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That was such a great fair I remember my mom taking me I was only a boy of 44 years in 1965 thank you for those memories now that i am 244 years old I miss those days
@@evanschwartz3030 what was corny about the 1965 Worlds Fair video? I thought it was an accurate description of the event aside from the mistake about the fair’s acreage. Many of the resulting comments on the video were terrific too.
I lived in Flushing at that time (actually from 1960-1979) and I went to the World’s Fair many, many times…it was only about a 15 min bus ride from my house. As a nine year old I was fascinated and enthralled with every exhibit…one of the highlights of my life and such a special time😊
I lived in Queens Village and went to the World’s Fair a number of times. My brother’s accordion school played at the New York State Pavilion. I thought the Worlds Fair was awesome!
I attended with my father, Dr. M.L. King Jr., and his two elder children, Yoki (Yolanda) and Martin Jr. We had a BLAST!!! Got to see things behind the scenes with the employees (and security) in a few rides/attractions. Got to touch an "old man in a wheelchair" animatronic. SO lifelike even close up. The fair had an African Pavilion where giraffes could stick their heads through the restaurant windows. On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote. It was a time of moving forward. How full of hope for the future we were. We need to get back that spirit.
I think the 1960's were a most incredible era .We had civil rights ,correcting civil wrongs along with huge advances in medicine and technology. I was a photographer at this world's fair for IBM in the giant movable egg building , learning about computation, In January 1965 I was the only photographer to document and march with your great father in Atlanta with students from Spelman-Moorehouse colleges to support Julian Bond when the white politicians removed him from winning his seat in the Georgia House of Representatives because he was Black it took 2 years and lot's of court law to reinstate Rep. Bond I photographed attending this protest the very young, Amb.Andrew Young & Rev. Ralph Aberathy. I do remember the world's fair Sierra Leone pavillion with their great native dancers performing for us. I also photographed Benny Goodman's band performing in 1965.
We are still keeping the spirit. Gays can now openly marry and women are fighting to keep abortion legal. We are also finally allowing drag as an art form to be accepted and trans people too. This is the best time in history to be alive. It used to be you had to be a straight, white make to have any kind of voice.
I went to the Fair twice. I was 9 years old at the time and live on Long Island. I'm struck by how many people commented on this and told their stories of going to the World's Fair. I didn't think there were that many of us left. To all of us who have memories of the Fair, welcome back to the Unisphere! We had a great time, all the way back, nearly 60 years.
I was 13 years old at the time and my father drove me up to see it . I never forgot that experience ! One think that sticks out in my mind was the statue on loan for the New York Worlds fair in 64 was “La Pieta “ !
I came to New York in 1979, from Kiev, lived in Jackson Heights, and came to Flushing Meadows often, saw the Globe and the other remaining structures and was made aware of the World Fair that had happened there. But now actually got a glimpse of it. Oh, what an innocent time! Come back, you! Thanks for sharing this!
My dad worked on the construction of the World's Fair. He was always bringing home souvenirs. I still have them and treasure them. Good days, great memories 😢
My dad did, too! He was with IBEW Local 3 - they did all the electrical work. He used to take me there when it was still being built. I have very vivid memories of the walkways with just the wooden forms before they'd poured the concrete. After it opened we could go whenever we wanted and went many times!
My Uncle John was a Forman working on the Spanish Pavillion. He brought me to work with him several times before the Fair opened. Such a wonderful experience to see the Fair being developed and then to attend when it opened ! My most vivid memory is seeing Michaelangelo's Pieta - absolutely breathtaking.
You’re so lucky to have souvenirs. My mom bought many but unfortunately didn’t keep them. I’d love to have the picture book of all the exhibits. I remember that so vividly.
La Pieta! Imagine we were able to see the Pieta. Even as an eleven year old I understood the significance of what we were seeing. I went with a friend who was a couple of years older than I was, and it was my first time in NYC without adults. It was magical. A couple of years ago I was in the park for the first time since then. The walkways between the exhibits are still there. It was like I went back in time. I remembered where everything was.
I was there , at the 1964 World's Fair...it was Great !!.....Respectfully, it was about Technology and each country's vision of the future !....The Ford and JapanesePavillions were Terrific. As well as the IBM and AT&T Exhibits, to the innovations in voice and visual communication. In 1964 people treated each other with Respect and Courtesy , I think the future (2023+) has let all of us down , maybe old " Fashioned Common Sense " will return !.....
