Gen S.A. Potter

Chief Engineer

New York World's Fair

1964-1965 Corporation

World's Fair, New York 11380

WF4-2311

Gotham Plaza Gate 1, 80 Ft. high

Peter Stuyvesant Gate 3, 60 Ft. high

Henry Hudson Gate 4, 60 Ft. high

Meadow Lake Gate 5, 60 Ft. high

River Gate 6, 60 Ft. high

Harris Structural Steel

Company, Incorporated

Mr. Robert Cothran

Cothran-Campbell

7708 Edgewood Avenue

Pittsburgh 18, Pennsylvania

412 BR 1-1161

Richardson, Gordon & Associates

2 Gateway Center

Pittsburgh, 22, Pennsylvania

412-281-8470

The Entrance Towers, five in all, are intended primarily to be classic World's Fair structures: brilliant and new in appearance, impressive in size and structure, and purely decorative. They also have established their usefulness as landmarks to locate the entrances, and more important, by their appearance they serve as a striking introduction to the Fair. Each tower is intended to be the primary decoration in its own plaza.

The design consists essentially of a space frame structure: a continuous stack of octahedrons formed by the edges of 60 degree - 120 degree rhombus-shaped panels, these panels being identical, and the sole element of the tower. Each panel is framed individually and covered on both sides by a "rigidized" sheet metal surface. The "rigidized" metal offers a benefit of a very glossy World's Fair white porcelain enamel surface. Its regularity breaks up reflected light so that the effect is that of an even, sparkling spectacular surface. Certain views are somewhat more spectacular than others; and consideration has been given to the orientation of the tower on its base to the actual entrances and major traffic areas.

The beauty of the tower is mainly a matter of secondary reflections of light from one panel to another, making the tower for all its crisp geometry, look translucent and weightless.