Italian VersionWelcome to Tomorrow!
The 1939-40 New York World's Fair was considered a major cultural event even before the first truckload of steel was delivered to Flushing Meadows. Since the fair contains so many deeply embedded ideas and narratives, a true tour of The World of Tomorrow begins with the story of its design and planning, the virtual place in which those ideas were formed. No event exists completely in a vacuum; the history of the fair's development contextualizes the exposition, and the fair itself illuminates the times and people who created it. The virtual tour offered by the movies of the Collection is also an occasion to watch the reactions of the American public to the fair, and a key to understand its legacy.
In April of 1939 the New York World's Fair, "Building The World of Tomorrow," opened on what was once a marshy wasteland in Flushing Meadows, just east of the great metropolis. From its inception to its closing ceremonies, the Fair promoted one of the last great metanarratives of the Machine Age: the unqualified belief in science and technology as a means to economic prosperity and personal freedom. Wedged between the greatest economic disaster in America and the growing international tension that would result in World War II, The World of Tomorrow was a much-needed antidote to the depression and confusion of the times. It provided the one saving grace which all of America needed: it provided hope.
Of course that hope was not to come without some cost, and counted among the limitations of The World of Tomorrow were its emphasis on product consumption and a hegemonic notion of the ideal American citizen. The Fair's established theme was one of international cooperation, but its true emphasis was on the "new-ness" of ideas, forms, and especially consumer products. Like all things new, it was immensely exciting and at times naive. However, in the words of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the "moonlight of romance" which surrounded the Fair inevitably gave way, and in two summers it ran its course, closing in 1940. Nevertheless, its cultural legacy has lasted well into the late twentieth century and has helped shape and define the commercial, cultural, and political climate of post-World War II America and the world. In a sense, we have lived through The World of Tomorrow, and the Fair has kept many of its promises, for better or for worse.
Part ideological construct, part trade show, part League of Nations, part amusement park, and part Utopian community, the Fair promoted its message of hope and prosperity with icons, symbols, exhibitions, and demonstrations. It was a literal laboratory for a group of industrial designers who considered themselves both artists and social theorists, and from the plan of the Fair's site to many of its prominent buildings, the Fair's primary stylistic vocabulary was that of the streamlined and Modern design which they helped establish. Nowhere was that design more apparent than in the Trylon and Perisphere, a 700-foot spire and an orb as wide as a city block, created to be the exposition's focal point. The Trylon and Perisphere remain forever linked with The World of Tomorrow; both loom as profound and problematic icons on the landscape of American culture.
The World of Tomorrow was a search for a useable Future (with a capital "F"), and while it added fuel to the fire of the American cultures of consumption and exclusion, it also provided a tangible vision of hope and prosperity in the face of uncertainty and confusion.
Welcome to the 1939 New York World's Fair! Welcome to Tomorrow!
We created a small video with a low-res compilation of sequences from the movies belonging to this Collection.
Click HERE to watch this video on YouTube
-------------
Welcome to Tomorrow!
A Collection of amateur movies, industrial documentaries and newsreels filmed at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair.
We do provide duplicates of the multimedial files of the Collection on a customized DVD-ROM on a (1) cost-recovery basis.
Almost all the digital copies of the films are good quality Hi-Res editable videos.
All the videos in this Collection are available in different format, size and definition. We can suggest you the right one for the use you have in mind.
PRIVATE USE: home TV vision (DVD-Divx player), PC, iPod.
WE LICENSE FOOTAGE from our Collections for: multimedial creations on CD or DVD, TV commercials, film or TV programs, documentary Productions, web sites, marketing/ad campaigns, video email, electronic kiosks, trade shows, business seminars, cultural events, museums, expositions... and more.
Hi-Res videos from our Collections are available on DVD, CD or directly in your inbox. Clips and movies can also be downloaded from our servers using a PW or uploaded by us to your FTP.
WE ARE JUST WAITING FOR YOUR INQUIRES!!!
(1) It is possible to obtain digital duplicates of the multimedial files from this collection for research, teaching, general interest user information, and private study purposes. The fees charged for these files are on a cost-recovery basis. The size, run-time, quality, and detailed informations regarding any multimedial file are indicated in the following list.
The files are available on a customized DVD-ROM.
Billing is done when the order is fulfilled. Payment instructions will follow. Normal turn around time for requests is 3 weeks. Rush (2-3 business days) is available for an additional fee of 40 Euros.
To know the fees applied for these files please contact Vincent Romano.
The multimedial files of the Collections are compatible with the free version of the most common players: Quicktime Player, Real Player, Windows Media Player.
Mac users can easily view MPEG 1, MPEG 2, MPEG 4, and Divx movies in MacOSX with the free version of this program: VLC Media Player.
All the material in the Romano-Archives Collections is in the public domain and has no copyright attached to it. Only exception are original articles or texts published on this Website and the Romano-Archives' original compilations on CDs or DVDs that are subject to copyright.
Material of the Romano-Archives Collections is made available solely for historical research and educational purposes only. Any trademarks appearing on the material are the sole property of the registered owners. No endorsement by the trademark owners is to be construed, nor was any sought. The products, brand names, characters, related slogans and indicia are or may be claimed as trademarks of their respective owners.
-----
Quality:
# Low
# # Mid-low
# # # Standard
# # # # Mid-High
# # # # # Maximum
-----
Page 5
1939NYWFAmateurfilm13.mpg
Available on DVD Only
Run time: 00:17:54 Audio/Visual: silent, color Quality # # # # #
Filetype: MPEG 2 Filesize: 461,4 MB
Amateur movie. The 1939-40 New York World Fair.