I was there in 64 also. I was 7 years old. I was excited about the future... Probably a good thing I didn't know how it was going to turn out. The future isn't what it used to be.
After the fair concluded, the Wisconsin Pavilion was disassembled and sent to to Boscobel, Wisconsin for storage. It was later purchased by Central Wisconsin Broadcasting Inc. which re-assembled the building and used it for the offices and broadcast studios of radio stations WCCN AM and WCCN FM. It still in operation and also has a gift shop which is open to the public.
I was 8 years old also in 1964 when the worlds fair opened. I lived in Yonkers, and went to the fair with my family, probably 5 or 6 times in 64 & 65. It was incredible!!
My parents took my sister and me to the fair in 1965, I was eight years old and I've never forgotten it because it was amazing, especially for an eight year old. Some things that really stick in my mind to this day are the fountains, there were several large ones, the Ford and GM exhibits, the Sinclair dinosaur exhibit, and the Disney "Carousel of Progress" ride. I still insist my wife and I go on that one every time we're at Disney World!. The buildings with the huge white balls on top of them were fast food restaurants, I was always thinking about my stomach back then...actually still do! This fair was an amazing experience that I still think about, and I still have a lot of the things I bought there, or should I say my parents bought me there.
I went to the Fair several times, both with my family and on school field trips. Things they had there were unique for a New York kid like I was. The General Electric "Progress" pavilion reviewed home appliances down through the years, and demonstrated what nuclear fusion might be like. Part of that exhibit ended up in Epcot Center. On a school field trip, my classmates and I got to see Michelangelo's Pieta, on loan from the Vatican. And no Fair would be complete with a "Futurama" of what the future might be like. But the future turned out not to be like that.
@@marym.338 At the Du Pont pavilion, they demoed latex house paint, which was state of the art back then. ("You can clean your brushes with soap and water!") One thing I didn't get to see but which turned out real important was at the Japan pavilion. There, Sony was demoing a prototype of the VCR.
I was 11 years old,and lived on long island. It was a special event I will never forget. Years later,as I drove through queens,I remember seeing the unisphere and feeling nostalgic. For me it was an age of innocence and wonder. I'm glad I lived in those times.
I was there in 65 on a feild trip from school on long island. Saw the peiata and a view of the worlds future. Dont know if we will see it. Its 1 and 1 half minutes till the end of the world. My mom gave me some money to buy some soulviners one was of the empire state buliding stature of liberty and the globe which i left at the 911 memoral in havelock n.c.
I went to the World’s Fair to see the most valued Pieta that was sent from Pope John XXIII to the Vatican Pavilion. It was a great moment in history so that my college best friend and I drove from Michigan to New York to see it. We enjoyed the other exhibits but this was the most memorable and significant. I can see it even now! Thank you for rekindling the memory! ❤️🙏😇💒
Seeing the Pieta as a 7 year old child is my most vivid memory of the Fair. I hope I never forget the way I felt viewing that absolutely indescribable masterpiece by Michangelo. I'll always be grateful to Good Pope John XXIII for approving the lend.
Dad was in the Army stationed at Fort Jay, Governor’s Island from 1963 to 1966. He took our whole family (Mom and 4 young kids and a baby) to the World’s Fair in 1965. I remember the TRex dinosaur and the big globe, the rest was a blur of incredible sights and sounds. I also went with my school on a field excursion led by our teachers, the religious sisters of Epiphany Catholic School in Manhattan, to visit the Vatican Pavilion and see Michelangelo’s Pieta. It was like a sacred pilgrimage for the nuns, I was just a young kid. A lifetime and so very long ago…
I was only 4 or 5 years old yet I remember it in vivid detail. I remember those Belgian waffles, they were amazing. I can still smell the smell of them filling the air. I remember the Bell telephone ride, where you sat in the telephone receiver and it rode down an indoor slope. I remember a sliding pond that went over the highway. You'd ride down it on a carpet. Do you remember that?
I lived in Queens at the time and my best friend and I played hooky from high school to go to the fair. I vividly recall most of the exhibits and the amazing foods. My father became addicted to the Belgian waffels. I recall using the picture phones at the AT&T pavillion. Funny to think that the smartphone has far eclipsed anything that was even remotely imagined by the wizards at AT&T.
