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CHANGES DURING THE FAIR |
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CHANGES DURING THE FAIR |
Although many of the exhibits at the Fair were the results of years of planning and design, there were many changes made during the two year run. Some changes were relatively minor, such as new paint schemes or signage, while in other cases, entire pavilions were changed. This page, which is a work in progress, lists some of these changes. More will be added as they become available, so please stop back again for the latest update.
| American-Israel Pavilion | Views of the pavilion
from 1964 show plain wooden exterior walls.
In 1965 large copies of postage stamps from Israel were added.
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| Amphitheatre | When the
Fair first opened the Amphitheatre on Meadow Lake was home to "Leonidiff's
Wonder World", an ambitious stage show.
The show was a costly flop and soon closed. At that point the Amphitheatre was briefly occupied by the "Summer Time Revue" starring Clay Cole.
That show also closed early and for the rest of the season the Amphitheatre was unused. The 1965 season proved to be a better one for this veteran of the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, for it was taken over by the State of Florida and featured a very popular water skiing show.
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| Belgian Village | The Belgian Village ran into
financing and construction difficulties during construction, so much of
the complex was unfinished when the rest of the Fair opened. The complex
was finally opened on August 1, 1964.
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| Bounty | The replica of the infamous HMS
Bounty was only at the Fair for the 1964 season, as few visitors made it
from the main Fair site over to the Marina. |
| Bourbon Street | When the Fair first opened the area
was known as "Louisiana's Bourbon Street".
A fallout between some of the financial backers led to the removal of the "Louisiana's" portion of the sign in early 1964.
The area received a new entrance design late in the 1964 season that replaced the bland walls and giant figures with facades designed to look like New Orleans architecture. The words "Bourbon Street" in a variety of fonts, sizes, and colors were added to the exterior wall facing the Minnesota Pavilion.
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| Carnival Disco | The Texas Pavilions
closed after the 1964 season and were replaced with the Carnival Disco
and small amusement rides in 1965. |
| Carousel Park | This area didn't open until July
1964. It received new lighting on top of the carousel as well as a new
paint scheme for the 1965 season.
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| Century Grill | While the guidebook made it sound
like the Century Grill would be tough to pass up, most Fairgoers did
exactly that. The grill was located just inside the Peter Stuyvesant
Gate at the Transportation Area, and it's likely that most visitors
raced right past it on their way into the Fair. The Century Grill did
not return for the 1965 season, being replaced by the tacky looking
"Steak Town USA". |
| Chrysler | In 1964 the main building and rocket at Chrysler
featured mostly white paint schemes
The 1965 season saw much more colorful designs:
The pavilion also featured an exhibit where visitors could pose for pictures in openings in a giant license plate. A new registration sticker was added to the plate in 1965. In 1964 the mechanical Dragonaut animal was green:
It was repainted in 1965 to a more visible red:
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| Chunky Candy | Originally a glass tunnel carried
newly made candy bars to a wrapping area, but they often melted in the
sunlight and an awning was added to protect them. |
| Coca-Cola | When the Fair opened there was a
blank wall above the pavilion entrance, as seen here just above the
Greyhound Escorter:
By July 3, 1964 a new red and gold mural had been added with depictions of people enjoying soft drinks:
Sharp-eyed readers will note that the curb in
front of the building had been painted yellow, probably as the result of
people tripping on their way in! |
| Continental Circus | A victim of low attendance, the
circus did not return for the 1965 season. The space was empty for part
of the year and later used for a small collection of children's rides. |
| Demonstration Center | New for 1965, this pavilion was
housed in the former Hall of Education building. |
| Eastern Airlines | Eastern got a new roof
and color scheme for the 1965 season.
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| General Electric | The popular pavilion often had long
lines, and in 1964 they were wound through an empty area next door.
Confused visitors often didn't know where the line started, and the
crowds made it difficult to get through the area.
In 1965 a covered waiting area was added, helping to reduce some of the crowd control issues while also providing guests a welcome respite from the hot New York sun.
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| General Motors | The General Motors pavilion was very
popular, leading to long lines right from Opening Day. As large as the
building was, it wasn't large enough to accommodate the waiting crowds,
leading to long lines in the harsh New York weather.
A covered waiting area was added sometime after the Fair opened. This second view from the New York State observation towers, taken in late July, 1964, shows the blue and white canopy used to keep guests out of the sunlight.
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| Greece | When the Fair opened the pavilion was
almost all white with one large mural near the front entrance.
Later in 1964 it sported a more colorful mural that stretched across the front of the building.
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| Hall of Education | This pavilion closed after the 1964
season and the building was used the next year as the Demonstration
Center. |
| Hall of Free Enterprise | In 1964 the entrance to
the building sported the slogan "The Greatest Good for the Greatest
Number". This was changed in 1965 to read "The Hall of Free Enterprise". |
| Hall of Science | A last-minute addition to
the Fair, the Hall of Science was under construction for much of the
1964 season. Some of the exhibits on the lower level opened earlier, but
the pavilion wasn't finished and dedicated until September 9, 1964.
