The New York World’s Fair opened on April 30, 1939, in Flushing Meadow, Queens. Promoted as the “World of Tomorrow,” it hosted exhibits by 60 countries, the League of Nations, 33 states, several federal agencies and the City of New York. In keeping with the futuristic theme, new consumer and industrial products such as television, air-conditioning, nylon stockings and color film were introduced to the public at the fair.

1939 New York World’s Fair, Postcard Package. NYC Municipal Archives.

By the time it closed on October 26, 1940, 44.9 million people had visited the fair. Although well short of the projected attendance of 100 million, it was still one of the most significant events in twentieth-century New York City history. Given its importance, there is a reasonable expectation that documentation of the fair in the Municipal Archives collections would be comprehensive and voluminous. It is indeed both, but with one notable exception; records of the 1939 New York World’s Fair Corporation, a non-profit entity, are not housed in the Archives.

Focusing on what the Municipal Archives does contain, however, is once again the tale of two New York City record-creators familiar to readers of For the Record: Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and ‘master builder,’ Robert Moses. The large quantity of records in LaGuardia’s mayoral papers collection pertaining to the fair reflects the $26.7 million contribution the city made to the fair’s $95 million budget. In LaGuardia’s files there are more than 200 folders containing fair-related correspondence, dating from 1936 through 1941. The subjects listed in the inventory include physical improvements by the city, gate receipts, free tickets to the needy, masterpieces of art, as well as folders on every state and country pavilion.

General Development Plan, Flushing Meadow Park, ca. 1936. photograph, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Collection, NYC Municipal Archives

The quantity of material documenting Robert Moses’ involvement is even greater, consisting of more than 500 folders in the Department of Parks’ “General Files,” series. LaGuardia had appointed Moses as Commissioner of the Department of Parks in 1934, shortly before planning for the fair began. Moses was noted for his ability to leverage funding for one purpose to serve other goals. For example, he used federal funding for the Henry Hudson Parkway along Manhattan’s west side to improve Riverside Park. Likewise, his support for the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadow allowed him to build Flushing Meadow Park in an area long considered a desolate wasteland. F. Scott Fitzgerald provided a memorable description of the land in his 1922 novel, The Great Gatsby: “This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.”

The Aviation Building, 1939 New York World’s Fair, Postcard, NYC Municipal Archives

The Maritime Building, 1939 New York World’s Fair, Postcard, NYC Municipal Archives

The bulk of the Parks Department material concerns the extensive infrastructure work necessary to prepare the land for the fair and subsequent repurposing as a park. The contents are wide-ranging. The first folder in the series is “Flushing Meadows – World’s Fair Project,” dated 1935. Other topics documented in the Parks folders include the aquacade, barbershop contest, waterways, mosquito control, plus numerous files related to construction, contracts, demolition, and maintenance. And like the LaGuardia material, there are folders for every state, corporate and country exhibit. The Mayor LaGuardia collection finding guide is published in NYCMA Collection Guides, and both the LaGuardia and Moses/Parks records have been microfilmed and are available for research.

In addition to the new consumer products, the 1939 New York World’s Fair is noted for its distinctive visual appearance in both the architectural style of many of the pavilions and the look and typography of promotional materials. Evidence of this feature is apparent throughout the LaGuardia and Moses records, as well as in several related collections.

Ford Mercury Lincoln Building, 1939 New York World’s Fair. Queens Borough President Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

The Swift Corporation Building, 1939 New York World’s Fair. Queens Borough President Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Among those are the Queens Borough President’s photograph collection which includes 210 large format prints of many of the buildings in the fair. In addition, donations from private individuals have added brochures, cards, and souvenirs to the Municipal Library and Archives holdings. A typical example is a recent communication from Mrs. Juanita Flagler of Oak Park, Illinois. Mrs. Flagler donated a small cache of ephemera to the Municipal Library. In a note accompanying the postcards and brochures, she explained that she had been “cleaning out” a former home and came across these items from her father, who had been in charge of all the fireworks displays at the fair. She said, “I recall being at the Fair almost daily (we were living at the time in Forest Hills). Some of those days are still quite memorable.”

The World of Tomorrow: Documenting the 1939 New York World’s Fair

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