My Mom and Dad took us to the NY World's Fair in 1964 and 1965. We lived in NJ. I was 5 and 6 and yet I remember so much detail. It was so wonderful. I've been back many times to the site when going to Met Games and the US Open. I walk around the Unisphere and I feel so much sadness. I wish they could do something to preserve what's still there. It's falling apart.
I actually work in the theatre there, the circle building attached to the pavilion- which is now used as a Scenic Shop and storage. There have been lots of attempts to restore the park and historic grounds, but because they’re government owned, getting the permission and funds to fix anything is practically impossible. They are planning to fix up the pavilion in a big, upcoming restoration project soon - Everything’s been removed from the storage there in preparation. Though I will say, the whole place is much more beautiful in the spring when the cherry blossoms bloom and fountain is functioning!
The Unisphere is still an incredibly attractive piece of sculpture. As an 11-year old boy in 1964, I was immediately captivated by the futuristic structures, experimental techologies, and vibrant colors of this world of tomorrow. I desperately wanted my parents to take us there, but Dad hated crowds so instead we went to Virginia Beach and stared at the ocean for a week. The closest I ever got to the fair was the Readers Digest issue devoted to it that started my dream in the first place. Hate Virginia Beach to this day.
That is a sad story. I love swimming in the ocean but, the 64 fair was once in a lifetime... My family lived in Bound Brook NJ at the time. Don't recall if it was 64 or 65 when we went, but to a 4 or 5 year old boy it was magical. One little memory I hold special is my parents buying me a Frisbee from some vendor. Pretty sure it was as we were leaving, heading back to the car, didn't have to carry it around all day. Remember riding in some car on a track, (Ford? Maybe Chrysler) seeing these futuristic scenes. Remember the big tire ferris wheel. So long ago now. Sure do miss my parents.
I was five years old in 1964, and remember going to the Fair... As an adult I collected a variety of artifacts, one subject being this fair... When I discovered the Queens Museum (of Art)'s plans for renovation of the old skating rink, I called the curator and offered my entire NYWF collection for acquisition...It joins others in their Visible Storage exhibit...
I went there several times at the age of ten. People who experienced the 1939 fair said that this one was pale in comparison. That meant nothing to me. This was my fair and I loved it. Watching this now makes me sad and nostalgic.
When I was a Flight Attendant I would fly over this all the time coming in for a landing and I often would think that was where my Grandmother was in her picture I have in 1939...
I associate this fair with my beloved “Nana” who took me here when I was 14 too! What an amazing video/blog this is! Sooooo fantastic! Ohhhh the memories! How great that you used to fly over it all the time as a “flight attendant” & you used to think of your grandmother , just like I think of mine, every time you looked down below from your plane. With me, I think of my beloved Nana each time I see a video or photo of this extraordinary fair! Memories of my Nana & the fantastic time I had there when she took me from our home in western Massachusetts, come rushing back, bringing my Nana “back to me!” I miss her still & my beloved mother too but how I love reliving this fair through amazing videos & photos, such as this!♥️
@@karenstrycharz1499 Yes it’s good that we have those memories. They can’t take that away from us! We are never going to see those days again as everything is turning up side down today
@@InFltSvc How right you are! Those memories are so very special to us both! PS I need to add... I always wanted to be a flight attendant but was to short in those days, 🤣they had strict requirements back then (I was 5’4 in “those days & tallest girl in family 😂but now I am 5’1.... shrunk a bit ha! ...) & my eyesight was not good either, which sadly also ruled be out for I would have needed to wear glasses, although I seldom wore them then or now! Nowadays all those “issues” are ok, I understand but it always seemed like such an exciting job!!! To go over these grounds flying in to your home airport, back then, must have been so exciting. Did you work for a long time in the airline industry ??? What an exciting job you had!
As in 1939 and in 1964, so too today these fairgrounds are forecasting. They originally said we would have television and motorways. In due course we got them. Now these same grounds are saying we will have decay, graffiti, and drinking fountains without water. Maybe we'll get them too.
Sadly, this is how our society works. If money can't be made, its just left to go to ruin. Our National and state parks are in decline because of defunding.
Oh Yes defunding , would you like to pay for it ? You use a broad brush " our society works " it is a reality that places aren't always preserved , the fairs pavilions were temporary , meant to last for 2 years . My society is a happy one , thankful to be here and greatful for life itself try to buck up will you , don't be such a downer .
@@larciabella No. Money doesn't grow on trees and the government is the most corrupt, incompetent, and wasteful manager. And that's precisely where the greed is.
The society of victims have sucked dry all the fund's that make things like this possible. To them things like the world fair are excessive and unfairly marginalize whichever group of victims they can make a connection to. And now that Democrats fully embraced these "victims" the world's fair would just turn into a giant protest for whatever narrative their masters supplant into their weak mind's!
@@brosefmcman8264 The world of criminals who suck the life out of their victims is very real. The criminals are the Republicans. The Republican crooks and thieves.
I was a kid in '64-'65 and snuck into the Fair many times, across the tracks avoiding the third rail, over an overpass and then a fence and you're in. I loved it. The problem with Flushing Meadow park is that it was not designed as a park, after the fair they just tore down the pavilions and buildings and kept the grounds as they were so it kind of has the feel of an archeological ruin. The grounds of what had once been a great civilization...barren, the street grid of a once great city. It's no Central Park or Prospect Park. It needs a complete redesign and overhaul.
