The Scott Enchanted Forest at the World's Fair


A lengthy and technical press release reveals details about the planners' exhibit design philosophy.
The Scott exhibit is located on the Pool of Industry -- the prestige "dress circle" of the industrial section of the Fair. Walking up the central mall from the Unisphere symbol, a visitor will see first the massive building of the Bell Telephone Company, located at the apex of the circle. To the right, the eye catches the General Electric Pavilion, and then, a little higher up and about half-way around, a fifty-foot tower, made of two intersecting cones of glistening gold cables supported by huge stained wooden beams, arrests the attention.
This is Scott's entrance tower -- a provocative, geometric sculpture suggesting trees, growth and progress. Reaching up from a wooden platform base suspended over a running pool, the tower grows out of a beautifully landscaped site which features evergreen and deciduous trees of 10, 15, 20 feet in height. The atmosphere of the exhibit area is one of park-like tranquility; a cool place to rest and relax in uncommercial surroundings. Artist's Pavilkon Rendering
Scott Pavilions Back from the tower, on the left, the visitor sees a low, wide, wooden structure of California "mountain lodge" styling, characterized by a low sloping roof which overhangs the stained-wood walls by several feet. This building houses the exhibit proper entitled "The Scott Enchanted Forest".
Looking straight ahead through the tower cables, the visitor sees a smaller structure of similar architectural style, but raised 14 feet off the ground. This is the pavilion office, and its elevation permits the aspect of the visitor to continue towards the paths and landscaped areas beyond. To the rear of the exhibit area, a third building of the same design houses comfortable restroom facilities. Scott Pavilion Aerial

The visitor to the main exhibit building enters a wooded setting of trees, plants, a flowing stream -- a forest within a forest. The surroundings are extended in breadth and dimension through the use of a perfectly blended color photo-transparency in the background.

A voice invites visitors to explore two great mysteries in Scott's business -- first, the mystery of the enchanted forest, where a thousand magic ingredients are waiting for scientists to unlock them; and second, the mystery of the Goddess of the Market Place, the American housewife; whose whim is Scott's law, whose favor it courts. Then, a written message appears, unrolling between two trees on an invisible glass teleprompter screen. This message sets the theme for the exhibit, relates trees and women, and tells why Scott cares about both.

Proceeding on, the visitor becomes aware of a tinted wall mural on the right, sweeping ahead and blending into another woods-color transparency which melts into foliage.

One of the unusual effects created for the exhibit will first be seen in this entry area -- that of a metallic representation of leaves which serves as the ceiling throughout the exhibit building. These leaves will be vertically placed rectangles of metal annealed with white paint and arranged at slightly varying heights to create a somewhat irregular effect. They will be illuminated by hidden lights which will produce rich oranges and greens in the realistic forest section, and brighter, gayer colors in the more modern section beyond where bolder product display techniques are employed. All tree effects, realistic as well as abstract, will rise from the floor to the ceiling in columnar form.

Running Stream inside Scott
Further along the path, the visitor encounters a waterfall cascading out of a natural setting and running into a stream which cuts through the exhibit and out of the building. In this continuation of the forest and foliage, a wooden arched bridge carries the walkway across the stream and on into the exhibit.

Before crossing the bridge, the visitor is attracted by another message, on the right this time, briefly recounting the story of woodlands operations, their scope as the primary source of raw materials. The point will be made that the timber is a crop which Scott scientifically manages and harvests, not a resource that is cut and lost forever. The theme in this section emphasizes why and how natural resources are used, yet protected for future generations. The message also explains that along with making top quality products for consumers and jobs for thousands of people, by-products of good industrial forest management are wildlife, water and recreational opportunities.

In photo-mural treatment, a kaleidoscope of such woodland activities as cutting, harvesting, tree growing and floating the wood to the mill by river will be dramatized in black and white action photographs set out from the tinted-forest setting behind.

Thus lead on by the series of forestry pictures on the right, the visitor proceeds across the arched bridge still very much in the woodland setting but now attracted by a visual change of pace up ahead which leads her from the forest into a more man-made, structured world smacking of giant machines, forceful processes which transform raw materials into more usable forms.

