Retro images from the 1964-65 World's Fair

Image source: AlamedaInfo

Over the weekend we came across this extremely engaging site full of images – from postcards, booklets and brochures – of the 1964/1965 Worlds Fair in Flushing Meadows Park. The site is AlamedaInfo.com. There are a lot of images, and we’ve included some of our favorites. Click on the images to view them larger – it’s well worth it.

Image source: AlamedaInfo

The Unisphere – it dramatically represented “the interrelation of the peoples of the world and their hopes for Peace Through Understanding.”  It’s one of the most memorable structures in the entire park, and has become an iconic figure representing the borough. Other significant buildings in this image are Shea Stadium in the back (now a parking lot, with CitiField adjacent to that), and the US Pavilion as the boxy building in front of Shea. That building is gone and from what we can tell it looks like the US Tennis Center is in its place.

Image source: AlamedaInfo

The “Tent of Tomorrow.” This is the New York Pavilion. You might recognize those tall structures as flying saucers from the movie Men In Black. They are actually called The Observation Towers.

Image source: AlamedaInfo

General scene from The Observation Towers at the Fair. This is mid-century design goodness.

Image source: AlamedaInfo

To get an idea of what was built in Flushing Meadows Park for the World’s Fair, check out this map, and this map, originally from a spread in National Geographic. So many structures, most of which are just gone. We are now at a time when people want to build again in the park, including parking garages and a new Major League Soccer stadium, which will likely have more staying power than many of the buildings that have disappeared since the fair.

New York World’s Fair, 1964 to 1965 – “Peace through Understanding” [AlamedaInfo.com]