Me and my 3 brothers grew up right across the street and attended the fair often. We have since moved away, parents and relatives have passed. We've enjoyed 4 reunion bike tours thru the old fair grounds over the years. The park has been maintained to a degree but it's a shame what's become of the New York State pavilion. We still enjoy going back; all you have to do is close your eyes and remember the sites, sounds and smells of a great exposition.
I saw him too at the 1964 WF. it was too big to see everything they had. it was spectacular esp. at nite when lit up. I loved the Ford pavilion and the GM
@@hornet6969 - Actually, the first color broadcast was made by CBS in 1951. The picture quality was bleak at first, then improved dramatically in the early to mid sixties. My cousins had the first color set in the family around 1955 or 56. You had to "tune in" the proper color mix with knobs representing blue, red and I think yellow. Dad and I both agreed that it had a long way to go before it would be popular.
when the Eifel tower was built in Paris back in the day in the 19th century, it was to be torn down after the world expo ended and closed down ... but then they somehow decided to keep it ... and well, what does the world know France / Paris for today besides great wine, cheese, and bread? ;-)
They should add some enhancements around the Unisphere and the New York State Pavilion/Fair(?). It would really nice to see this place come to life again.
Sadly it’s not just about funding our society doesn’t teach and practice respect for property. Or civic responsibility. Most kids can’t even tell you the meaning of that phrase.
I was so lucky to have lived just 40 minutes away from here.. I went several times with family and friends. .it's sad to see it now.. There's so much potential ...
The Pavilion stayed open through out the late 60's as rock promoter Bill Graham put on summer concerts there and I saw many shows and great legendary bands play inside there while the stain glass was still intact.
@@yaelrar.4460 The Singer Bowl and The Pavilion hosted these concerts They had Chuck Berry, Savoy Brown, The Who, Vanilla Fudge, Jimi Hendrix, The Chambers Brothers, The Rascals, The Vagrants, That's all i can remember now.
You did a great job..thank you..I have moved here from the West Coast and see this all the time, quite frankly I am stunned by the loss of so many things here like this and wonder where all the money goes.
I remember the last day. People were actually pulling out trees from their favorite pavilions! To be honest, I never thought that the New York State pavilion was all that great. There were other pavilions which were much nicer.
I was here in 1964 and again in 1965. (17 years old in '65.) The original price of admission was 2.00/ea. It was raised to $2.50 (if I remember correctly) in '65. It was to be open for 2 yrs only. Was never intended to be permanent. Even with the $2.50 ticket price it did not break even even though millions of people attended over those two seasons. No surprise that all those pavilions couldn't be maintained for 50+ years with limited funding. I see no reason to blame anyone for what it is now. Nice to see that some of it still exists. I'd like to visit it again even in this condition just for the memories of what it was back then.
Well, it was intended that there would be a World's Fair in New York every twenty-five years. (Hence, the '64-'65 Fair being a successor to the '39-'40 Fair.) What happened is that the culture and its values changed -- the late Sixties and the rise of the New Left has given us a culture that doesn't value material progress or even human happiness.
Right after the Fair Closed the Singer Bowl, which has been torn down now, had hosted some great concerts, The Doors, The Who, Janis JopIn and many others, Then a few years later in 1969 the Pavilion hosted some good concerts, Chuck Berry, Savoy Brown Blues Band and a few others, I think The Pavilion concerts lasted for one only Season then stopped. The Singer Bowl Did it for one season maybe two. It was a great place to put on summer time shows.
In our case - Montréal 1967 Expo - the first years after we still had pavillons but it took less then 15 year to completely close down the site and plant trees. So after 35 years you get a nice green park. An idea here. Thx
What I don’t. Understand is why doesn’t the state of NY .try and make this a continued attraction . Instead of allowing this place to fall apart . WHY ?
Just be thankful for Small World, the dinosaurs from the magic skyway, it’s a small world, Lincoln, and the Carousel of Progress. All 4 are in much better shape. The carousel of progress however has been needing some TLC in recent times.
I don't know how we ended up there--my parents would typically not take us to things like this--but we did. And it's not like we were far away--Philly. It was so huge that there was no way to see everything in the time we were there, which I think was at most 2 days. I do remember the Unisphere and It's A Small World, but not really anything else. Perhaps in the '80s or '90s I was in NY and took the subway/EL to the remains and walked around. Nothing much to do there, but it was interesting.
I’m a millennial, but I love love love the 1964 New York World’s Fair. ❤️ If I ever get married, I would love a 1964NYWF-themed wedding. Also, I would love to have the Unisphere on my gravestone. 💕
Very well done video,. Kinda mixed feelings about what should be done about places like this though, yes they are iconic but were built as temporary structures at the time on the other hand some that still exist like those in the video should be preserved and made available for the public to enjoy. Not to desecrate like the skaters do but restore the elevators on the observation towers and alet people use them again, restore the fountain around the sphere to it's original beauty for people to enjoy.
I loved this & whenever I see photos of this exhibit I immediately think of this extraordinary World ‘s Fair.! Looking at this video it is just to sad to believe how this has allowed to deteriorate & they couldn’t figure out something useful to do with these buildings. Certainly, in all these yrs something could have been figured out to save these bldgs & the grounds! Parks for people to enjoy, restaurants at the top of the towers( like the Space Needle in Seattle, just such a shame to see these buildings in such disrepair! I remember seeing the giant globe in beginning credits of “King of Queens” with Kevin James & so many other extraordinary actors( loved that show) but the World Globe 🌎 is iconic! Hoping somehow & someway they come up with a way to save these grounds known the world over for the extraordinary 1964-1965 WORLD’S FAIR! Sure they could make money eventually if they added attractions ( like the restaurant, perhaps ice-skating or dollar skating rink, picnic area, snack stands & things to bring people in to see what used to be a beautiful area!♥️
just how far is this from the us open site. It seems it must be next door. Does the usta own the land and if so maybe it might restore it for us open tennis use.