Shotlist
"This reel will take us to the Food, Home
Furnishing, Communication, Religious, Jewel and
nearby Section."
Food North building, mural.
Beech-Nut Packing Company building.
"Circus Beech Nut."
Mechanical circus display.
Johns-Manville building - asbestos.
Home Furnishings building.
"Mural in Home Furnishing Entrance."
Gas Industries building.
American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation building.
Works Progress Administration building.
"W.P.A. Puppeteers."
American Telephone & Telegraph building and
statuary.
Alexander Graham Bell memorial.
Bell System building and linesman murals.
The Seven Ages Of Man And The Bell System mural.
"R.C.A. Television and Marine Divisions."
Two men in front of General Electric Television
backdrop.
The YMCA building.
The Christian Science building.
"Temple of Religion."
"In the Temple's Garden are many painted religious episodes."
Jewish Palestine Pavilion.
Cafe
House of Jewels.
"Only a few kings could be ransomed here."
Many shots of jewelry.
Crosley building.
A car.
"N.Y. City's Building."
Masterpieces of Art sign and building.
"In City Hall Square."
Medicine & Public Health building and statue.
"Gardens on Parade."
Murals of state flowers.
Many shots of gardens and flowers.
1939NYWFAmateurfilm14.mpg
Available on DVD Only
Run time: 00:17:04 Audio/Visual: silent, color Quality # # # # #
Filetype: MPEG 2 Filesize: 429,6 MB
Amateur movie. The 1939-40 New York World Fair.
Shotlist
Cactus garden
Lily pond
"The Gardens in Autumn"
"Voice of the Tree" (sculpture of man carved from tree)
"Houses of Tomorrow
Electric farm
"You would never expect this at the Fair." (Clothes hanging on a drying line)
"At rear of Contemporary Arts Building was Agusta Savages creation, 'The Harp'." (Harp made up of African-American figures)
"Night at the Fair."
"Due to the slow shutter speeds required for color night photography the pictures are usually not as steady as the daytime shots."
Various night shots.
Orchids
13:55 Giant Cash Register
"In Eastman Photo Garden" (people posing in front of backdrop
14:41 Crazy flashing neon lights
"Chemically grown tomatoe plants."
"The 'Coke' works."
1939NYWFAmateurfilm15.mpg
Available on DVD Only
Run time: 00:15:40 Audio/Visual: silent, color Quality # # # # #
Filetype: MPEG 2 Filesize: 572 MB
Amateur movie. The 1939-40 New York World Fair.
Shotlist
Coca-Cola exhibit.
"Ladies see how a man bakes." - Continental Baking.
"Ye Olde Barber Shoppe and the chordee." - barbershop diorama.
"Use a Ronson lighter and this will happen to you." - laughing mechanical man.
"Color, water and flame Symphony "The Story of Three Flowers." - fountain show.
"Mardi Gras Week closed the 1939 Season of the Fair." - Mardi Gras parade with marching bands, cartoon ballons, and hobo clowns.
"The belly button girls fight Septembers blasts."
"Jane Withers, Hollywood Star, arrives for the ceremonies."
"Entertainers many." - dancers, musicians, costumed characters.
"At dusk, a special showing for the Kiddies, "The Spirit of the Fountain."
"At night, a torchlight parade."
"A Chinese representative."
"A facial for the Perisphere." - dim shots of a jack-o-lantern face projected on the Perisphere.
1939NYWFAmateurfilm16.mpg
Available on DVD Only
Run time: 00:21:15 Audio/Visual: silent, color Quality # # # # #
Filetype: MPEG 2 Filesize: 573 MB
Amateur movie. The 1939-40 New York World Fair.
Shotlist
Many shots of people "Young and old," "Black and white," "When it rained."
"There were many overpasses of great beauty and design."
Lots of flowers.
"In the Court of Peace were held most of the Fair's notable gatherings."
"Irene Castle Day." - lots of dancing.
"Scotch lassies from Canada." - pipes and drums.
"Costumes of many kinds."
Archery range.
Detroit Tigers Baseball School.
Some demonstraion with wacky Trylon & Perisphere microphones (I think).
"Stands for food and everything else."
Musicians - guy playing trombone with his nose!
Cane stand, food stand, souvenir stand, "Guess Your Age."
"Arizona Day" - musicians outside Arizona's Pavilion, fancy cowgirls, lasso tricks.
1939NYWFAmateurfilm17.mpg
Available on DVD Only
Run time: 00:19:16 Audio/Visual: silent, color Quality # # # # #
Filetype: MPEG 2 Filesize: 528,5 MB
Amateur movie. The 1939-40 New York World Fair.
Shotlist
Kid doing rope tricks
"The food problem was solved many ways"
People eating outdoors
Schlitz beer garden, other restaurants, Budweiser restaurant
"Bastille Day ceremonies"
"Inspection by the French Ambassador"
"Royal Welcome for the King and Queen of England"
Motorcade
Queen addresses crowd
Fountains at night
-----
Last update: June-07-2009
Il Website http://romanoarchives.altervista.org/ non rappresenta una testata giornalistica e viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità, esclusivamente sulla base dei contributi di aggiornamento occasionalmente reperiti e/o segnalati. Pertanto, non può essere considerato in alcun modo un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge n. 62 del 7 marzo 2001.
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this Website without express permission is strictly prohibited.