City of Tomorrow

City of Tomorrow

by David Oats, April 22, 2006

"Sorceress beyond compare,
City of glory and despair
So terraced on the Western air,
Your music pour
Over and round me evermore,
Symphony fatal and divine
City of mine."
-Poet Christopher Morley
(written for the original proposal
for the New York World's Fair of 1939)

It is almost poetic that this week - between the twin junctures of the anniversaries of the openings of the two New York World's Fairs (April 22nd of the 1964-65 exposition and April 30th of the 1939-40 Fair) that a new door has opened for the possibility of another New York World's Fair.

It is by no means a probability. But it just might be a possibility for a world greatly in need of new possibilities. The original planners - visionaries - of the '39 Fair stated very clearly their mission at the start. They stated .."we intend to create a fair along new lines...or none at all."

That is our mission today. The open door given by the Bureau of International Expositions in Paris for the possibility of another New York fair is exciting and enticing. But also exacting - because the nature of what a venture such as this should even be worth the effort is of paramount concern. History will be the final judge - but the door is open and it's worth the walk.

In the past month, my vice-president of the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park World's Fair Association - Greg Godfrey, an urban planning and international transportation expert, traveled to Paris and had an extensive meeting with the Secretary General of the Bureau of International Expositions and his staff. The talks were encouraging and cordial and a good working relationship was established.

In short, this could be the beginning of an historic opportunity - one that should be shared with the World's Fair community that Bill Young has established with this nywf64.com website and which keeps the vision of the 1964 fair alive.

I want to close with the words of President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered at the opening of the World's Fair on April 22,1964:

'"The last time New York had a World's Fair we also tried to predict the future. A daring exhibit proclaimed that in the 1960's it would really be possible to cross the country in less than 24 hours, flying as high as 10,000 feet, an astounding 38 million cars would cross our highways. There was no mention of outer space or atomic power or wonder drugs.

These were bold prophesies back there in 1939. But again, the reality has far outstripped our vision. There were other predictions that weren't made at that fair. No one prophesied that half the world would be devastated by war or that millions of helpless would be slaughtered. No one foresaw power that was capable of destroying man or a cold war that could bring conflict to every continent.

Our pride in accomplishment must not ignore the fact that our progress has had two faces - its final direction - abundance or annihilation? Development or desolation? This fair represents the most promising of our hopes. But unless we can achieve the theme of this Fair - Peace Through Understanding - unless we can use our skills and our wisdom to conquer conflict as we have conquered science, then our hopes of today will go under in the devastation of tomorrow.

If we can, then at the next New York World's Fair, people will see an America as different from today as we are different from 1939. They will see an America in which no man must be poor, or handicapped by the color of his skin or the nature of his beliefs, or discriminated against because of the church he attends or the country of his ancestors. They will see an America that will solve the problems of growing cities, inadequate education, depleting natural resources and decreasing natural beauty.

All of these dreams and these hopes and expectations depend upon a world that is free from the threat of war. If we can achieve this, then I am sure that speakers at the next World's Fair will look back with amusement at how greatly I underestimated the capacity and the genius of mankind.

And so I take my leave from what poet Ogden Nash has called the 'Promised Land of Mr. Moses' .... hoping and trusting that in the future it will not take anyone forty years to reach it."

