Portal:United States/Selected article/2006, week 32

View of the New York World's Fair 1964/1965 as seen from the observation towers of the New York State pavilion. The Fair's symbol, Unisphere, is the central image.

The 1964 New York World's Fair was the second World's Fair to be held at Flushing Meadows Park in the Borough of Queens, in New York City in the twentieth century. It opened on April 22, 1964 and ran for two six-month seasons concluding on October 17, 1965. It was the largest World's Fair to be held in the United States, occupying nearly a square mile (2.6 km²) of land. Hailing itself as a "Universal and International" exposition, the Fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding," dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe." The theme was symbolized by a twelve-story high, stainless-steel model of the earth called Unisphere. United States corporations dominated the exposition as exhibitors at the expense of international participation. The Fair is best remembered as a showcase of mid-twentieth century American corporate culture. The nascent Space Age, with its vista of promise was well-covered by the exhibits. More than fifty-one million people attended the Fair, but this was less than the hoped-for seventy million. (read more...)