The Duckburg World's Fair

Another item I discovered in the stacks of the Donald G. Larson Collection on International Expositions and Fairs (at CSU Fresno), was this comic book from Walt Disney.



Published in 1962, it was clearly inspired by the 1962 Seattle World's Fair that was in the construction phase at that point.

Walt Disney would famously be involved with the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair soon afterwards.

The Famous Seattle Cosmodrome?

Going through the Donald G. Larson Collection on International Expositions and Fairs, I ran across this great promotional piece for Seattle's 1962 World's Fair. Printed before plans were set, it shows this concept for a "Cosmodrome."

Author Bill Cotter Signing Books in Seattle

World's Fair Podcast guest Bill Cotter will be in Seattle signing copies of his newest book about the 1962 Seattle World's fair.

Here's his schedule:

Thursday, January 27 at 7:00 pm: Barnes & Noble, 2675 NE University Village Street, Seattle, WA 98105

Friday, January 28 from Noon – 2:00 p.m.: Seattle Museum of Mysteries, 623 Broadway E., Seattle, WA 98102

Saturday, January 29 at 2:00 pm: Elliott Bay Books, 1521 Tenth Avenue, Seattle WA 98122

Sunday, January 30 at 2:00 p.m.: Borders, 2437 Southcenter Mall, Tukwila WA 98188

Not in Seattle? You can buy his books online at the ExpoMuseum store:
http://ExpoMuseum.com/store/

The World's Fair Podcast, Episode 22: Alfred Heller

In episode 22 of the World's Fair Podcast, writer Alfred Heller is our guest.

Alfred Heller founded World's Fair Magazine in 1981 and has been to 19 world's fairs so far... from 1939 to 2010. He talks about many of those world's fairs and why he thinks world's fairs are still relevant.

Listen to this podcast as an MP3.

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World's Fairs and the End of Progress by Alfred Heller

WorldsFairs.com

Listen to other episodes of the World's Fair Podcast.

The World's Fair Podcast, Episode 21: Seattle's Century 21 Exposition with Bill Cotter + John's Expo 2010

In episode 21 of the World's Fair Podcast, John and Urso talk with Bill Cotter, author of the new book Seattle's 1962 World's Fair.

John also calls in from Shanghai's Expo 2010 to report on its last week. He meets up with previous guest Peter Sams, director of the Australian Pavilion, for a wrap-up of the largest world's fair in history.

Listen to this podcast as an MP3.

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Seattle's 1962 World's Fair on Amazon

Vancouver's Expo 86 on Amazon

Mystery Science Theater 300's version of Century 21 Calling

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Random World's Fair News Notes

I've run across several world's fair stories recently.

Various American Cities 1933-1940:

The National Building Museum will host an exhibit entitled "Designing Tomorrow: America’s World’s Fairs of the 1930s." It opens in October 2009.

New York 1939-1940:

The New York Times has an interesting article about a bomb that killed two city detectives in the British Pavilion. The case remains unsolved.

Seattle 1962:

The monorail from Seattle's 1962 Century 21 Exposition will soon be returned to its original condition.

New York 1964-1965:

I had no idea that pita bread was introduce to the United States at the 1964-'65 New York World's Fair.

Spokane 1974:

The Seattle Times writes about Spokane's Riverfront Park, legacy site of Expo 74.

Man Belongs to the Earth, a film from the United States Pavilion is available on YouTube. It's an early example of environmentalist messaging from the first world's fair with an environmental theme.

Shanghai 2010:

France has set up it's Expo 2010 pavilion web site .

(Unknown) 2020:

Copenhagen might bid for Expo 2020.

The Gotthard Region of Switzerland might also bid for Expo 2020.

The Lure of Towers at World's Fairs

In my early days as a student of world's fairs, I was fascinated by the towers created at world's fairs. As a child, tall structures really have a greater power than perhaps they do as an adult. In architecture school, an interest in skyscrapers over more "artsy" buildings is looked down upon by many professors.

In the most recent expos, there haven't been as much a reliance on tall towers as a draw, but I think they were disfavored in more recent decades as being distractions from the more serious nature of world's fairs and can take away from the theme's goals.

I think they still have a power outside their own physical existence. 1889's Eiffel Tower, 1962's Space Needle, and even 1982's Sunsphere have a draw. San Antonio's Tower of the Americas from Hemisfair '68 just reopened with great fanfare.

I think the towers can provide a certain level of initial excitement about an exposition. It acts as an exclamation point to send the message that what's going on underneath is important.

For that reason, I was happy to hear that Expo 2010 will have a tower. Theirs will have, if you'll pardon the expression, a twist. They're using an existing chimney on the site to create an observation tower. To get to the top, visitors will ride roller-coaster-style cars.



By reusing the tower, they can illustrate the benefits of reusing existing structures instead of tearing them down to rebuild, thus fitting with the environmental aspects of the "Better City, Better Life" theme.

I know I can't wait to go up it in two years. I just wonder what the ride back down will be like!