1939 New York World's Fair
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| At the time the Fair was a cultural phenomenon which attracted 45 million visitors in its two years of operation. After its first [[summer]], when projected sales were lower than hoped, ticket prices were reduced significantly and the Fair's often heavy-handed themes were changed. After the second year, however, total visitors were 5 million less than anticipated and the Fair's [[corporation]] subsequently declared [[bankruptcy]]. | At the time the Fair was a cultural phenomenon which attracted 45 million visitors in its two years of operation. After its first [[summer]], when projected sales were lower than hoped, ticket prices were reduced significantly and the Fair's often heavy-handed themes were changed. After the second year, however, total visitors were 5 million less than anticipated and the Fair's [[corporation]] subsequently declared [[bankruptcy]]. | ||
| - | [[David Gelernter]] has written a fictionalized account of the fair—''1939: The Lost World of the Fair'' (ISBN 0-380-72748-X). | + | |
| + | ===Amusement Area=== | ||
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| + | Beyond the corporate and government zones, the wildly popular but less uplifting Amusements Area was not integrated into the thematic matrix, and was a mere Area rather than a Zone. Despite the high-minded educational tone that Grover Whalen attempted to set, the Amusements Area was the most popular part of the Fair, and included a [[roller coaster]], the [[Life Savers]] [[Parachute Jump|parachute jump]] (which was later moved to [[Coney Island]] where it still stands), and carnival acts such as a collection of performing midgets. | ||
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| + | [[Frank Buck (animal collector)|Frank Buck]] exhibited his "Frank Buck's Jungleland," which displayed rare birds, reptiles and wild animals along with Jiggs, a five-year-old trained orangutan. In addition, Buck provided a trio of performing elephants, an {{convert|80|ft|m|adj=on}} "monkey mountain" with 600 monkeys, and an attraction that had been popular at the 1893 [[World's Columbian Exposition|Chicago World's Fair]]: camel rides. | ||
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| + | A number of the shows provided spectators with the opportunity of viewing women in very revealing costumes (for all intents and purposes topless) for instance the ""Frozen Alive Girl", the ''Living Pictures'', and the ''[[Dream of Venus]]'' building. This last attraction was a pavilion designed by the Spanish [[surrealist]] artist [[Salvador Dalí]], which contained within it a number of unusual sculptures and statues, including live nearly-nude performers posing as statues. While there were a number of protests by prominent politicians over the course of the fair about the "low minded entertainment", and the New York Vice Squad raided shows in the area on several occasions, the public generally accepted this form of entertainment. | ||
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| + | ====Bendix Lama Temple girlie show==== | ||
| + | <!-- Ed. Note: According to the sources, "Bendix" is indeed the industrialist of Bendix Corporation --> | ||
| + | The Bendix Lama Temple was a 28,000-piece full-sized replica of the 1767 Potala temple in Jehol, [[Manchuria]], commissioned and brought back by the industrialist and explorer [[Vincent Bendix]]. The Temple had previously been exhibited at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, called "[[Century of Progress]]". In New York, the Temple contained a girlie show. Nineteen-year-old [[barker (occupation)|barker]] Herbert I. Taffae delivered a spiel at the 1939/1940 World's Fair, and repeated it for recording in 2007.{{efn| | ||
| + | It might sound strange and a trifle incongruous having lovely girls in front of the million dollar temple of Jehol whose gold leaf roof you can see over the top of this façade, but the fact is that we have a girlie show in here and a good one. | ||
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| + | The author of the book, Forbidden Tibet, Horizon Hunters and technical advisor of the picture, Lost Horizon, he doesn't want his good name associated with this scandalous enterprise as brought back from the land of the lost horizon, those Terpsichordion aphrodisiacs, the love temptation dancers from the lamaseries of Tibet. A lama is a Buddhist priest and as such he must remain celibate. He must be deaf to the calls of the flesh, immune to the pangs of passion, and adverse to the charms of beautiful women. In other words he must not marry or anything. | ||
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| + | Once each year he is given a test. The questions of which are the unquestionable figures of questionable young ladies, courtesans brought from the outside world to corrupt the young lama and seduce him from his holy way of life. | ||
| + | <br/> | ||