The trees, realistic 'till now, are transformed into a more stylized design, still retaining their cylindrical shapes, but taking on new colors and bark configuration. Man's magical hand is making itself felt on this raw product.

Beyond the bridge another message appears telling the story of recreational by-products of forest management -- hunting, camping, fishing. This will be interwoven with the story of Scott's use of water. Water is the lifeblood of the paper industry's business and millions of dollars are spent to protect it, use it and return it to the nation's streams for re-use.

This message then leads directly to the next major visual element -- apparently a stack of log ends pointed toward the visitor, but providing a series of circular picture frames showing a sequence of scenes including a log flow in a river, barking, chipping, pulping, bleaching. Stack of Logs Picture Frames

The pictures flash on in series using colors, backlighting and projected word descriptions of the processes where appropriate.

The visitor will then be diverted to the left, where a spectacular cylindrically-shaped exhibit device rotates 360 degrees describing pictorially, schematically and verbally the papermaking process from headbox to drier section in terms a ten-year-old child can understand.

The papermaking story is continued into the converting process through a series of dramatic color photographs. After about ten feet of these photos -- three in number -- another cylindrical exhibit technique will picture and explain Scott's quality control concept -- the men who perform the job, testing stations, the relationship of this function to consumers.

In the corner of the exhibit building, the visitor is next attracted by an exhibit location focused solely on women. This is midway in the exhibit and at this point Scott salutes the American housewife with an entertaining and provocative exhibit which shows her in her many roles -- doing dishes, laundry, ironing, harassed by kids, chief chef, clean-up detail -- the everyday world of a busy housewife. A graphic symbol representative of the Goddess of the Market Place is established, and will be utilized throughout the rest of the exhibit.

Scott's Corridor of Products Turning from Scott's salute to her, the visitor will be attracted toward a "corridor of products," and array of exhibits displaying the bright, modern, colorful, convenience items which Scott makes especially for her. The mood is multi-colored with pinks and pastels, gay packages and products, all of which stretch out before her as though at her feet.

Each of five product exhibits will be unique in its technique and general appearance except for the continued use of the cylindrical or abstract tree trunk shape and the now familiar "Goddess" symbol. Each exhibit will have the similar net effect, however, of putting a Scott product or line of products in a service context rather than simply showcasing them.

At the end of this corridor, on the left, the visitor will proceed to a single exhibit representing Scott's Industrial paper products. This exhibit will attempt to convey to male and female consumers alike the value and utility of Scott's products as they are found in settings away from the home -- hotels, motels, office buildings, schools, hospitals, service stations.

As the visitor proceeds, she will be attracted to a spectacular, rotating enlargement of a single polyurethane foam cell, apparently suspended in space. The cell identifies an imaginative exhibit of the widespread utilizations of plastic foam made by Scott.

The next attraction, somewhat back to the visitor's right, will be another motion device showing the dozens of end uses of Scott's printing and converting papers.

The visitor approaches the end of the exhibit by way of a photographic presentation of Scott's research and development activities. This will be a "blue sky" area where the visitor's fancy will be taken in flight into the great future of Scott and Scott's easy-to-use light and airy products.

Beyond is the final magic forest area, somewhat darkened. On the right, in a sort of phosphorescent glow, will appear a nearly full-sized image of the "Goddess" symbol surrounded by Scott products. This will glow for a few seconds, then fade away as another similar image appears about five feet to the left, again encircled by products, but this time, another group. Then still a third Goddess image will appear and fade in the enchanted forest-product setting. As this visual effect takes place, a voice will be heard in a final message of gratitude and an assurance that Scott's efforts will continue to be directed toward her convenience and comfort and that the bright future of Scott rests upon her faith, her confidence.

The "Goddess" and her Products

"Prestige Dress Circle"

Photo Source: ROLOC Color Slides
Editor's Note: The term "prestige dress circle" mentioned above was not wholly without merit. The inner ring around the Pool of Industry included some of the nation's best known companies: DuPont, IBM, The Travelers, Bell Telephone and General Electric. Bell is the white wing at the top, GE is the dome at 3 o'clock, and just visible between them are Scott Paper (closest to GE) and Rheingold.