I visited there in July 2012 and the pond and massive jet fountains under the Unisphere were glorious & all functioning perfectly! What happened in 3 yrs?? I read at the time the City had just spent a lot of money restoring them after decades of neglect. Maybe when this was shot they were closed down for winter? The pavilion was much the same but unpainted. l don't see why they spent millions just painting that. But it'd be good if the iconic lookouts were restored.
I remember that so well I was there I was approximately 12 years old when my godmother a schoolteacher just picture World's Fair that was the second one I was there in 1962 in Seattle also it's awesome to really really do need to do that again it's so many kids that need to know what was and what is
They inspired each other! ‘It’s a Small World’ was created for the NY ‘64 Fair by a Disney Team and moved into Disneyland after the Fair. The iconic IASM entrance & most the exhibit was designed by a woman!
I grew up blocks away from the park, it happened before my time but it haunted me and still does! Nice film thank you though it's sad to see the trash and such it's good to see the work on the pavilion being done :)
The NYC Transit Museum has preserved a couple of the blue and white #7 train cars, designation R36WF... but the blue isn't quite right. They have them repainted as a sort of eggshell blue, or a robin's egg blue, but as a Flushing, NY area resident in the 1960s and again in the 1980s I can assure you, the original blue was less strident. By the way... the piano instrumental cover of Tears For Fears "Mad World"? Really??
I have my memories of the fair as a kid. Very exciting. The park is not as desolate as this video would make it out to be. The Unisphere is restored. If you want to see a world's fair exhibit the model map of the expanse of New York City is still on display at what had been the New YorK city pavilion at the 39 and 64 Fairs. The simulated helicopter ride around the map is a distant memory. Walking around it just as good.
Many improvements have begun to take place after the release of this documentary! This documentary shows the state of the park after the fair and how stark of a contrast it is to how it was. It's getting better but we're not there yet! Thanks for watching!
Interesting. Next time could you control your sound level? That World's Fair song blasted my ears and speakers. From there, the level went up and down randomly. Lots of work for the viewer. to hear, yet spare our ears.
From the looks of it, the latest video might have been sho on autumn or winter.. of course there will be not people skating in the park. During the summer, the skate park is packed. The Unisphere is packed as well. However, i agree. The place looks like of ruin of how it used to be.
I visited this location about 10 years ago and was slightly depressed by the deterioration. Went to the Fair twice when & was 11 & 12 years old. I remember that the floor of the NYS Pavilion had a giant roadmap of NY State on it. It now looks like something from "Planet of the Apes"....some abandoned city-scape. Most of the other buildings were torn down or some were moved to Disneyland.
Hey you gotta admit Unisphere has held up well . As far as the NY State tent of tomorrow , well that is another story , it wasn't built to last ,it has deteriorated past the point of restoration , time to put your big boy pants on an look at reality . The fair moved south to Florida .
The pavilions of the Seattle World's Fair of 1962, two years before the NY 1964 World's Fair, are still in use & are in good shape! So, why did New York decide to let their's fall to disrepair? When I went to the NY Fair in 1965, it was the closest thing to going to Disneyland in Calif., since Disney World was not built for another seven years! But NYC also had "Freedom Land", which, unfortunately, could not compete and ultimately went out of business because of it!
Human beings are so wasteful. Spare no expense, use it up, throw it away and forget about it, let someone else deal with it. Very sad.... Arrange for volunteers to chip in, help the city refurbish some of the ruins, a little bit at a time. At least the skateboarders are making some use out of it.
...no way the Worlds Fair fairgrounds could, or would have survived in the form we see it on newsreel footage. Look at year round venues like Steeplechase, or Luna Park on Coney Island, or the huge, incredibly popular amusement parks like Riverview Park in downtown Chicago, and Palisades Park in New Jersey. All were affected by TV and social entertainment evolution, eventually giving way to developers. Nothing left but torn down structure footings and historical markers. WHO cares about a marker? They are more of a gravestone, than anything to feel uplifting about. Riverside is a grocery store plaza, and Palisades are apartments/condos.......
What happened is after the fair we were at war in Vietnam and culture took a different turn later in the sixties and we got lazy and politics took over and of course there was contraversy on who will maintain it and this is what we end up with too bad
Legislatures have more worthy projects than they have taxes to pay for them. Everybody wants a tax cut AND plenty of services and infrastructure. Can't have it both ways.
Picture the Fair in today's atmosphere. Buildings vandalized and covered with graffiti filth. Drug user's needles in the flower beds. Visitors getting mugged - a daily occurrence, I'd bet.
3M to paint a building? Good grief. What a waste of money. I guarantee you the immigrants that have taken over the park will just graffitti over that paint job.
@Ser Humano then besides shallow internet bullshit you have no clue what you are talking about beyond what someone programs you to believe. Was it commercial? Hell yes. That’s what expos are about. Always have been. Then and now. Seattle, Montreal cne. None would have happened without corporate money building the facilities. And few made a dime from them. Most pavilions were free admission. Why was Disney involved? Because 9 years earlier he opened the biggest best entertainment amusement center in the history of the planet. Of course they wanted him. I hate what Disney has become. But that doesn’t change history. Peace through understanding. That’s the lost message of Corona Park
so did the, fairs building and monuments,decay on their own,or did Young teenagers, vandalized the place? 😔😠. remember pictures of the Billy Graham/ pavilion from a record my parents got in, wisconsin in '64'! is that still around?
