The 1964 New York World's Fair

It will be 50 years ago this month that the New York World's Fair opened. The fair ran for two six-month seasons, April 22 – October 18, 1964 and April 21 – October 17, 1965. I'm not sure whether visited during the first season or the second, but my guess is the second as a visit required much walking and for small legs that could be difficult no matter how interested we might have been in seeing the exhibits like Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln.

Most of what comprised the fair was torn down long ago though a few items remain and the area itself is the well kept Flushing Meadows Park, not too far from where I now live. We have visited on more than a few occasions and the Unisphere, a 12-story high, stainless-steel model of the earth, remains a captivating site. The paths and their names remain almost unchanged from the days of the fair. It's comforting to have this park nearby where we can look at the trees, flowers, and water.

Here is what the site looked like in 2004, with the ruins of the Observatory Towers and the New York State Pavilion in the foreground: