OT: World's Fair 1964 photos


B

Bill

As many of you know, this is the 40th anniversary of the New York World's Fair and, therefore, the anniversary of the Carousel of Progress, It's a Small World, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and what remains of the Magic Skyway on the Disneyland Railroad.

One thing that has always disappointed me was the lack of good images from the INTERIORS of the attractions (particularly Progressland and The Ford Wonder Rotunda). You may know Bill Cotter from his incredible book about Disney Television, but he also happens to be a huge world's fair fan and had the foresight to take voluminous photos of the pavilions. He offers these on assorted CDs via ebay....15 in all! Though I've been tempted to purchased them, I was really ONLY interested in the Disney pavilions and the prospect of buying them all was an expensive venture. So I emailed him and requested a "Disney-only" version for those of us Disney fans who would like a nice photo collection of the Disney pavilions. His response was rather positive and he said he would email me soon to let me know the status. If you might be interested in such a collection, give me a shout out and I'll let you know when I hear from him. In the meantime, please check out his website (www.billcotter.com) to see what he offers in the way of vintage Disneyland photos on CD and supplements to his book.

Also, if you are curious about the fair, please check out Bill Young's website www.nywf64.com. It's an excellent site and features wonderful pieces by our very own Eric Paddon.
 

ex-wdi

Member
I'm very interested in interior shots from the '64 Fair - particularly Magic Skyway interiors...
Perhaps he could give us sample lo-rez jpegs (with his name slapped across them for protection) to see what's available?
Anyway - please keep us informed on this!

Thanks!

Chris
 
Hey Bill, I'm giving you a shout that I'd be interested in the photos! Thanks for the reminder about the Fair's anniversary, I actually didn't realize it, and feel bad since it's one of my cherished memories from the 60's. I also haven't got a hold of Ray Dashner's CD-ROM of Fair audio, which has been discussed on this site before--he's got a copy up right now on ebay(10 hours, 16 minute version), and need to get one--right?

Thanks again,
Michael.
 

ex-wdi

Member
Wow! Some great shots - particularly the Ford interiors.... Please sign me up for a Disney-only set. I wonder if he'd do a GM Futurama 2 only set as well....?

Thanks again - those photos are remarkable...
 
Most of what Bill's been able to find and make for sale he's tracked down from private collections, many of which often get put for sale on e-bay and can often attract a huge bidding war just because so many amateur photographers are the only ones to have documented the interiors of so many World's Fair pavilions. I have most of these photo CDs and I would like to plug them all because the Fair in its totality, not just the Disney attractions, was a remarkable achievement and a remarkable window into an America that epitomized the tone of the post-war period that was starting to vanish as the turbulence of the mid to late 1960s started to take hold.

The plug for www.nywf64.com is much appreciated. :)
 

BLM07

Member
I not only love the Disney related attractions, but the whole fair overall. I'm not old enough to have been there myself, but I've seen many pictures and I love the style of the buildings (they don't make any buildings that interesting anymore). Its weird that they would make those great structures to only be up for 2 years. The 60s just had a style like no other.
 

ex-wdi

Member
So - what's the progress on selling a Disney pavilion only version of this for us? Or should I contact the seller on my own...?
 

MikkiMom

Member
I would love a set of the Disney only pavilions. My uncle worked on the one for GE so I have a sentimenal attachment to that one. I was too young to go to the fair myself but I grew up knowing that my extended family was very proud that Uncle Carl had worked not only on a pavilion for the world's fair but especially that it was for Disney! At any rate if you hear any more on this please let me know. Thanks!!

Martha
 

bcotter

New Member
Thanks to Bill and others for their suggestion of a Disney only CD of photos from the Fair. I am close to finishing it! It's been really hectic, with my daughter just graduating from high school last night, so life has been busy to say the least. I am scanning some Disney photos that are not on any of my other CDs and will be done this week if not tied up with our guests from back east. I'll post word here when done.

By the way, I have a book due this summer on the Fair and there is a chapter on the Disney shows. Have to run to a meeting now but will post details later.

Regards

Bill Cotter
 

bcotter

New Member
Back from the meeting! Details on the book as mentioned. It's called "Images of America: The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair". It was co-written with Bill Young, who hosts the www.nywf64.com website, and is published by Arcadia Publishing. Here are some links about it:

http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/books?pi...7&ad=FGLBKS

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearc...ISBN=0738536067

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...ks&n=507846


and

http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/frame_cat...FTOKEN=72522557

As to the pictures themselves - I was a frequent visitor to the Fair, living nearby, and happily I saved my own pictures from those trips. The Fair was a big infuence on me and led to my working for Disney. I later started buying other collections of photos and now have about 2,500-3,000 images of the Fair. It was tough to cull this down to about 250 images for the book! As you can imagine, many people took very similar pictures, but every now and then you find one that really stands out. I just scanned a great night view of the escalators at GE that was different than any I had seen before.

