Shot in 1939 or 1940, this silent home movie shows scenes of New York and the World’s Fair. It begins with a shot taken from an elevated subway line near the rear of St. John’s Cathedral. At 15:02, U.S. Navy warships, which appear to be cruisers, can be seen along the Hudson River. At :38 a freighter is anchored near a gigantic Mazola sign. At :48, a Navy whaleboat leaves a pier. In the background a U.S. Navy battleship can be seen at :48. At 1:12, the General Motors building and Empire Hotel can be seen, Broadway near 63rd Street. At 1:16, sailors stand in front of Rockefeller Center. At 1:32, the iconic fountain of Rockefeller Center. At 1:40, views from the observation deck at the Chrysler Building of Central Park and the Empire Statue Building at 1:55. At 2:02, visitors head towards the World’s Fair of 1939-1940 at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. This was the second most expensive American world’s fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis’s Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people attended its exhibits in two seasons. It was the first exposition to be based on the future, with an opening slogan of “Dawn of a New Day”, and it allowed all visitors to take a look at “the world of tomorrow”. When World War II began four months into the 1939 World’s Fair, many exhibits were affected, especially those on display in the pavilions of countries under Axis occupation. After the close of the fair in 1940, many exhibits were demolished or removed, though some buildings were retained for the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair, held at the same site.
At 2:06, three African American musicians welcome visitors in front of the Trylon and Perisphere. At 2:11 the Communications pavilion is seen and the reflecting pool at 2:37. At 2:54 the pavilion of the Soviet Union, with a relief sculpture of Stalin at 2:56. At 3:06 the Czechoslovakian pavilion. At 3:16 a relief of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. At 3:45 the Marine Station is shown. At 3:58 monkeys clamber over a wall in their exhibit. At 4:15 the United Kingdom pavilion is visible. At 4:35 fountains dance. At 4:44 a sign near a USA pavilion says “Peace” and another “Unity”. At 5:00, a brief shot inside a store, and then nighttime shots in b&w of the Westinghouse pavilion and General Electric at 5:07. At 5:36 the YMCA building is visible. 5:37, massive statue of George Washington near the Borden restaurant. At 5:48, a man pours a beer during lunch. At 6:46, an Italian gondola is visible. At 6:52, amusement park rides are seen in front of a roller coaster. A shot at 7:00 (out of focus) shows the parachute ride. At 7:20, the Highways and Horizons building, part of the General Motors pavilion, is shown. At 8:16 the British Pavilion is shown, and at 8:16 the Italy pavilion. At 9:12, long lines are visible outside the railroads display near the General Motors building. At 9:36, Ford Motor Co. flags fly in the breeze and the Ford building, with cars driving around on ramps, can be seen. At 10:24 the Coronation Scot locomotive is shown on display as well as other locomotives and streamliners. At 11:02, black and white footage inside Billy Rose’s Aquacade. This was a music, dance and swimming show initially produced by Billy Rose at the Great Lakes Exposition in 1937. Later Aquacade moved to the 1939 New York World’s Fair where it was the most successful production of the fair. The Art Deco 11,000 seat amphitheatre at the north end of Meadow Lake was designed by architects Sloan & Robertson. Shows were staged by John Murray Anderson to the orchestrations of Ted Royal. The pool and the 300 by 200-foot (61 m) stage could be hidden behind a lighted 40-foot (12 m) high curtain of water.
Starting at 11:53 fireworks and light shows with dancing fountains are shown, as well as nighttime shots of some of the fabulous neon signs including those for General Electric (12:04) .
At 13:23 the YMCA building is shown again. At 13:35, the Jewish-Palestinian Pavilion, designed by Arieh El-Hanani, is shown. At 14:11 the United States Steel building is shown.
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