New York World's Fair (1939–1940)

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NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR (1939–1940)

The New York World's Fair of 1939 to 1940 in Flushing Meadow, Queens, celebrated a utopian vision of the "World of Tomorrow" that touted American machine-age industrial prowess. Organized by New York's business elite beginning in 1935, the fair was originally conceived as a celebration of the 150th anniversary of George Washington's inauguration in New York City. The organizers hoped that the fair would boost the local economy and alleviate Depression-era anxieties about the role of industry in American society. The emulation of an idealized past typical of other international expositions gave way, however, to an optimistic vision of the future in which the availability of machine-made consumer goods created conditions for widespread prosperity and democracy. The only remnant of the original theme was a monumental statue of George Washington, depicted as if gazing into the future, that provided a link between 150 years of democratic traditions and modern American prosperity. Overall, the fair's modernist utopian vision predominated, symbolized by the Trylon and Perisphere that became the icons of the exposition.

Fair planners aimed to structure visitors' experience to reinforce the ideology of a machine-age consumer prosperity. Situated at the heart of a series of color-coded zones, the Perisphere housed the exposition's theme center. Here, visitors encountered the "Democracity," a vision of the planned communities of the future in which an efficient highway system linked a commercial urban core to suburbs designed for the modern living of the "average" American family. Industry pavilions underscored the significance of new technologies such as television and FM radio in creating consumer goods that would facilitate a distinctly American "way of life."

The World of Tomorrow was presented as a product of an industry-government coalition. One of the most popular exhibitions was the Futurama at the General Motors pavilion. Created by industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes, Futurama seated visitors in plush armchairs and conveyed them past a 36,000 square foot model of the American landscape as it would look in 1960. The efficient system of highways showed viewers the possibilities that could be realized by the automobile if government funding would create the infrastructure.

The fair touted federal and state accomplishments in its government zone amidst international exhibitions from more than sixty countries. Here, the backdrop of the war in Europe disrupted the fair's vision of a prosperous and peaceful future. Germany was notably absent from the lineup of European exhibitors, and the pavilions of Poland and Czechoslovakia remained open despite the Nazi takeover of those countries.

The streamlined modernism that characterized the fair's architecture and consumer goods was complemented by art of all styles throughout the fair grounds. Drawing on Works Progress Administration arts projects that stressed the integration of art and everyday life, fair planners made sculpture integral to the design of the fair; murals by Fernand Leger, Willem de Kooning, Stuart Davis, and others decorated the pavilions. With additional exhibitions of contemporary American and old master paintings, the fair became an art event that linked cultural achievement and American industrial innovation.

The amusement zone was a prime attraction and planners stretched unsuccessfully to connect its spectacles to the fair's utopian theme. Billy Rose's Aquacade, for example, was pure spectacle—an aquatic variety show with elaborate synchronized swimming held in a ten-thousand-seat amphitheater. Other displays attracted viewers with risqué offerings, such as Norman Bel Geddes's Crystal Lassies, a modern peep show enhanced by an elaborate system of mirrors, and Salvador Dali's Dream of Venus, a nonsensical surrealist "fun house" that featured semi-nude figures.

The World of Tomorrow was a financial disaster. Attendance fell short of expectations and organizers had lost millions of dollars by the time the fair closed on October 27, 1940. Many people, it seemed, found the admission price too high. Those who did come further disappointed organizers by seeking their own experience of the exposition rather than conforming to the planned vision. Nevertheless, the fair's legacy included new technologies and consumer goods that transformed daily life, and widespread acceptance of modernism in the areas of art, architecture and industrial design. The World of Tomorrow also popularized the idea of the "average" American, affecting corporate marketing strategies and Americans' own understanding of themselves.

See Also: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.