Synopsis
This silent home movie (although, it could have been professionally made it appears likely to be an amateur production) shows the 1939 World's Fair in New York. It includes views of the iconic Trylon, Perisphere and Helicline, as well as major exhibits. At the 4:15 mark, an auto exhibit is seen, likely the Ford Pavilion, where race car drivers drove on a figure eight track on the building's roof endlessly, day in and day out. At 7:30, the Billy Rose Aquacade is seen. This was a spectacular musical and water extravaganza foreshadowing the form of many popular Hollywood musicals in the ensuing years. The show was presented in a special amphitheater seating 10,000 people and included an orchestra to accompany the spectacular synchronized swimming performance. It featured Johnny Weismuller and Eleanor Holm, two of the most celebrated swimmers of the era, and dazzled fairgoers with its lighting and cascades and curtains of water, pumped in waterfalls at 8000 gallons a minute. The cost of admission was 80 cents. At 10:00, the Lagoon of Nations is seen with a spectacular fireworks show and lighted fountains. The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the 1,216 acres of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (also the location of the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair), was the second most expansive 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…
Uploader's description on archive.org
Details
- Running time
- 13 minutes
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Ephemeral Films
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- Stock Footage