I wholeheartedly agree with your video, but nothing lasts forever! I'm glad the Earth sphere still exists, but did Anyone Really think, that All the buildings, would still exist today? And if so, for what purpose? And what about the 1939 Worlds Fair? Should Those Historic Landmarks, been left up too?! I wholeheartedly agree with your video, but it's a coulda, woulda, shoulda, kind of thing?! Just My Opinion...
I loved the Walt Disney version of 1964 world fair although the this time was probably not best time period 4 ppl of color. I probably just go but in time for the fashion n to ride the sky way.
Fact is unless it's built of weather proof materials like granite or a silica based material, glass, terra cotta, all is going to look crappy in a few years after a restoration. Only expensive upkeep will keep it nice. Metals corrode, cementious materials slowly dissolve. The rain and ice are brutal. That's one of the downsides to building modern futuristic architecture.(as the 20th century imagined it) It is only impressive when clean, new out of the box. Now if the World's Fair was built to remind us of centuries old temples, castles and stadia, the ruins would be attractive and romantic. Nashville reconstructed the Parthenon from its Centennial fair. I dare say it will be impressive when the concrete starts to crumble.
My Mom and Dad took us to the NY World's Fair in 1964 and 1965. We lived in NJ. I was 5 and 6 and yet I remember so much detail. It was so wonderful. I've been back many times to the site when going to Met Games and the US Open. I walk around the Unisphere and I feel so much sadness. I wish they could do something to preserve what's still there. It's falling apart.
I actually work in the theatre there, the circle building attached to the pavilion- which is now used as a Scenic Shop and storage. There have been lots of attempts to restore the park and historic grounds, but because they’re government owned, getting the permission and funds to fix anything is practically impossible. They are planning to fix up the pavilion in a big, upcoming restoration project soon - Everything’s been removed from the storage there in preparation. Though I will say, the whole place is much more beautiful in the spring when the cherry blossoms bloom and fountain is functioning!
Where is the "Panarama of the city" displayed or is that also in storage?
@@hornet6969that's in the queens museum next to the unisphere!
The Unisphere is still an incredibly attractive piece of sculpture. As an 11-year old boy in 1964, I was immediately captivated by the futuristic structures, experimental techologies, and vibrant colors of this world of tomorrow. I desperately wanted my parents to take us there, but Dad hated crowds so instead we went to Virginia Beach and stared at the ocean for a week. The closest I ever got to the fair was the Readers Digest issue devoted to it that started my dream in the first place. Hate Virginia Beach to this day.
Sorry Paul ...It was a great time .. it was like Disney in Queens..and cheap. We had some coupon ticket for $1...
That is a sad story. I love swimming in the ocean but, the 64 fair was once in a lifetime... My family lived in Bound Brook NJ at the time. Don't recall if it was 64 or 65 when we went, but to a 4 or 5 year old boy it was magical. One little memory I hold special is my parents buying me a Frisbee from some vendor. Pretty sure it was as we were leaving, heading back to the car, didn't have to carry it around all day. Remember riding in some car on a track, (Ford? Maybe Chrysler) seeing these futuristic scenes. Remember the big tire ferris wheel. So long ago now. Sure do miss my parents.
I was five years old in 1964, and remember going to the Fair...
As an adult I collected a variety of artifacts, one subject being this fair...
When I discovered the Queens Museum (of Art)'s plans for renovation of the old skating rink, I called the curator and offered my entire NYWF collection for acquisition...It joins others in their Visible Storage exhibit...
I went there several times at the age of ten. People who experienced the 1939 fair said that this one was pale in comparison. That meant nothing to me. This was my fair and I loved it. Watching this now makes me sad and nostalgic.
When I was a Flight Attendant I would fly over this all the time coming in for a landing and I often would think that was where my Grandmother was in her picture I have in 1939...
I associate this fair with my beloved “Nana” who took me here when I was 14 too! What an amazing video/blog this is! Sooooo fantastic! Ohhhh the memories! How great that you used to fly over it all the time as a “flight attendant” & you used to think of your grandmother , just like I think of mine, every time you looked down below from your plane. With me, I think of my beloved Nana each time I see a video or photo of this extraordinary fair! Memories of my Nana & the fantastic time I had there when she took me from our home in western Massachusetts, come rushing back, bringing my Nana “back to me!” I miss her still & my beloved mother too but how I love reliving this fair through amazing videos & photos, such as this!♥️
@@karenstrycharz1499 Yes it’s good that we have those memories. They can’t take that away from us! We are never going to see those days again as everything is turning up side down today
@@InFltSvc How right you are! Those memories are so very special to us both!
PS I need to add... I always wanted to be a flight attendant but was to short in those days, 🤣they had strict requirements back then (I was 5’4 in “those days & tallest girl in family 😂but now I am 5’1.... shrunk a bit ha! ...) & my eyesight was not good either, which sadly also ruled be out for I would have needed to wear glasses, although I seldom wore them then or now! Nowadays all those “issues” are ok, I understand but it always seemed like such an exciting job!!! To go over these grounds flying in to your home airport, back then, must have been so exciting. Did you work for a long time in the airline industry ??? What an exciting job you had!