Thank you for sharing this! I was there! My soon-to-be-Dad was dating my Mom back then, and he took us to NYC to meet his parents (my future Grandparents), and we all went to the World's Fair. What a whirlwind trip! I hadn't had a Dad before. Or Grandparents. And Disney was there, too? Every little girl's dreams came true on that trip! We got one of those Mustangs a few years later, and I still love them! My Dad is now 85 and asleep in the next room. Can't wait to show him this tomorrow. My Mom will be 89 soon, too. I'll email her the link, so she can watch it, too. Great memories!
Very cool that the fair worked our so well for you and that you can share this with your parents! I loved my numerous visits with my parents there, too!
I went to the 1964 World's Fair three times (I was 5-6 years old), including the last day it was open. It was an exhilarating experience, but it also taught me something, as I still live in Queens and watched the remnants of the Fair waste away in the 1970-80s. It's that nothing ages worse than something that is meant to look new.
Only read about it in My Weekly Reader. Our family lived too far away in the Midwest and we couldn't afford to go. The Disney Small World exhibit got repurposed at Disney World in Florida a few years later.
I was there with my family. I was around 7 or 8 years old and we drove in from Western NY. I will never forget the experience. Not only the fair, but Times Square, Atlantic City and the Statue of Liberty. What a trip.
I remember visiting the fair at least four times as a young teen. I was a resident of Northern New Jersey so it was an easy day trip, requiring a bus ride and then two subway trains. In the summer after the fair had closed, outdoor concerts we're presented at the Singer Bowl, the remaining amphitheater from the fair. I saw The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Who and others that summer.
@@LannieLord I would have liked to have seen the MC-5. I saw Iggy and the Stooges at the Academy of Music in NYC circa 1974. I’m not a big Stooges fan but they were the middle band on the bill that night.
My dad was working as a construction worker there. All the little memories he took home, that I have cherished Into my adulthood were stolen by my mothers nieces and their husbands. When my dad took me to the fair after it was open was an amazing day. Trips to Disney never compared. Those souvenirs my dad would bring home always reminded of that magical day. I sooo sorry they were stolen !😢
I was there in 1965 with my family when I was 6 years old. This fair was huge in my young mind. Even though I was young, I still remember the exhibits at this fair to this day. It was my last vacation before starting 1st Grade.
I have great hope for the future. Humans are in the 'stupid teenager irresponsible rebellion phase' . We will mature to become loving peaceful people after this dark age. Have no fear. And do what you can to forward this momentum. 💗
I was 11 years old and marched in the band at a parade there. I was a tuba player with 3 others , all in high school. What an experience . Went several times with my parents. Still have souvenirs. Ah, the good thoughts of the future.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane. The day after I graduated from high school I hitchhiked from WI to NYC to attend the 1965 fair. It was a place of dreams, hope and awe. July 1, I enlisted in the USN. How fast time flies.
In May of 1964, my piano teacher took 3 of her students to this New York World's Fair, including a 10-year-old me. Maybe my expectations were overblown, or maybe my piano teacher, Miss Bruckner, also had too great expectations, but it was a tremendous letdown. Aside from a very few pavilions from foreign nations, it was just a gigantic collection of advertisement campaigns for American companies that were hawking their goods. The food was worse than what I was able to get at my neighborhood's Willow Grove Park in suburban Philadelphia. The asphalt and concrete walkways were seemingly endless and very hot from baking in the sun all day long, even though it was not yet summer. Overall, just one grand disappointment, for which my funny and kind music teacher apologized profusely to my parents and those of the other 2 students. Thankfully, we stopped at a Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge just outside of our hometown to get ice cream and joke about the day before Miss Bruckner dropped us off at the Music School where our parents were waiting. My Uncle Buster had gone to the Belgian World's Fair in 1958 with the very futuristic Atomium, so I had thought this one in New York would be even greater than the one that my uncle had sent us pictures of and gifts from back when I was 4-years-old. This Flushing Meadows one was very crass, boring, and all too commercial even for my tastes at the ripe old age of 10! Many years later, when I learned of how horribly Robert Moses had destroyed neighborhoods nationwide with sterile concrete lifeless landscapes, his disregard for the humanity of people didn't surprise me at all.
