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The 1939 World's Fair Opened 73 Years Ago Today, But These Photos Never Get Old!
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 30, 2012
Modified Apr 30, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 30, 2012
Modified Apr 30, 2012
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73 years ago today, the World's Fair (1939 edition) had its grand opening with a whopping 206,000 people in attendance.
The theme that year was The World Of Tomorrow, and one of our favorite exhibits of the lot was the Westinghouse Time Capsule that was buried 50 feet below Flushing Meadows Park (there was also one buried for the 1965 fair). Both will be opened in the year 6939, unless someone finds and digs them up before then. In the 1939 capsule contained, amongst other things, copies of Life magazine, a kewpie doll, one dollar in change, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a 15-minute newsreel, and seeds in glass tubes.
The New York Public Library has all of the records from the fair, and you can click through for a look at some of the sights, including the capsule.
Previously: Reconstructing the 1939 World's Fair, and a woman finds old negatives from a photographer who was at the fair.
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1939
flashback
history
world's fair
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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