POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors – World of Tomorrow

Today's photo of the week takes us away from Brooklyn to Queens, where we observe the construction of the New York State Exhibit and Amphitheatre Building for the 1939-40 World's Fair. Themed 'World of Tomorrow,' this historic event was held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, from April 30, 1939, to October 26, 1940. The fair featured exhibits from 60 countries, 33 states (and Puerto Rico), federal agencies, the League of Nations, and New York City itself. The New York State Building showcased the state's history, achievements, culture, and vision of the future through live performances, events, speeches, presentations, and special exhibitions.

Recognizing the opportunity to showcase Long Island on a global stage, the Long Island Association launched the 'Long Island-at-the-Fair' program. As a result, the New York State World’s Fair Commission designated a Long Island Section within the New York State Building. The goal of this exhibit was to offer historical context and present a comprehensive view of Long Island's industrial, commercial, agricultural, residential, and recreational resources to the fair's millions of visitors. Plans included mural-sized maps, photographs highlighting features of each of the four counties, and displays of objects, models, and documents of educational and historical interest. Naturally, the Long Island Historical Society (LIHS) was asked to participate.

As part of its contribution to the Long Island Regional exhibit, the Long Island Historical Society loaned several artifacts to the New York State World’s Fair Commission. These included a snuff box, Dutch tiles, a silver watch, confirmatory grants, land deeds, and other documents from the LIHS collection at the time. Additionally, items not pictured but also loaned for display included a bayonet and two cannonballs discovered on Gowanus Heights, a chain shot found in a field near Sag Harbor, a stone sundial from Flushing Bay's shore, and a walking stick owned by George Fox, the Quaker preacher and founder of the Society of Friends.

After the conclusion of the 1939-40 World’s Fair, many of the pavilions and structures were either demolished or repurposed. The fair significantly influenced American culture and design, introducing new technologies and consumer products such as television, color film, and air conditioning (an invention for which I am especially thankful these days). Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, originally an ash dump, was transformed into a public park and is now one of the largest in New York City. Twenty-five years later, the 1964-65 World’s Fair, led by Robert Moses, took place in the same location, leaving its own important cultural and technological impact.

If you’re interested in learning more about New York City’s World’s Fairs, I encourage you to visit the Queens Museum. It's located at the site where both World’s Fairs took place and houses hundreds of objects in their World’s Fair Visible Storage. Alternatively, if you prefer to stay in Brooklyn, you can explore the World’s Fair collections at the Center for Brooklyn History!

Collections consulted for this post:

• New York World's Fair collection, ARC.077

• New York World's Fair scrapbook and photographs, V1977.024

• Brooklyn aerial views and 1939 World's Fair photographs, V1987.051

Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images, or the digital collections portal of Brooklyn Public Library. We welcome appointments to research our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. Our reference staff is available to help with your research! You can reach us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.