@@m.reynolds9663 You can't see it because you don't want to see or know of anyone's experiences that conflict with the rose colored glasses with which you gaze longingly into your past! My comment was what happened to my music teacher, 2 other minor children, and myself when I was 10. What kind of Pollyanna world is it in which you choose to live that anyone else's different experience is a Debbie Downer lie? Robert Moses inflicted dislocation and extreme poverty on MILLIONS of our fellow Americans during his egotistical narcissistic life. But not on you, so it never happened? Good luck to you between now and your hopefully imminent grave!
I grew up in Whitestone, only a few minutes away from the Fair. I was there all the time and have wonderful memories of those wonderful days. Now a huge part of the grounds is the US National Tennis center where the U.S. Open is held annually. It’s wonderful to go there and walk past the beautiful Unisphere that’s still as magnificent as it was then.
I was there in 1964. I was 6 years old. I vividly remember attending. There was an elephant that scared the heck out of me. My Mom took a picture of me with this elephant behind me. I was terrified he would pick me up with his trunk and throw me. The expression of terror on my face is priceless.
I was very young but I believe my mother took me to NYC for this. We stayed with my great-aunt and great-uncle. I can remember staying with them. While watching another production of this a few years ago, I had memories come back to me. Unfortunately, anyone who could confirm that I was really there have passed away. Thanks for the memories😁
My dad was one of the construction workers on it! He was with IBEW Local 3 - they did all the electrical work. He used to take me there when it was still being built. I have very vivid memories of the walkways with just the wooden forms before they'd poured the concrete. After it opened we could go whenever we wanted and went many times! Favorite memories: the Belgian Waffles, the Uniroyal tire ferris wheel, the plastic extruded dinosaur vending machines at Sinclair, the smell of the rainforests at Pepsi, the giant New York City model, Ford (I still have a day-glo pin somewhere), and all the pins and passport stamps we collected from all the pavilions.
@@dunebillyofswanbeach4294 Haha yes! It's crazy but to this day when someone uses the phrase "he's wet behind the ears" I think of the dinosaurs because sometimes when they came out of the machine they weren't fully solid yet.
@@dunebillyofswanbeach4294 They had those machines in department stores and local amusement parks as well. They made the Sinclair dinosaur as well as other dinosaurs like Triceratops, etc. At one point the Sinclair named was dropped and it was just a Dinosaur machine. Those dinosaurs were made from a waxy plastic that BROKE very easily . I saw some of them in an antique mall a year ago- they were $75.00 and UP each. They looked amazing !
Thanks for this upbeat description of the NY Worlds Fair. We’ve all heard about all the problem the Fair had those 2 year, but to a 7/8 yr old like me,it was all magical
at 1:07 you mentioned the size of the World's Fair as being 650,000 acres! That is totally wrong, that's an immense area! Per trusty old Wikipedia, the area of the World's Fair was 646 acres.
Absolutely correct. It was big, but not that big!!! I went countless times. We lived so close we could watch the fireworks at 9pm every night from in front of my house. My father knew someone who worked there and quite often that man got us passes to go in for free at 6pm. It was a perfect time to go- the crowds were leaving so you could just walk in to any exhibit, plus the lights came on, which made it more magical. We used to get pizza from the pizza place next to the IBM exhibit
I was 9. Lived on the Upper West side of Manhattan. Easy # 7 flushing train from Times square. I have fond memories. The car boat stands out in my mind.
My uncle ran the Polish pavilion in the 1939 worlds fair. He then brought over my father in 1945 after he was liberated as a POW. And thanks to my uncle I am alive today ! Thank you Anthony! Never got to see the 64-65 world’s fair as I was born in 63. But I remember talk around the dinner table about the original one. They all were probably pretty amazing!
I was a 5 year old growing up in Brooklyn when the Fair opened and I still remember the smells and excitement. I remember the IBM pavilion and their revolutionary typewriters with the ball. We were able to type on a postcard and I still have it. I also have the Fair’s book with maps and great ads. The new Mustang was being featured. We couldn’t afford many of the rides but we were able to do It’s a Small World and we bought the Indian dancer. That was my fave toy for a long time. Still love looking the catalogue!!
I was there in 1964 on a high school class trip with Levittown Memorial HS NY class of 1964! It was great to look forward to the future and the new Ford Mustang was an added treat! The Earth Globe is still there and visible from the LI Expressway.