Wish I could be part of a major restoration effort. Would also love to see the Trylon and Perisphere from 39 rebuilt
Me too!
You can: form a partnership to collect donations and pay for its restoration.
I Would Love To Restore This Back To A Theme Park The Way It Should Be! 😞
Oh yeah
As in 1939 and in 1964, so too today these fairgrounds are forecasting. They originally said we would have television and motorways. In due course we got them. Now these same grounds are saying we will have decay, graffiti, and drinking fountains without water. Maybe we'll get them too.
Thanks for watching!
You can't bring back the past. It was a different time, different people.
Looks like you are thanks to BLM.
@@kromedome0101And the time, culture, and people all demonstrate poorer values now.
So sad. I was there both years. Wonderful. Now? Tears.
Thank you so much for watching!
i used to see this place in my dreams when i was little.. i always had some strange connection to these structures it strange
If you ever start building them in the living room out of mashed potatoes and grass clippings, seek help
@@blaws6684 I feel like this is a reference that I don't understand
@@aksel8342 you’ve never had a close encounter then.
@@blaws6684 🤣🤣🤣 You are to darn funny & clever! Loved your comment & still laughing!
@@aksel8342 it’s a reference to the movie “close encounters of the third kind. “.
Sadly, this is how our society works. If money can't be made, its just left to go to ruin. Our National and state parks are in decline because of defunding.
Thanks for watching!
Oh Yes defunding , would you like to pay for it ? You use a broad brush " our society works " it is a reality that places aren't always preserved , the fairs pavilions were temporary , meant to last for 2 years . My society is a happy one , thankful to be here and greatful for life itself try to buck up will you , don't be such a downer .
awful and sad at the lack of interests.Our National Parks could/should be treated as jewels.GREED.
@@larciabella No. Money doesn't grow on trees and the government is the most corrupt, incompetent, and wasteful manager. And that's precisely where the greed is.
Wrong
I say bring back another New York Worlds Fair! Its been 50 years! and in the process they can restore all the whole thing,,
kyolym I agree! Would be such a great thing! Thanks for watching!
Would be a disaster. The people and values of NYC today are horrendous.
when they had the 50th anniversary i went there. It was amazing. I cried. I loved it
I’m so interested in this subject. It’s so sad the state of everything. It was so beautiful. They just let it go. They let it all go.
THE GERM Thanks for watching!
The society of victims have sucked dry all the fund's that make things like this possible. To them things like the world fair are excessive and unfairly marginalize whichever group of victims they can make a connection to. And now that Democrats fully embraced these "victims" the world's fair would just turn into a giant protest for whatever narrative their masters supplant into their weak mind's!
@@brosefmcman8264 The world of criminals who suck the life out of their victims is very real. The criminals are the Republicans. The Republican crooks and thieves.
Was there in May of '65... great experience! Now work a few hundred yards from the big tire in Allen Park Mi that was a ferris wheel at the W F...😎
@@SymphonyBrahms they are merely puppets… there is no left or right
Frank Scaturro is a friend of mine! Surprised to see him pop up here.
Wow that's great to hear! Hope he's doing well. Thanks for watching!
I was a kid in '64-'65 and snuck into the Fair many times, across the tracks avoiding the third rail, over an overpass and then a fence and you're in. I loved it.
The problem with Flushing Meadow park is that it was not designed as a park, after the fair they just tore down the pavilions and buildings and kept the grounds as they were so it kind of has the feel of an archeological ruin. The grounds of what had once been a great civilization...barren, the street grid of a once great city. It's no Central Park or Prospect Park.
It needs a complete redesign and overhaul.
I don't think I want to go there. I'll keep my memories from 1964 untainted.
Thanks for watching!
Too late. You just watched the video
Me and my 3 brothers grew up right across the street and attended the fair often. We have since moved away, parents and relatives have passed. We've enjoyed 4 reunion bike tours thru the old fair grounds over the years. The park has been maintained to a degree but it's a shame what's become of the New York State pavilion. We still enjoy going back; all you have to do is close your eyes and remember the sites, sounds and smells of a great exposition.
Face it , it's like those old sci Fi movies. These people would rather live in squalor than looking nice.
You should see the fantastic slides I took with my Yashika twin reflex camera. Both by day and night.
I remember watching a man wearing some kind "rocket-backpack" flying in the sky. Anyone else remember that?
I saw him too at the 1964 WF. it was too big to see everything they had. it was spectacular esp. at nite when lit up. I loved the Ford pavilion and the GM
I remember being at the XXX pavilion. We waited in line so we could experience the next big thing in entertainment : color tv
@@hornet6969 - Actually, the first color broadcast was made by CBS in 1951. The picture quality was bleak at first, then improved dramatically in the early to mid sixties. My cousins had the first color set in the family around 1955 or 56. You had to "tune in" the proper color mix with knobs representing blue, red and I think yellow. Dad and I both agreed that it had a long way to go before it would be popular.
I know that document with the family who went to the fair. One of my fav.
when the Eifel tower was built in Paris back in the day in the 19th century, it was to be torn down after the world expo ended and closed down ... but then they somehow decided to keep it ... and well, what does the world know France / Paris for today besides great wine, cheese, and bread? ;-)
and the French Kiss too of course! :D
Thanks for watching!
Brigitte Bardot and surrendering to the Germans after 6 weeks in WW2.
/
Good point
Women who don't shave their pits or legs!
Rebuild the Worlds Fair please!😭
They should add some enhancements around the Unisphere and the New York State Pavilion/Fair(?). It would really nice to see this place come to life again.