**Letter from the BIE (Bureau of International Expositions) Secretariat**
**to David Oats**
Paris, 20th April 2006 Dear Mr. Oats: The efforts of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park World's Fair Association to spearhead the organization of a World Fair in New York City have come to the attention of the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE). I would personally like to thank and applaud your Association's commitment to World's Fairs. As my staff explained to you in previous discussions, this year the BIE will receive the bids for two World's Fairs, the 2012 Recognized Exhibition and the 2015 Registered Exhibition. The BIE would more than welcome a bid from the United States of America for either World's Fair and will help guide and support the submission all along the bidding process. As you are aware, the United States government withdrew from the BIE in June 2001. However, the BIE regulations do not preclude the application of a non member Country to host a World's Fair. The process will include higher application fees than for member Countries and the approval of two thirds of the General Assembly. Furthermore, the BIE will ensure that any potential US bid will be judged in a fair and consistent manner based on the regulations for non member countries. However, as you can imagine, all of these conditions reduce the chances to almost nil. Since the withdrawal of the US in 2001, the BIE has been approached by several groups of US citizens, who, like you, asked us if their city could host a World's Fair under the auspices of the BIE. Their requests, along with a fairly dynamic World's Fair community in the US, highlight that citizens realize and would welcome the strong impact a World's Fair can have on their city, state and country. Whether they attended the World's Fairs in San Francisco, Chicago or New York, in Knoxville, Seattle or New Orleans in the 1980s, many Americans have discovered that a visit to an International Expo is a memorable experience. It would be wonderful to, once again, attend an Exhibition in the United States. I sincerely hope that your organization's efforts will successfully persuade the US to join the BIE again and lead New York City to bid for a 2012 or 2015 Expo. Please rest assured that you can count on the BIE's support in your endeavors and we would be more than delighted to answer any additional questions you may have. Yours Sincerely, THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS BUREAU

The NEW New York World's Fair

Is another Fair on New York's Horizon?

by Bill Young, April 22, 2006

Could it be true? On this, the 42nd anniversary of the opening of the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair, word comes of renewed efforts to hold a World's Fair in the city of New York. Several years ago a group of Princeton University students organized an on-line petition drive to bring a fourth World's Fair to the city. The Fair was envisioned as a celebration of America's resolve following the events of September 11, 2001. Unfortunately their efforts lagged and New York pursued a bid for the Summer Olympic Games of 2012 in lieu of a Universal Exposition.

Recently, however, the Bureau of International Expositions (the Paris-based organization that sanctions World's Fairs) became aware of the New York Expo plan and began to make inquiries regarding the Princeton group's efforts. The BIE's inquiries eventually landed on the desk of Queens activist David Oats who had previously lead an effort to bring a World's Fair to New York in 1989. Mr. Oats heads the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park World's Fair Association, a civic group formed in 1967 to preserve the unique history of the Park as host to two World's Fairs. Most recently he created and presided over the Queens Olympic Committee. That organization successfully waged a three-year battle to defeat a plan to construct the 2012 Olympic Stadium on the West Side of Manhattan. Their efforts were instrumental in the city's eventual decision to locate the proposed stadium in Willet's Point, adjacent to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

The award of the 2012 Olympic bid to London last year has put New York's Olympic plans on hold. With the BIE's expressed interest and encouragement, Mr. Oats has turned his group's efforts toward the possibility of New York hosting an International Exposition in 2015.

Last month Queens Olympic Committee vice-president Greg Godfrey traveled to Paris to meet with Vincente Gonzalez Loscertales, Secretary General of the Bureau of International Expositions. The March meeting was the first small step toward making a 2015 New York World's Fair a reality. Mr. Loscertales and Mr. Godfrey discussed the considerable hurdles to be overcome for the city to host a World's Fair. At their meeting, and in subsequent communications, the BIE pledged to work closely with Mr. Oats' group to develop a World's Fair proposal and to work toward reinstating the United States as a member of the BIE. The US withdrew their membership from the organization in 2001 and no US city has hosted a World's Fair since 1984.

Mr. Oats states that it may be a bit premature to start making plans for a trip to the Fair in 2015. The odds that a Fair will become a reality are, as he says, "a long shot at best." Even the BIE has cautioned that the existing conditions "reduce the chances to almost nil." But as Joseph Shagden and Robert Koppel know, impossible dreams can come true. Although their names take a back-seat in history to those of Grover Whalen and Robert Moses, Shagden and Koppel are credited as the men who conceived the idea for New York's World's Fairs of 1939 and 1964. That spark of a dream inspired others to take up the cause and the dream became a reality. Let us hope that David Oats will find the champions to make this World's Fair a reality as well! As he says, "the door is open and it's worth the walk."