1964 New York World's Fair

==Beginnings==
The 1964–1965 Fair was conceived by a group of New York businessmen who remembered their childhood experiences at the [[1939 New York World's Fair]]. Thoughts of an economic boon to the city as the result of increased tourism was a major reason for holding another fair 25 years after the 1939–1940 extravaganza.<ref name=NYT81059>{{cite news |last=Freeman |first=Ira Henry |title=World's Fair Planned Here in '64 at Half Billion Cost |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 10, 1959}}  [http://www.worldsfairphotos.com/nywf64/articles/ny-times/8-10-59-fair-announced.pdf Reprint] This articles includes a full list of the original members of the Fair committee, mostly corporate and union leaders.</ref> Then-New York City mayor, [[Robert F. Wagner, Jr.]], commissioned Frederick Pittera, a producer of international fairs and exhibitions, and author of the history of International Fairs & Exhibitions for the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' and ''[[Compton's Encyclopedia]]'', to prepare the first feasibility studies for the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair. He was joined by [[Austria]]n architect [[Victor Gruen]] (creator of the shopping mall) in studies that eventually led the Eisenhower Commission<ref>{{Cite web |title=1964 New York World's Fair 1965 – The Fair – Building the Fair – Page Four |url=http://www.nywf64.com/building04.shtml |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=www.nywf64.com}}</ref> to award the world's fair to New York City in competition with a number of American cities.

The year 1964 was nominally selected for the event to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the naming of New York,<ref name=NYT81059/> after [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] sent an English fleet to seize it from the Dutch in 1664. Prince James (the Duke of York) then renamed the former Dutch colony New Amsterdam as New York.

Organizers turned to private financing and the sale of bonds to pay the huge costs to stage the event. The organizers hired New York's "Master Builder" [[Robert Moses]], to head the corporation established to run the fair because he was experienced in raising money for vast public projects. Moses had been a formidable figure in the city since coming to power in the 1930s. He was responsible for the construction of much of the city's highway infrastructure and, as parks commissioner for decades, the creation of much of the city's park system.

In the mid-1930s, Moses oversaw the conversion of a vast Queens [[tidal marsh]] garbage dump into the fairgrounds that hosted the 1939–1940 World's Fair.<ref name="Caro">{{Cite Power Broker}}</ref> Called [[Flushing Meadows Park]], it was Moses's grandest park scheme. He envisioned this vast park, comprising some {{convert|1300|acre|km2}} of land, easily accessible from Manhattan, as a major recreational playground for New Yorkers. When the 1939–1940 World's Fair ended in financial failure, Moses did not have the available funds to complete work on his project. He saw the 1964–1965 Fair as a means to finish what the earlier fair had begun.<ref>{{cite news|title=Moses Lists Work Required for Fair; Sees 85 Millions as Needed to Prepare Subway and Roads in Flushing |author=Benjamin, Philip |newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331 |date=August 12, 1959}}</ref>

To ensure profits to complete the park, fair organizers knew they would have to maximize receipts. An estimated attendance of 70&nbsp;million people would be needed to turn a profit and, for attendance that large, the fair would need to be held for two years. The World's Fair Corporation also decided to charge site-rental fees to all exhibitors who wished to construct pavilions on the grounds. This decision caused the fair to come into conflict with the [[Bureau of International Expositions]] (BIE), as the international body headquartered in Paris that sanctions world's fairs: BIE rules stated that an international exposition could run for one six-month period only, and no rent could be charged to exhibitors. In addition, the rules allowed only one exposition in any given country within a 10-year period, and the [[Seattle World's Fair]] had already been sanctioned for 1962, as two years prior.<ref name=Caro/>

The United States was not a member of the BIE at the time, but fair organizers understood that approval by the BIE would ensure that its nearly 40 member nations would participate in the fair. Moses, undaunted by the rules, journeyed to [[Paris]] to seek official approval for the New York fair. When the BIE balked at New York's bid, Moses, used to having his way in New York, angered the BIE delegates by taking his case to the press, publicly stating his disdain for the BIE and its rules.<ref name=Caro/>  The BIE retaliated by formally requesting its member nations ''not'' to participate in the New York fair.<ref name=Caro/>  The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair is the only significant world's fair since the formation of the BIE to be held without its endorsement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/collections/worldsfair/ |title=Endorsement |publisher=nysl.nysed.gov |date=October 13, 2017}}</ref>