| + | Now ladies, this show has been approved by Good Housekeeping, but in case a stray moron seeking a racy spicy girl show is in this otherwise obviously intellectual audience, he too can go in there and not know the difference, but you, you lovers of art will surely recognize this show to be the apogee of oriental choreography. | ||
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| + | The whole thing rises to a climax when Sasha and her hilarious horde of vivacious vestal virgins unite in that unclad climax, that orgiastic ecstasy at the tail end of our performance, the passion dance of love. It's terrific. Now once inside sit down as long as you like and admire the bare beautiful temple but those beautiful bare forms and they I say are not too formal. Go on right away. This being the first show of the afternoon I am going to cut the price of admission in half. | ||
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| + | Everybody goes. | ||
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| + | — Oral interview with Herbert Taffae, October 2007, Albuquerque, NM. Mr. Taffae remembered his spiel perfectly and told it with great charm. Interview conducted by Kathleen McCook who transcrbed Mr. Taffae's recollections. Mr. Taffae went on to serve in the [[US Army Air Corps]] from 1942–1945.}} | ||
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| + | ====Aquacade ==== | ||
| + | The [[Billy Rose Aquacade]] 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. | ||
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| + | The Aquacade facility itself served as an entertainment venue in the park for many years afterward, and was finally demolished in 1996. | ||
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Revision as of 11:43, 3 April 2013
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1939 New York World's Fair (1939-1940) In New York gave us Futurama, the Trylon, and Perisphere.
Seen by its organizers as an antidote to the despair of The Great Depression by projecting a future of hope, the Fair emphasized international cooperation and the impact of technology on the world of the future.
At the time the Fair was a cultural phenomenon which attracted 45 million visitors in its two years of operation. After its first summer, when projected sales were lower than hoped, ticket prices were reduced significantly and the Fair's often heavy-handed themes were changed. After the second year, however, total visitors were 5 million less than anticipated and the Fair's corporation subsequently declared bankruptcy.
Amusement Area
Beyond the corporate and government zones, the wildly popular but less uplifting Amusements Area was not integrated into the thematic matrix, and was a mere Area rather than a Zone. Despite the high-minded educational tone that Grover Whalen attempted to set, the Amusements Area was the most popular part of the Fair, and included a roller coaster, the Life Savers parachute jump (which was later moved to Coney Island where it still stands), and carnival acts such as a collection of performing midgets.
Frank Buck exhibited his "Frank Buck's Jungleland," which displayed rare birds, reptiles and wild animals along with Jiggs, a five-year-old trained orangutan. In addition, Buck provided a trio of performing elephants, an Template:Convert "monkey mountain" with 600 monkeys, and an attraction that had been popular at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair: camel rides.
A number of the shows provided spectators with the opportunity of viewing women in very revealing costumes (for all intents and purposes topless) for instance the ""Frozen Alive Girl", the Living Pictures, and the Dream of Venus building. This last attraction was a pavilion designed by the Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, which contained within it a number of unusual sculptures and statues, including live nearly-nude performers posing as statues. While there were a number of protests by prominent politicians over the course of the fair about the "low minded entertainment", and the New York Vice Squad raided shows in the area on several occasions, the public generally accepted this form of entertainment.
Bendix Lama Temple girlie show
The Bendix Lama Temple was a 28,000-piece full-sized replica of the 1767 Potala temple in Jehol, Manchuria, commissioned and brought back by the industrialist and explorer Vincent Bendix. The Temple had previously been exhibited at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, called "Century of Progress". In New York, the Temple contained a girlie show. Nineteen-year-old barker Herbert I. Taffae delivered a spiel at the 1939/1940 World's Fair, and repeated it for recording in 2007.Template:Efn
Aquacade
The Billy Rose Aquacade 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.
The Aquacade facility itself served as an entertainment venue in the park for many years afterward, and was finally demolished in 1996.