Sadly it’s not just about funding our society doesn’t teach and practice respect for property. Or civic responsibility. Most kids can’t even tell you the meaning of that phrase.
We didn’t teach them that… only to be angry hate and work for nothing
Usually fairgrounds don't stay around after the fair has ended. There's a nice tribute in the Unisphere, which seems ok.
I was so lucky to have lived just 40 minutes away from here.. I went several times with family and friends. .it's sad to see it now.. There's so much potential ...
Went to the Fair when I was 7. Lived nearby.
After it closed, and when I drove by it in the ensuing decades, the park totally disgusted me.
The Pavilion stayed open through out the late 60's as rock promoter Bill Graham put on summer concerts there and I saw many shows and great legendary bands play inside there while the stain glass was still intact.
Thank you so much for watching!
Wow. Never knew that. Any idea what bands performed there?
@@yaelrar.4460 The Singer Bowl and The Pavilion hosted these concerts They had Chuck Berry, Savoy Brown, The Who, Vanilla Fudge, Jimi Hendrix, The Chambers Brothers, The Rascals, The Vagrants, That's all i can remember now.
The fair wasn’t open in 1963 like the guy said. It opened in April 64 and closed in October 65
Bill Whitbeck Where does it say the fair opened in 1963?
EyesightFilms The first man that’s interviewed, Tim, says he came to the worlds fair in 1963
Bill Whitbeck Hmmm. Good catch.
You did a great job..thank you..I have moved here from the West Coast and see this all the time, quite frankly I am stunned by the loss of so many things here like this and wonder where all the money goes.
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The time capsule is due to be opened in 5000 years? Now that's being optimistic.
I remember the last day. People were actually pulling out trees from their favorite pavilions! To be honest, I never thought that the New York State pavilion was all that great. There were other pavilions which were much nicer.
@4:04 did he say flushing, corona?? This was published 2015 or `16. Is that the name or wtf was he referencing?
I was here in 1964 and again in 1965. (17 years old in '65.) The original price of admission was 2.00/ea. It was raised to $2.50 (if I remember correctly) in '65. It was to be open for 2 yrs only. Was never intended to be permanent. Even with the $2.50 ticket price it did not break even even though millions of people attended over those two seasons. No surprise that all those pavilions couldn't be maintained for 50+ years with limited funding. I see no reason to blame anyone for what it is now. Nice to see that some of it still exists. I'd like to visit it again even in this condition just for the memories of what it was back then.
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Well, it was intended that there would be a World's Fair in New York every twenty-five years. (Hence, the '64-'65 Fair being a successor to the '39-'40 Fair.)
What happened is that the culture and its values changed -- the late Sixties and the rise of the New Left has given us a culture that doesn't value material progress or even human happiness.
Right after the Fair Closed the Singer Bowl, which has been torn down now, had hosted some great concerts, The Doors, The Who, Janis JopIn and many others, Then a few years later in 1969 the Pavilion hosted some good concerts, Chuck Berry, Savoy Brown Blues Band and a few others, I think The Pavilion concerts lasted for one only Season then stopped. The Singer Bowl Did it for one season maybe two. It was a great place to put on summer time shows.
Think of it this way... It was a dump before the Worlds Fair.... Full circle.
In our case - Montréal 1967 Expo - the first years after we still had pavillons but it took less then 15 year to completely close down the site and plant trees. So after 35 years you get a nice green park. An idea here. Thx
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It’ is a green park
I was there in my youth with my parents. Happy memories. I pass by, to and from work on the #7 train everyday. Tarnishes the happy memories.
What I don’t. Understand is why doesn’t the state of NY .try and make this a continued attraction . Instead of allowing this place to fall apart . WHY ?
Where’s the site of it’s a small world?
it's what's left of drab New York... I remember this place being beautiful
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New York looks better now compared to the '70s and '80s.
The new paint looks great!
Just be thankful for Small World, the dinosaurs from the magic skyway, it’s a small world, Lincoln, and the Carousel of Progress. All 4 are in much better shape. The carousel of progress however has been needing some TLC in recent times.
And the big tire/Ferris Wheel that sits along I-94 freeway in Allen Park Michigan
In the first Men in Black movie that they are real flying saucers on the towers that Edgar the cockroach tries to get out of Earth by one of them.
I don't know how we ended up there--my parents would typically not take us to things like this--but we did. And it's not like we were far away--Philly. It was so huge that there was no way to see everything in the time we were there, which I think was at most 2 days. I do remember the Unisphere and It's A Small World, but not really anything else. Perhaps in the '80s or '90s I was in NY and took the subway/EL to the remains and walked around. Nothing much to do there, but it was interesting.
I’m a millennial, but I love love love the 1964 New York World’s Fair. ❤️
If I ever get married, I would love a 1964NYWF-themed wedding. Also, I would love to have the Unisphere on my gravestone. 💕
Peace through understanding. You have it
You could get married under the big tire in Allen Park Michigan...was a Ferris wheel at the 1964-65 World's Fair
@@larrysintay4456, actually, I was thinking of maybe the Coca-Cola Carillon at Stone Mountain in Georgia. Also from the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
Very well done video,. Kinda mixed feelings about what should be done about places like this though, yes they are iconic but were built as temporary structures at the time on the other hand some that still exist like those in the video should be preserved and made available for the public to enjoy. Not to desecrate like the skaters do but restore the elevators on the observation towers and alet people use them again, restore the fountain around the sphere to it's original beauty for people to enjoy.
