Years ago, a world’s fair was a big deal; now, they don’t get much notice outside of the country organizing it.
I’m wondering who has been to one or two, and what memories you have.
For me, I’ve been to two: New York (1964-65) and Montreat (1967)
New York was a two-hour drive from my house, so I went several times. I remember the Ford exhibit (where they used actual cars), GE’s/Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress (at the fair, the seats revolved like a carousel; the current version has the stage turning), Equitable Life (for some reason, I was fascinated by the real-time population display), The Pieta (Michelangelo’s sculpture; you stood on a conveyor belt and looked at it as you went past), New York State Pavilion (with the giant map of the state), and General Motor’s Futurama.
I was 11-12, and went there on my own at least once. I also remember Tad’s Steak House serving a steak dinner for $1.19 (though by the time I got there, it was up to $1.29.
For Montreal, we took a week off and flew up there. We got there on a Friday and the place was empty, so we were able to get in all the major exhibits.
The next day, the place was mobbed, and it stayed that way the rest of the summer. There were lines everywhere, and lines to get on lines. My brothers and I formed a line to touch the canvas of the German pavilion, and several people fell in line after us. But I actually remember less of it than the New York one.
According to my parents I went to New York’s World Fair. I would have been barely one, so I don’t remember, which really pisses my dad off. Apparently, he spent good money to take me and all I cared about was the light. I think taking me was a large bone of contention between him and my mother.
New York, '64. I was 9. I remember all the stuff you mention, RealityChuck, but my most vivid memory is riding on cable car, which my 11 year old brother and his friend managed to make sway like a 5 a.m. drunk.
New York and Montreal. I was around 12 years old for New York…I mostly remember the long lines, being disappointed in the Clairol, loved the house of the future (no washing dishes! Just put them in the melter, and mold new ones when needed!), and GM. We loved the Unisphere. Most of all, I remember the wonderful, wonderful Belgian waffles.
Montreal, about all I remember was Habitat for Humanity. And that I got to ride up in the back of the pick-up truck with my cousins, something that is totally illegal now, but back then was simply fun.
We went to the Knoxville World’s Fair in 1982, on a road trip to Florida, in the middle of the summer, in a Granada with no A/C. One of my Barbies melted under the back window. Good times.
I had just turned seven, so I don’t remember much, but the giant rotating Rubik’s Cube made a big impression on me. That was the first I’d heard of it, and then soon after, everyone seemed to have one.
Wanted to go to Spokane in '74, but my parents wouldn’t take me. I’m not sure I missed much, does anyone else even remember that Spokane held a World’s Fair (or, in fact, exists)?
I did go to '86 in Vancouver several times. I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure I remember anything particularly ground-breaking from it that has gone on to change the world. I did get to ride a maglev on a short test track. I think they must have teamed up with the airshow in nearby Abbotsford, because they had an amazing lineup that year, and an SR-71 did a low flyby of the fair site. Glad I went. That seems to have been about the last hurrah for World’s Fairs; I know they’re still held but they seemed to fade from public consciousness about that time.
I’m a little envious. I grew up near Seattle and loved going to the science museum and Space Needle, which were on the same site, but missed the fair itself. Of course, it took place three years before I managed to be born so I’ve really no one to blame but myself.
I was at the 1974 Spokane World’s Fair so I can tell you that it did happen and was not a mass hallucination the city had when hippie pranksters dropped LSD into the water supply.
I went to the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962 but only have vague memories of it, as I was only six at the time.
I remember refusing to go up in the Space Needle or ride the sky cars because it was all too high and scary. I also remember camping somewhere near the Fair, at least close enough to drive there and back somewhat quickly. There must have set up temporary campgrounds just for the Fair.
In 1960, I remember reading about the World’s Fair in Brussels in my Weekly Reader in school. That was the first I had ever heard of World’s Fairs. I remember reading about the Space Needle in Seattle for their World’s Fair. A friend of mine went to the New York Fair. I was so jealous! I really wanted to go to a World’s Fair. And, of course, we learned a little about other World’s Fair, and the modern wonders that they showcased.
In 1968, San Antonio hosted the HemisFair, supposedly for countries in the Western hemisphere. I got to go to that, but felt cheated because it was only half a world’s fair.
From then on, I never heard another word about World’s Fairs. Spokane and Knoxville? Never heard of 'em. (Well, I HAD heard of the cities, but not wrt World’s Fairs.)
My family rented a motorhome and took a road trip from Saskatoon to Vancouver for Expo '86. The trip was pretty memorable, but the actual Expo wasn’t particularly. I remember I saw my first IMAX movie there, though.