There was a miniature golf course in the Better Living Center and if you putted a hole in one on the final hole, you won a free game. My friend, Mike, scored a hole in one. We walked him through his free game, and lo and behold, he won a second free game. We left him by himself to play and returned just in time to watch him ace the final hole yet again. This time, however, his brother grabbed him by the collar and made him leave. That's just one of dozens of fine memories from the 1964-5 World's Fair which took place in what was essentially our backyards. Bring it back!
Nine years old when my family visited early in 1965. My memory is that it was successful enough to be held over from 1964 so still an amusement park but perhaps not the star-studded event that it was in '64.. My grandmother from England was there, not sure if I saw her again before she passed away three years later. A character though, talked us in to the VIP line at futurama when the regular line was really long, loved it though I think we got a Ford Falcon to ride in. Was that the first showing of "It's a small world"? It took me a few minutes to realize what was going on, w/different nations/cultures singing the same theme song and I've seen it several decades later at Disneyland/Epcot Center in Florida. Vaguely remember the money tree...all fantastically exciting as a kid. It's funny to think those GM dioramas (a word I learned at NYWF) of multi-lane highways would be thought of differently now but unfair hindsight. The funny thing is the Japanese pavilion had these cards with slots in them so you could use them to build stuff, we thought that was a clever toy along with the intelligent display which foreshadowed their industrial rise. African tribes dancing at some pavilion which was supposed to be a big deal - the type of exotic stuff you only saw in travel videos - and of course saw the globe again only a few years ago at the US Tennis Open. Long time ago....
It was! I learned so much about cultures around the world. I went there many weekends. The first year was the very best. The second year was disappointing, because so many countries did not come back to their pavillions...
Getting “lost” inside one of the foreign pavilions was like visiting the country itself! I loved the experience! I thought I would visit most of those places as an adult, but sadly not.
I was 18/19 when I worked at the New York World's Fair in 1965. I got so fat. The Korean Pavilion was my favorite for lunch, but those Belgian waffles were right next door...and they were irresistible. That was the most fun job of my life, and the pay was very good. Met a lot of wonderful people. It was nice to watch this video, thank you.
I was young but was able to go both years. My older cousin took my sister and I in '64. My parents took us and a cousin the next year. The Vatican Bldg was wonderful. Seeing The Pita was breath-taking. "Its a Small World" was so enchanting. In '64, my cousin called my parents who were in Stamford, CT from one of the large phone booths. The Unisphere was great. I have a photo of my sister and I in front of it.
I lived across the street from that iconic globe in the 1960s. 1964 through 1972. I Spent all our free time in that park. By 1966 it was a ghostly crumbling playground. Buildings empty and echoing. Sometimes the skating rink was open, but soon the ceiling was crumbling onto the rink. It was beautiful in a sadly abandoned type of way. It was my entire childhood. The giant appollo rockets, and the magical hall of science were kept up and running. It was my favorite place.
I was a sophomore at Erasmus Hall High School and was asked to play tympani at the New York State Pavillon with an all accordion orchestra. I remember my father dropping me off there and I was allowed to tour any and all of the exhibits in between rehearsal and performance. A day I will never forget
I was there and absolutely loved the whole thing. My family went at least 5 different times, we couldn’t get enough. A fantastic time to envision the future. Really too bad reality spoiled our dreams. The planners had it right.
I visited the New York World's Fair with my family in the summer of 1965. I was eight years old, and I remember vividly Small World, the Carousel of Progress, the picture and touchtone phones, and so much more!
I was 7 years old when we went to the World's Fair. I remember crying my eyes out at the Ford pavilion. I wanted to " drive " the car, but I ended up in the back seat. I remember loving the Florida pavilion and yes the Belgian waffles were beyond amazing.
I was there in 1965 when in high school 61 years ago. Mumps was sweeping all the high schools throughout the country as well I think. I got it and just had to go there before it ended in a month or so at the tail end of my sickness. I went alone by subway but started feeling not well and had to leave after about an hour. I saw It’s A Small World After All, the DuPont experiments, the Ford miniature vehicles that looked like Mazdas moving on future highways, the monorail which had already been at the Seattle World's Fair, the video calls of the future that wouldn’t be here until 2015. I'll never forget it!