I did a restoration project earlier this year for the Henry Ford Heritage Museum on the Ford pavilion, and they had some very nice shots not accessible to the average guest. Most, though, were of cars and not much of the Disney show itself. I can't offer those photos directly as I don't have the copyright, but I will contact the museum and see if they can help out anyone who may want copies of those.

If I can answer any questions about the photos or the book please let me know!

Regards

Bill Cotter
 

SharonKurland

Active Member
Ohmigosh, it's Bill Cotter!

We've known each other for what....10 years now? And rarely travel in the same circles yet still keep bumping into each other.

Congrats on your daughter's HS graduation!

-Sharon-
 

ex-wdi

Member
Wow! I ca't wait to see the "previously unavailable" shots...!

Bill - please let us know when this will be available from you (and of course - how much).

Also - is there any chance of a Futurama 2 set...?

Thanks,

Chris
 
Thank you, Bills!

Thanks Bill C. for the links to your book, looking forward to it, as well as a Disney CD compilation, keep us posted! It never fails to rattle my wife and I that growing up in southern Connecticut, we only visited the Fair once in two years! My wife distinctly remembers having a Belgian waffle(not her own, she thinks she probably had to share it!), whereas I don't think I even had one--I wasn't about to spend any of my meager allowance on food, as that money was reserved for the important stuff, like comic books, monster magazines, the next Beatles album, and bubble gum trading cards--those were the days! My wife's other "fond" Fair memories were that of lugging a cooler around with sandwiches so they wouldn't have to spend too much money on food(her Mom just didn't get the concept of a World's Fair!), and rushing to be back home by suppertime to cook dinner for Dad! I mainly remember waiting in line to see the Pieta--but I still have a map, some free Japanese pavillion post cards, a World's Fair bicycle license plate, and a plastic backscratcher, which I can't put my hands on at the moment(no pun intended)......ah, growing up in the 60's........

Bill--just picked up the latest Saveur today, at your recommendation--great article! We make Belgian waffles at home from time to time--but looks like we need that Aunt Jemima self-rising flour to have the real thing(just when my wife thought she had the recipe down pat)!!!

Thanks again,
Michael
 

bcotter

New Member
Hi, Sharon - small world, isn't it? Good to run into you again!

Michael - I think I only had one waffle during all of my trips to the Fair. They cost $1, same as child's admission, so it was hard to pass up another trip just for a waffle. Same with visiting the Belgian Village itself, due to their own admission charge. There were so many free things that I couldn't see diverting those hard earned dollars. Sure wouldn't mind another chance at those waffles now, though. The same family makes them for the NY State Fair - but I live in Los Angeles!

Bill C
 
Yep, Bill, those dollars definitely didn't seem to flow as quickly as they do now! You have to check out the Saveur article Bill refers to--here's an excerpt from the recipe Saveur came up with, after speaking to a daughter of the original maker:

"Maurice Vermersch baked these waffles(properly called Brussels waffles and, in Belgium, topped with just confectioners' sugar) at the 1962 Seattle world's fair, but only after he sold them at the 1964-65 New York fair did they soar in popularity in this country. Vermersch's daughter Mariepaule wouldn't divulge her family's recipe, but we think we've come very close. One tip she did reveal: Aunt Jemima self-rising flour produces a flavor that is the most like that of the original waffle." The recipe then begins.

......just when you thought it was safe to only cook from scratch.....Aunt Jemima to the rescue......

Michael
 

SharonKurland

Active Member
Heheheh...my husband thinks I'm nut because my favorite type of pancakes aren't his made-from-scratch ones, but the ones that come out of a box .

-Sharon-
 
Yep, I know what you mean.....I suppose I still have a soft spot for Bisquick(isn't that how you HAD to make them way back when?)......

Michael
 

ex-wdi

Member
I'm sorry - maybe I misunderstood this thread...?

Are members of this group going to be offered a specially priced "Disney-only" set of images from the offered photos? Or are we contacting Bill Cotter on our own & working out our own deals...?

Just wondering!
 

bcotter

New Member
I am just about done with the set and will post something here shortly as to availability. Just finishing up some nice night views of the Tower of the Four Winds.

Bill
 

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