Thanks for watching!
I for one was happy to be there about 4 years ago. Kinda neat to look around.
I loved this & whenever I see photos of this exhibit I immediately think of this extraordinary World ‘s Fair.! Looking at this video it is just to sad to believe how this has allowed to deteriorate & they couldn’t figure out something useful to do with these buildings. Certainly, in all these yrs something could have been figured out to save these bldgs & the grounds! Parks for people to enjoy, restaurants at the top of the towers( like the Space Needle in Seattle, just such a shame to see these buildings in such disrepair! I remember seeing the giant globe in beginning credits of “King of Queens” with Kevin James & so many other extraordinary actors( loved that show) but the World Globe 🌎 is iconic! Hoping somehow & someway they come up with a way to save these grounds known the world over for the extraordinary 1964-1965 WORLD’S FAIR! Sure they could make money eventually if they added attractions ( like the restaurant, perhaps ice-skating or dollar skating rink, picnic area, snack stands & things to bring people in to see what used to be a beautiful area!♥️
I was there with my parents, sister and grandmother.
Thank you 🙏
Mom and Dad ❤You !!
Went there both years. Still smell the beer garden walking by. Great time...
just how far is this from the us open site. It seems it must be next door. Does the usta own the land and if so maybe it might restore it for us open tennis use.
bradley small Thanks for watching!
I visited there in July 2012 and the pond and massive jet fountains under the Unisphere were glorious & all functioning perfectly! What happened in 3 yrs?? I read at the time the City had just spent a lot of money restoring them after decades of neglect.
Maybe when this was shot they were closed down for winter? The pavilion was much the same but unpainted. l don't see why they spent millions just painting that. But it'd be good if the iconic lookouts were restored.
Doug Lasermedia Thanks for watching!
Money in pockets and nothing ever done
I remember that so well I was there I was approximately 12 years old when my godmother a schoolteacher just picture World's Fair that was the second one I was there in 1962 in Seattle also it's awesome to really really do need to do that again it's so many kids that need to know what was and what is
This was the gleaming, amazing World of the Future when I saw it as a 5 year old in 1965.
Had my very first soft pretzel at the Fair and thought I was in heaven! Yummmmmm.
I went to fair when I was 6 in 1964 and 7 in 1965 it surpasses Walt Disney World which was inspired by it
Nice to hear! Thanks for watching!
They inspired each other! ‘It’s a Small World’ was created for the NY ‘64 Fair by a Disney Team and moved into Disneyland after the Fair. The iconic IASM entrance & most the exhibit was designed by a woman!
@@willwjl they didn't inspire each other.
I grew up blocks away from the park, it happened before my time but it haunted me and still does! Nice film thank you though it's sad to see the trash and such it's good to see the work on the pavilion being done :)
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The NYC Transit Museum has preserved a couple of the blue and white #7 train cars, designation R36WF... but the blue isn't quite right. They have them repainted as a sort of eggshell blue, or a robin's egg blue, but as a Flushing, NY area resident in the 1960s and again in the 1980s I can assure you, the original blue was less strident. By the way... the piano instrumental cover of Tears For Fears "Mad World"? Really??
No music is better than bad music.
It’s been so many many years. Robert Moses finally got his park in Flushing.
I have my memories of the fair as a kid. Very exciting. The park is not as desolate as this video would make it out to be. The Unisphere is restored. If you want to see a world's fair exhibit the model map of the expanse of New York City is still on display at what had been the New YorK city pavilion at the 39 and 64 Fairs. The simulated helicopter ride around the map is a distant memory. Walking around it just as good.
Many improvements have begun to take place after the release of this documentary! This documentary shows the state of the park after the fair and how stark of a contrast it is to how it was. It's getting better but we're not there yet! Thanks for watching!
When white people were the majority of this country things are beautiful clean and safe
$3 million for paint. No renovations, etc. just paint. No wonder why the national debt is trillions.
Sebastian m Thanks for watching!
And in New York and most cities, they choose the lowest bid when voting the contract to have this done. :-(
Corona Virus panic will add another trillion
Interesting.
Next time could you control your sound level? That World's Fair song blasted my ears and speakers. From there, the level went up and down randomly. Lots of work for the viewer. to hear, yet spare our ears.
3:12 -- I just did an hour ago. This is a wonderful sign. Thank you.
From the looks of it, the latest video might have been sho on autumn or winter.. of course there will be not people skating in the park. During the summer, the skate park is packed. The Unisphere is packed as well. However, i agree. The place looks like of ruin of how it used to be.
The Hall of Science seems to be totally ignored: a beautiful building that's still a science center.
‘Science’
If the state of NY can take care of other landmarks ..THEY SHOULD INCLUDE THE SITE OF THE WORLDS FAIR ?
I visited this location about 10 years ago and was slightly depressed by the deterioration. Went to the Fair twice when & was 11 & 12 years old. I remember that the floor of the NYS Pavilion had a giant roadmap of NY State on it. It now looks like something from "Planet of the Apes"....some abandoned city-scape. Most of the other buildings were torn down or some were moved to Disneyland.
Hey you gotta admit Unisphere has held up well . As far as the NY State tent of tomorrow , well that is another story , it wasn't built to last ,it has deteriorated past the point of restoration , time to put your big boy pants on an look at reality . The fair moved south to Florida .
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I was at Epcot in Orlando in the early 90s. The fireworks display at closing time took me right back to the World's Fair in 1964 and '65.