I was 5 years old in 1964 and my Aunt was an Executive for Pacific Bell Telephone of California. She showed up in NJ one week and said hey Kids we are going to the Worlds Fair tomorrow. My Brother , Cousins, and Parents jumped in the car and off we went. The phone company had a massive exibited and we were escorted in while my Aunt met with Phone company representatives. I recall that GM exibit and actually believed I was driving a car. The only other thing in 1964 I remember was the phone company had a phone within a television where you could see the person you were talking too and a Princess phone with push buttons -- imagine that no more rotary phones. This was the future.
So true, I was 4 in 1965 but I was taken to the fair in 1964 by my foster parents then, I was 3 and I remember it all. And yes, that was a very different time, I would go back if I could.
You can thank the Reagan Tax Code for killing things like this. Corporations no longer get tax benefits for sponsoring things like this. Instead the money goes to the corporate executive investment accounts.
Went with a church group when I was 13. Two buddies and I wandered around unsupervised. We decided to pretend we were not American and started speaking an indecipherable language. Don't know if we fooled anyone but we had fun. The fair was pretty amazing
oh, i experienced it firsthand, and i arrived by NY subway from my apartmnt in Queens. Selling contact lenses in a commercial paviliion was my first job in NY when i moved there in 1964. On breaks we enjoyed the futuristi exhibits and it was Belgian waffles for lunh almost evey day!
Thank you for sharing these wonderful memories. My dad took us to the World's Fair several times during its two year run. It was a real life fantasy land for us children. Truly an unforgettable experience.
At the age of 66 now, I still have vivid memories of my visit to this fair with my family when I was a young child. Thank you for this wonderful trip down Memory Lane!
I grew up in New Jersey and went to The World’s Fair with my family and my mom’s parents. We spent the whole day there. I still have fond memories of being there.
That looks like Lynda Bird Johnson at 1:40--the elder daughter of LBJ. My mother and aunt took me to the Fair a couple of times--we lived in the Bronx and it was a quick drive. I clearly recall the Belgian waffles, It's a Small World, and the Vatican Pavilion where we viewed Michelangelo's Pieta. THAT was a very big deal. The Fair also had a charming dancing waters display in a theater--so colorful--and another colorful outdoor fountain attraction. Maybe those were the first of their kind?
This is the year my Mom & Dad took to the World's Fair, I was 13 then, I'm 73 now. When we were paying to get in, my Mom told me to tell the man I was 10 years old because I was small for my age, and we wouldn't have to pay adult price. When the man asked how old I was ... I said 13 - Mom paid, and when we walked away, she smacked in my head lol. I was proud at the time of finally being a teenager, what Mom said went in one ear and out the other. We were there all day and had such a wonderful time.
My best friend and I took a bus from Providence, Rhode Island to the fair in July of 1964. We were both 13 at the time and this was a huge adventure for us both. We arrived at the fair about 10 am and it started to rain heavily...the rain lasted all day! On the plus side, with the very bad weather, there were NO lines anywhere. We went from pavilion to pavilion with ease...and when it came time to eat, no lines once again. We walked and walked...tired and happily exhausted, we boarded another bus about 10 pm and made the 3 hour trip home. I'm about to turn 73, and my memories of that day are fresh and vivid...it was wonderful!
I was there at 13 and remember The Parker Pen Pavilion where I went through three times and got three penpals. I remember the rides. I remember everything. It was a revelation and made me want to travel the world. Aloha
My best friend and I, at the time 9 yo, also got penpals from that exhibit. We got twin sisters in Australia and we kept up correspondence for many years. She sent me a koala bear toy animal and unfortunately it was lost many years ago during a move but I do have the special memories
@@cindywatman1725 Hi Cindy, How Wonderful. I had a pen pal in Denmark and another girl in Japan. Letter writing is so underrated. I was also sent a gift, A Japanese doll. We lost touch when I moved but when I went to Japan to work, I looked her up. No luck Thank you for sharing. Aloha
Born in 1960, my earliest memories are attending the fair once in 1964 and once in 1965. I can still remember some things in great detail. Years later when I first visited Epcot in Florida it took me back. Epcot is the NY6465 Worlds Fair.
I was 10 years old in 1964. I still have that "It's a Small World" song in my head sometimes!! I remember the video phone. It didn't work. Great memories.
Thank you for sharing this! My folks took us to the fair. I was seven. Literally the only thing I remember was that my brother - about four at the time - got lost and my parents were pretty frantic. Fortunately, some kind person took him to a center they had specifically for lost children and he had a great time playing with the toys and other kids until we found him.
