The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair: Creation and Legacy

Images of America: New York

by Bill Cotter, Bill Young

When the gates of the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair swung open on April 24, 1964, the first of more than 51 million lucky visitors entered, ready to witness the cutting edge of worldwide technology and progress. Faced with a disappointing lack of foreign participants due to political contention, the fair instead showcased the best of American industry and science. While multimillion-dollar pavilions predicted colonies on the moon and hotels under the ocean, other forecasts, such as the promises of computer technology, have surpassed even the most optimistic predictions of the fair. The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair: Creation and Legacy uses rare, previously unpublished photographs to examine the creation of the fair and the legacies left behind for future generations.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Photography, New York

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 20, 2004

About the author

Bill Cotter has been an avid scholar and fan of world’s fairs since his first visit to the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair. His collection of vintage photographs has been featured in numerous books, including three previous titles for Arcadia Publishing, as well as in magazine articles, documentaries, and Web sites that document the histories of the fairs.

Reviews

[Ellen Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book a few days ago and have not been able to put it down. In 1964 I went to the fair with my high school band when we performed there, and I loved it. Later that year I started college in Connecticut and went to the fair several times. I have so many memories of it, but few pictures. This wonderful book is full of photos and lots of background information that is really fascinating. I had forgotten how focused we were at that time with space travel and seemed sure that in the near future we would be living on other planets and vacationing in undersea resorts. Well, none of that has happened, but this book is a step back in time. Great pictures and information.

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The facts and the details of this book are fascinating. It’s fun to see the differences between the designs and the execution. In some cases the contrasts are extreme.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by World's Fair experts, Bill Cotter and Bill Young! Lots of amazing photos with accompanying explanatory text. I particularly like that they include historical tidbits related to the time period. An example is noting that railroad companies were not present at the NY '64-'65 World's Fair because train travel had been eclipsed by the automobile and air travel was on the horizon. Car companies took advantage of marketing at the Fair, and airlines were represented as well. I am excited to read the rest of their World's Fair books!

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, the memories! I can taste the Belgian Waffles! The Unisphere and , the prototype of "It's a Small World" and the "Carousel of Progress". The tackiness of the Sinclair dinosaurs and the awesome beauty of the Pieta. It's all here in black and white.

[James Crabtree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some great photos from the 1964 World's Fair, including the pavilions, monuments and even the transportation used there. Each photo is almost a window into what it was like to be there. Very interesting background on the fair too, although by no means very deep. It probably could have used more photos of some of the exhibits and a map might have been helpful, but overall a great book. Very good supplement if you are reading other material on the World's Fair.

[Fred Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nostalgic look at the 1964-1965 NY World's Fair with color pictures and commentary. It brought back my memories of my visits there as a youth. It was more entertaining than any other World's Fair, exhibit, or amusement park I have ever been to including Disneyland.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many great photos from the New York World's Fair that I'd never seen in the past. It also includes solid info about the massive fair.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subtitle is "Creation and Legacy". So it had lots of pictures of what the area looked like before and during construction, and what it looked like during demolition of the fair. Not so much about what actually went on while the fair was open. Apparently this was the second book about the 1964-65 World's Fair. The first one is New York World's Fair, The 1964-1965 (NY) (which I don't have).

[Viridian5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair , I came out wanting more photos of the Fair. This is the book that gives them. Not only does it provide photos of things the other book doesn't, it also presents images of the models and initial artist sketches and sad photos of the Fair's structures being taken down.

I encourage interested people to pick up both books.

[Viridian5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The text can be too "rah rah" salesmanship about the fair at times, but there's not much of it. I appreciated the ton of photos of the park, fair, pavilions, and exhibits, though I wish at least some of them were in color. They're all a middle-tone black and white.

[Tim Serdynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great old photos and information about the fair and it's creation. I wish more photos existed from INSIDE the exhibits.