They should leave the Unispehere, remove the deteriorating impractical tent structure, and replace it with the rebuilt Trilon and Perishpere.
@@Ken15643 Great idea, but unfortunately this is deBlasio's NYC. He'll never sign off on anything that celebrates NYC's past.
The pavilions of the Seattle World's Fair of 1962, two years before the NY 1964 World's Fair,
are still in use & are in good shape! So, why did New York decide to let their's fall to disrepair?
When I went to the NY Fair in 1965, it was the closest thing to going to Disneyland in Calif.,
since Disney World was not built for another seven years! But NYC also had "Freedom Land",
which, unfortunately, could not compete and ultimately went out of business because of it!
Human beings are so wasteful. Spare no expense, use it up, throw it away and forget about it, let someone else deal with it.
Very sad.... Arrange for volunteers to chip in, help the city refurbish some of the ruins, a little bit at a time. At least the skateboarders are making some use out of it.
...no way the Worlds Fair fairgrounds could, or would have survived in the form we see it on newsreel footage. Look at year round venues like Steeplechase, or Luna Park on Coney Island, or the huge, incredibly popular amusement parks like Riverview Park in downtown Chicago, and Palisades Park in New Jersey. All were affected by TV and social entertainment evolution, eventually giving way to developers. Nothing left but torn down structure footings and historical markers. WHO cares about a marker? They are more of a gravestone, than anything to feel uplifting about. Riverside is a grocery store plaza, and Palisades are apartments/condos.......
What happened is after the fair we were at war in Vietnam and culture took a different turn later in the sixties and we got lazy and politics took over and of course there was contraversy on who will maintain it and this is what we end up with too bad
Me being a Brooklyn boy in the 1950's & 60's. I use to really loved the 1964 65 worlds fair as a teenager]
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Legislatures have more worthy projects than they have taxes to pay for them. Everybody wants a tax cut AND plenty of services and infrastructure. Can't have it both ways.
They should left the World's Fair intact. That was our New York version of Disneyworld.
Picture the Fair in today's atmosphere. Buildings vandalized and covered with graffiti filth. Drug user's needles in the flower beds. Visitors getting mugged - a daily occurrence, I'd bet.
OMG had to turn off the sound.
The New York City & the State of New York let it all go to crap like everything they are involved in. Total mismanagement.
3M to paint a building? Good grief. What a waste of money. I guarantee you the immigrants that have taken over the park will just graffitti over that paint job.
Yaelra R. Thanks for watching!
Loved old things I have old soul.
So sad that such a beautiful glimpse of the future was so far off from reality when left in the hands of humans
@Ser Humano nonsense. I was there. Were you?
@Ser Humano then besides shallow internet bullshit you have no clue what you are talking about beyond what someone programs you to believe. Was it commercial? Hell yes. That’s what expos are about. Always have been. Then and now. Seattle, Montreal cne. None would have happened without corporate money building the facilities. And few made a dime from them. Most pavilions were free admission. Why was Disney involved? Because 9 years earlier he opened the biggest best entertainment amusement center in the history of the planet. Of course they wanted him. I hate what Disney has become. But that doesn’t change history. Peace through understanding. That’s the lost message of Corona Park
Those days are gone. The world in its natural state is decay....look at our body not getting younger or better but decay breaking down.
so did the, fairs building and monuments,decay on their own,or did Young teenagers, vandalized the place? 😔😠. remember pictures of the Billy Graham/ pavilion from a record my parents got in, wisconsin in '64'! is that still around?
Here comes the brand new flava in ya ear
I wholeheartedly agree with your video,
but nothing lasts forever! I'm glad the
Earth sphere still exists, but did Anyone
Really think, that All the buildings, would
still exist today? And if so, for what purpose?
And what about the 1939 Worlds Fair? Should
Those Historic Landmarks, been left up too?!
I wholeheartedly agree with your video, but
it's a coulda, woulda, shoulda, kind of thing?!
Just My Opinion...
Loved cruel summer 1st heard it in karate kid lol
This is my neighbor hometown were I grew up. I break my heart that they let it go to neglection.
If they have a world expo in the us they should use this
cernunnos Thank you so much for watching!
Look in the late 1800s early 1900s and compared it to 1965. What a tragedy.
3 million to paint is a big scam . Just like the new 25 million dollars fix up. 😥😥 They should turn it into artist area.
My parents went to the 39 world's fair.Theybsaid it was very magical😊
We have to keep in mind that the world's fair structures were meant to be only temporary.
It is still a wonderful place to visit.
I loved the Walt Disney version of 1964 world fair although the this time was probably not best time period 4 ppl of color. I probably just go but in time for the fashion n to ride the sky way.
Well we can't spend billions rebuilding but it would be nice to keep enough of it together for remembrance purposes.
It is never a goal of a world's fair to stay or be kept up, they should deteriarate ...
I live in queens and I didn’t even now abt this
Fact is unless it's built of weather proof materials like granite or a silica based material, glass, terra cotta, all is going to look crappy in a few years after a restoration. Only expensive upkeep will keep it nice. Metals corrode, cementious materials slowly dissolve. The rain and ice are brutal. That's one of the downsides to building modern futuristic architecture.(as the 20th century imagined it) It is only impressive when clean, new out of the box. Now if the World's Fair was built to remind us of centuries old temples, castles and stadia, the ruins would be attractive and romantic. Nashville reconstructed the Parthenon from its Centennial fair. I dare say it will be impressive when the concrete starts to crumble.