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The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the second World's Fair to be held at Flushing Meadows Park in the Borough of Queens, New York in the 20th century. It opened on April 12, 1964 for two six-month seasons concluding on October 21, 1965.
It was the largest World's Fair ever to be held in the United States, occupying nearly a square mile (2.6 kmē) of land. Truly a "Universal and International" class exposition, it was also the largest such event not sanctioned by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) since it was established to regulate such events in 1928 and is often overlooked by historians because it was not an "official" World's Fair. This lack of BIE endorsement also meant that many large European nations such as the United Kingdom, France and GermanyThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east, as well as CanadaCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe and AustraliaAustralia is the sixth-largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia. Australia includes the island of Tasmania, which is an Australian State. Its neighbouring count, chose not to participate in the Fair. Most international exhibits were sponsored by tourismTourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. A tourist is someone who travels at least fifty miles from home, as defined by the World Tourism Organization (a United Nations body). and industrial concerns and not officially sanctioned by their governments.
More important to this exposition than international participation was extensive involvement of United States corporations as exhibitors. American industry spent millions of dollars to create elaborate, crowd-pleasing exhibits. Critics of the Fair charged that the heavy influence of industry created a overly commercial atmosphere.
The Fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding," dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe" and was often referred to as an "Olympics of Progress." The theme center was a 12-story high, stainless-steel model of the earth called UnisphereUnisphere is a 12-story high, spherical stainless steel representation of the Earth. It is located in Flushing Meadow-Corona Park in the Borough of Queens, New York City. Unisphere was conceived and constructed as the Theme Symbol of the 1964/1965 New Yor with the orbit tracks of three satellites encircling the giant globe.
By the time the gates closed more than 51 million people had attended the exposition, a respectable attendance for a World's Fair but less than three-quarters of the projected attendance of 70 million. The exposition ended with huge financial losses and amid allegations of gross mismanagement.
Today the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair is remembered as a belated showcase of mid-twentieth century American corporate culture, showing the first cracks in the civic structure erected around Robert MosesRobert Moses ( December 18, 1888 July 29, 1981) was the master builder of 20th century New York City and its suburbs. As the shaper of a modern city, his only peer is Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris. Although he never held elective office, Moses wa, and the source of the classic New York French restaurant "Le Pavillon". It represents an era best known as "The Space Age" when mankind took its first steps toward space exploration and, taking its upbeat cues from Chicago's " Century of ProgressThe Century of Progress was a world's fair held in Chicago, Illinois from 1933- 1934 to celebrate Chicago's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation. The Century of Progress opened on May 27, 1933 on the shores of Lake Michigan on a" fair of 1933-34, it still seemed that technology would provide the answers to all of the world's problems. The exhibits at the Fair echoed the earlier 20th century's blind sense of optimism in the future that lost credibility shortly after the Fair. Its architecture can be labeled as "Populux" or " GoogieGoogie also known as populuxe is a style of American architecture of the mid- 1950s and 1960s influenced by car culture and the Space Age. America's preoccupation with space travel had a significant influence on the unique style of Googie architecture.," where flying saucer shapes, vast cantilevers and towering forms make up the majority of pavilion design.