alden wrote the 1964 fair benefited from "participation of private industry on a massive scale" and that more countries were participating in Expo 67.<ref name="nyt-1967-05-01">Template:Cite news</ref> Another Times writer said in 1989: "The 1964 fair was not as self-conscious a portrayal of the future so much as a display of contemporary American achievements".<ref name="nyt-1989-03-02">Template:Cite news</ref> The same year, a Newsday reporter wrote the 1964 fair had occurred at a time when audiences were no longer awed by cultural and technological innovations.<ref name="p278141630" /> Robert A. M. Stern wrote in 1995 the 1964 fair had been so attractive in part because "it was out of place amid the realities of life in the nuclear age".<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1055" />

David W. Dunlap wrote in 2001 the 1964 fair was still ingrained in the public imagination, even though it had been "a tailfin-tacky celebration of jet-age technological hubris" and an "unhappy final chapter" to Moses's career as New York City's main urban planner.<ref name="nyt-2001-08-26">Template:Cite news</ref> According to the author Lawrence R. Samuel, the fair's motto "peace through understanding" was overshadowed by the fair's focus on profits,<ref name="Samuel p. 11" /> and a Bloomberg reporter wrote in 2013 the fair had been dominated by corporate exhibitors.<ref name="Byrnes 2013 o626">Template:Cite web</ref> In the same year, Joseph Tirella wrote although "peace through understanding continues to elude us", the United States had become more ethnically diverse due to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which was enacted just before the fair ended.<ref name="Tirella p. 329">Template:Harvnb</ref>

According to New York Daily News in 2012, the remaining structures from the fair "have provided [Flushing Meadows–Corona Park] with some of its most striking structures".<ref name="p1462680741">Template:Cite news</ref> For the fair's 50th anniversary, Smithsonian magazine wrote the fair's "limitless faith in material and social progress" had been counteracted by the social upheaval in the U.S. that took place during the mid-1960s.<ref name="Abel 2014 v185">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2018, The New York Times wrote the fair was a showcase for futuristic technology and a place where "foreigners could broadcast their best wares and fairgoers could catch a glimpse into their far-off cultures".<ref name="nyt-2018-04-24" />

Influence

Economic and regional influence

On a sunny day, in a pool with a fountains, sits a huge, skeletal representation of Earth, with North and South America visible.

The Unisphere, one of the fair's remaining structures

The fair was credited with increasing tourism in New York City, even before the formal opening.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The city's hotels and garages were often overcrowded during the fair's 1964 season.<ref name="The Sun 1964a">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Samuel p. 55" /> Broadway theaters 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">Template:Cite news</ref> To avoid crowds, many residents left the city during the fair.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Attendance at local amusement parks declined during the fair and some parks, such as Freedomland U.S.A., permanently closed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At the end of the 1964 season, the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated the city had earned $400 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>Template:Cite news</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">Template:Cite news</ref>

Cultural influence and media

At the fair's 50th anniversary, a writer for amNewYork Metro wrote it helped influence 21st-century technologies and highlighted Flushing Meadows–Corona Park as an attraction in itself.<ref name="Pereira c053">Template:Cite web</ref> The fair helped popularize several consumer products such as Belgian waffles and the Ford Mustang.<ref name="Bonanos 2014 v186" /> The 1964 World's Fair included several exhibits and technologies that were later included in Disney parks;<ref name="Antos 2020 e982">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="p426610123" /> for example, the Illinois Pavilion's Audio-Animatronic of Abraham Lincoln was so popular Audio-Animatronics were later added to many Disney rides.<ref name="Variety 1966">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="OCR s872" /> Walt Disney designed exhibits at the World's Fair; It's a Small World, the Progressland carousel, and the Magic Skyway were later incorporated into Disney parks.<ref name="OCR s872">Template:Cite web</ref>

The fair has been the subject of documentary films such as The 1964 World's Fair (1996),<ref name="p235408685">Template:Cite magazine</ref> After the Fair (2014),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Peace Through Understanding: The 1964–65 New York World's Fair.<ref name="nyt-1996-03-17">Template:Cite news</ref> The fair and its structures have been depicted in popular media; for example, the New York State Pavilion and the Unisphere appear in the films Men in Black and Iron Man 2.<ref>For the New York State Pavilion, see Template:Cite news For the Unisphere, see Template:Cite web</ref> Historians have created websites<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and written books about the fair.<ref>See, for example: Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The fair has been the subject of several exhibitions at venues including the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Queens Museum,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1996-03-17" /> Flushing Town Hall,<ref name="p2870133300" /> and the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The fair's 50th anniversary in 2014 was celebrated with six months of parties, exhibits, and other events across Queens.<ref name="p1613089662">Template:Cite news</ref>

Hobbyists have collected memorabilia from the fair,<ref>Template:Cite web; Template:Cite news</ref> and several collectors have founded the World's Fair Collectors Society.<ref name="p2870133300">Template:Cite news</ref> Collectors have preserved objects such as bracelets, medallions, ponchos, purses, and pocketknives.<ref name="Yan 2024 c647">Template:Cite web</ref> The Smithsonian Institution and Queens Museum also own objects from the World's Fair,<ref name="nyt-1996-03-17" /> and there have been efforts to develop a World's Fair museum.<ref name="p211850935" />

See also

• Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations – 1853 World's Fair in New York City
• List of world expositions
• List of world's fairs

References

Sources

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Further reading

• Template:Cite book
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External links

• 1964/1965 New York World's Fair website – nywf64.com
• 1964/1965 New York World's Fair website – worldsfairphotos.com
• Template:Cite web
• 1964–65 New York World's Fair groundbreaking and dedication booklets