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| IBM | When the Fair first
opened the egg-shaped portion of the pavilion was covered in a repeating
series of the "IBM" logo in the company's distinctive typeface. To get
more attention at night, several sets of the letters were replaced with
illuminated letters shortly after opening day. This shot from July 1964
shows work underway to add the new letters.
The newly added lights can be seen in this view of the pavilion at dusk.
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| Indonesia | Unfortunately politics and financing
woes led to the early closure of the Indonesia pavilion. Faced with
several months of unpaid rent bills, the World's Fair Corporation
ordered the pavilion closed in 1965. For the rest of the Fair the
building stood empty, with a simple set of barricades blocking the
entrance. |
| Jaycopter | The first Jaycopter was replaced
early during the 1964 season with a larger model. The color was changed
from red to yellow for 1965. |
| Kodak | The "Mapcap Theater"
area was added in 1965. |
| Meadow Lake Bridge | This view dated July 1964 shows an
unbroken walkway on the right side of the Meadow Lake Bridge:
A slide dated September 1964 shows a newly constructed wooden staircase:
By 1965 there was also a ramp opposite the stairs:
It appears the stairs and ramps were added to make
it easier for those passing by to detour for a visit to the nearby
Bourbon Street. |
| Minnesota | A statue of "Big Ole", a
giant-sized Viking warrior, was added for 1965, along with a Viking
ship. Additional Viking displays were also added inside the pavilion.
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| New York City Building | When the Fair first
opened the New York City Building featured two major exhibits, which
were both prominently featured on signage on the building side that
faced the Unisphere. The giant panorama model of the city lasted both
seasons, but you had to look fast to see the other one, "Dick Button's
Ice-Travagaza".
The ice show was one of the first to close, due to low attendance, and the sign was covered over for the remainder of the 1964 season.
In 1965 the sign was revised to list the panorama, much like the one on the other side of the wall that was first seen in 1964. The two signs weren't identical, though, as the different number of letters in the sign for the ice show meant that the letters had to be spaced out slightly differently.
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| Pan American Highway Gardens | The gardens were a
tranquil but generally ignored spot in 1964.
The area was much busier - and far more noisy - with the arrival of a Avis go-cart track in 1965.
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| Paris | When the pavilion first opened the
designers somehow had neglected to have any signage listing its name,
which was added several weeks later. The wooden sculpture located at the
entrance in 1964 was replaced by a group of flagpoles flying the French
flag for 1965 - along with larger signage.
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| Pennsylvania | This exhibit was added for the 1965
season. |
| Polynesia | The Polynesian Restaurant
added canopies over the spectator seating areas for the 1965 season. |
| Port Authority | In 1964 there were two
Sikorsky helicopters on display outside the pavilion.
The 1965 season featured a vintage Ford Tri-Motor airplane as part of an American Airlines exhibit.
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| Sierra Leone | Economic woes led to the closure of
this pavilion at the end of the 1964 season. The building became the
United Nations pavilion in 1965. |
| Simmons | In 1964 the
pavilion listed "Land of Enchantment and Rest Alcoves" on its signage.
In 1965 the Land of Enchantment was gone.
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| Steak Town USA | This restaurant replaced the Century
Grill for the 1965 season. |
| Swiss Sky Ride | In 1964 the support
pylons were white. The faces were painted red in 1965, with the sides
left white.
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| Texas Pavilions | The Texas Pavilions
closed after the 1964 season and were replaced with the Carnival Disco
and small amusement rides in 1965. |
| Tower of the Four Winds | Disney's fanciful tower
outside the Pepsi-Cola Pavilion featured a yellow frame in 1964 and was
repainted white for 1965.
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| United Nations | When Sierra Leone decided not to
return for the 1965 season the pavilion got a new paint job and a new
owner, resurfacing as the Pavilion of the United Nations. |
| United States | The sign at the entrance to the
pavilion went through numerous changes during the Fair. At first it
sported just the pavilion's name and a raised eagle.
Some unknown wording was added at the center below the eagle but then was crudely covered over.
The next change saw the name and title of "Norman E. Winston, Commissioner" added.
All of those visitors posing for pictures quickly took a toll on the lights at the base of the sign, resulting in misalignment or complete destruction.
A small guardrail was then added to protect the lights, with additional security provided by the Boy Scouts.
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| Unknown snack bar | A small snack bar was added for 1965
to a vacant slice of land between the Guinea and Sermons from Science
pavilions.
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| Unknown souvenir stands | A small souvenir stand was added in
1965 at the intersection of the Avenue of Commerce and the Court of the
Sun, just behind the Industrial Common and the Tiparillo Bandstand. It
can be seen just above the oval-shaped Family Phone Booth.
Another souvenir stand was also added to the area for 1965. It can be seen at the bottom of the 1965 view of the General Electric waiting area, located earlier on this page. It evidently sold film as well as other items.
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| Venezuela | In 1965 the entrance area featured a
small plaza and garden.
In 1965 a statue of Simon Bolivar was added.
Actually, there were two different statues of Simon Bolivar! The one pictured above was replaced later that month with a different one. It was on the same pedestal, but the actual bust itself is completely different.
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Coming:
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Click here to go back to the Miscellaneous photos index. |
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Click here to go back to the Alphabetical Listing page. |
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Click here to go back to the main 1964-65 New York World's Fair page. |
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