An amazingly well planned and executed event, they probably would have problems pulling that off today. When you consider technology was nowhere near as advanced, and how they did what they did, truly amazing and incredible ingenuity. We just have seem to lost our mojo today, and humanity is just so different than it was then. People are way too obsessed today with not liking each other because of who they are, we’re one human race and need to get back to that idea of acceptance, everyone is equal.
Yes, the fair embodied an optimism about the future and about people coming together. It's so sad that people are so determined to divide from others and talk about what the 'other' will bring.
I was 4 years old in 1964 and lived in Queens. My parents took me there twice. On one of those occasions I got separated from my parents and was lost in the New York Pavilion. I was reunited shortly with my parents because my m other and I wore matching polka dot dresses that my grandmother made us. That’s how security knew who my mother was. If you ever drive by Flushing Meadow Park in NY you can still see the pavilion and the World Fair sculpture.
Beautiful looking production, like some of the building. There’s a special gift to think large and spread positive enthusiasm. Today, sadly, there would only be one huge tent with Klause telling us how things WILL be.
I was there in 1964, in New York for my cousin's Bar Mitzvah. I was only six but I remember everything about that great trip, flying in from Los Angeles.
I was about 7 yrs old, we lived in S Jersey & went 3 times. I still have my (rather tattered) 1965 Fair Guidebook. It was magnificent! I still recall being unable to believe it when I first saw the buildings. I especially recall the GE "Carousel of Progress," "Small World" at Pepsi's exhibit, GM's Futurama, the Bell System, & so much more. Wish we'd gotten to see everything!
Thanks for the memories. My family and I went in both '64 and '65, when I was 11/12 years old. Everything was incredible. My most vivid memory is of "The World's Largest Cosmic Ray Spark Chamber" in the exit rotunda of the GM Futurama building. A glass cylinder perhaps the size of a 55 gallon oil drum on a pedestal. Every few seconds a cosmic ray would pass through the chamber resulting in an electrical discharge with a red streak and a loud snap. I knew how it worked, having recently seen the Bell Lab's educational movie "The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays" , but no one else in my family was much interested. Begged Dad to take a photo, but 35 mm film was expensive and we were on a tight budget. I've often wondered who built it and what became of that display. I've found only a few photos of it, bit I'd love to see a movie of it if someone ever made one. Perhaps in retirement, I'll have time to build my own version of it. I remember getting the autograph of the performer who played the Coca-Cola carillon, and the nearby White Owl Cigar company display that shot big white smoke rings up into the air periodically. The fusion demonstration in the GE pavilion was fascinating, even if mostly for show. I remember the production of irradiated nickels at the AEC exhibit, but my folks were scared of radiation, so I couldn't get one. I think I was more fascinated by the giant hydraulic cylinders that raised the IBM "people wall" than the presentation itself. I still remember another part of the IBM exhibit where a real computer would print out a "Magic [number] Square" that would add up to any number you selected across, up and down, and diagonally. I requested "99", and got it. Probably a trivial programming exercise now, but fascinating for the day. Those are some of the happiest memories of my childhood.
Having lived in NYC back then, I was lucky enough to have visited the fair many times while it was open. I loved each and every visit. Found something new and different each time. I was sad when I learned it has closed. To this day I have many souvenirs that I cherish. Who remembers the dinosaur you made. You put your money in and it was formed right in front of your eyes. I still have mine. Thank you for this trip down memory lane for me. Those were some very good times. Great video
My sister still has a souvenir thermometer from the World's Fair hanging in her house. We were only 10 and 8 at the time but my parents always kept the thermometer on the wall. It passed to my sister where the tradition continues almost 60 years later.
My father worked security there. When he went to pick up his check he took one of us. We got to go on one ride. I always picked the Ford pavilion and waited for a convertible Mustang to sit in. A Bavarian waffle was next. Great times.
My parents took me ,my 3 brothers and sister to this fair in Aug of 1965. Trip also included visits to both baseball stadiums. Bat Day at Yankee Stadium where I got a Roger Marris bat and Shea Stadium where we saw the Beatles. Great memories.
Dad helped organized the Fair. He became Chairman of the Executive Committee that hied the great Robert Moses who ran with the idea. One night Dad came home and at dinner told of his visit with Roger Blough, Chairman of US Steel, who promised to contribute the Unisphere . . .a big hit and still standing! Tip Deegan
