Welcome to the World's Fair Newsletter:
Perisphere Ponderings
View the Perisphere Ponderings index.
Bill Robinson and the Hot Mikado
The fair management made a terrible error when they decided to build the $250,000 Hall of Music in the Amusement Zone. Reinhard & Hofmeister, architects of Radio City Music Hall created an acoustical and comfort wonder: a seating capacity of 2,375 and a stage sixty-feet wide and fifty-six feet deep.
Read: Bill Robinson and the Hot Mikado 
Kodak
The Hall of Color proved unbelievably popular with its newly-developed sight and sound show. The performance utilized eleven specially constructed slide projectors at a cost of $100,000.
Read: Kodak
Argentina
An unusual international controversy developed in mid-May that eventually spilled over into Flushing Meadows. The U.S. Navy contracted with Argentina to purchase twenty-one tons of canned beef.
Read: Argentina
Trylon Tidbits
Small pieces of news and interesting information compiled by David J. Cope.
New Tidbits for August
- Bill Robinson and the Hot Mikado
- Kodak
- Maison-Coty
- Elgin Watches
- Washington Hall
- Victoria Falls
- Savoy Ballroom
New on the Web
The Man Who Designed the Future: Norman Bel Geddes and the Invention of Twentieth-Century America
by B. Alexandra Szerlip Melville House, NY / London. April 2017 42 photos and drawings. Hardcover, E-book and unabridged Audio (Blackstone), read by the author.
“Decades before Philippe Starck (or Steve Jobs) there was Norman Bel Geddes, the original enfant terrible designer, the man who made 'streamlining' a household word. In the course of his astonishing career, Bel Geddes crossed paths with everyone from Frank Lloyd Wright and Amelia Earhart to Chaplin, Balanchine and Gershwin. He put his hands to everything from ocean liners and 20-engine aircraft to 'skyscraper' cocktail shakers, from typewriters and sports stadiums to some 200 Broadway shows, from “underwater” restaurants to Futurama at the 1939 N.Y. World’s Fair.
His life offers a fascinating window into his era – from the early days of cinema to the early days of television, from pre-WWI aesthetics to post-WWII economics”
Available in bookstores nationwide and through Amazon.
Philip A. Medicus films
Reel 3 - Part 2
Philip Medicus filmed the Fair in color on Kodachrome. These films can be found on YouTube and on the Internet Archives. There are a total of 17 of the Medicus films which I will add to both my YouTube channel and here on the World's Fair Website.
Presented here is the eights of the seventeen, Reel 3 - Part 2.
The silent film has a run-time of approximately of 18:06 minutes
Below the movie is a list of the attractions and their approximate time location.
- Return to:
- World's Fair Films
- Newsletter Index
| Time | Subject | |
|---|---|---|
|
0:07 0:22 1:05 2:14 3:14 4:56 5:33 5:53 6:36 11:59 12:20 12:23 14:16 16:06 16:16 16:27 16:59 |
Plastics Man - Clothes - sports Kodak Towards Schaefer Swift Cowboy Trio Wonder Bakery Glass Insurance White Owl Sweden Three Crowns Restaurant Turkey Bordon's Heinz Kraft Distillers Marionette Show - Chase & Sanborn |
People Seeking Information:
From From Jack Sullivan
I have been doing research on a Swiss orchestra that performed in the Swiss pavilion at this World'sFair, as well at prior fairs. Charlie (Charles or Charley) Zumstein was the leader, and Harvey D. (Dow) Gibson, who managed the fair to some extent, got to know them well from their performances. From my research, I have not found any pamphlets or records of activities at the pavilion.
Any suggestions about where I might look for this information would be greatly appreciated.
View the current list of questions. If you have a question email me and I will add it to the list.
Links
Would you like a link on the World's Fair Website? Take a look at the links page to see how I am adding the links. Hover over the link name to reveal a descriptive panel, click the link to visit the site.
Contact me with the information that you want to appear. Links must be approved before they are added.
The World's Fair Gift Shop
Visit the Gift Shop to purchase items from the 1939 NY World's Fair.
Money raised from the sale of items goes towards maintaining this website.