Pavilion Guide

UNITED STATES PAVILION

UNITED STATES COMMISSION NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1964-1965 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NORMAN K. WINSTON, COMMISSIONER

AMERICA... PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE A PROGRAM IN FOUR PARTS "'Challenge to Greatness,' the Federal Exhibition extends a cordial greeting to you all. Over two years in the making, this beautiful pavilion and its stimulating program is for the enjoyment and interest of all our visitors. I will be particularly pleased if young people find inspiration here. You are welcome to visit with us as long as you like." Ambassador Norman K. Winston United States Commissioner New York World's Fair, 1964-65

1 "VOYAGE TO AMERICA"  A ten minute film dramatizes the highlights of the greatest mass-movement of humanity in history. It is a tribute to our ancestors, who, by their courage, labor, determination and spirit, built this great nation, and it establishes the theme of the pavilion -- "Challenge to Greatness." 2 "THE CHALLENGES TODAY"  As you leave the theater, you enter the "Challenge Area" where you will view a series of displays which symbolize the major challenges which face the United States today. The challenges are: Growth, Equal Rights, Democracy, Learning, Social Concern, Discovery, Creative America, Our World Community, Space, Developing Nations, Population Explosion, Arms Control, The Free World. The exhibits are not intended necessarily to indicate solutions to our problems, but to direct your attention to them. 3 "THE AMERICAN JOURNEY"  After passing through the "Challenge Area," you will rise on an escalator to the second level of the Pavilion, where you will take an inspiring ride through the great sights and sounds of American history. A grandstand will take you past 130 still and motion picture screens of varied shapes and sizes for a "you are there" experience that will take you from the time of Columbus to the space age. The Saturday Review called The American Journey "certainly the most ingenious and provocative display of films at the Fair." 4 "THE CHALLENGE OF INFORMATION": LIBRARY USA  Following "The American Journey," you will descend on an escalator into Library USA, an information center sponsored by the American Library Association. It is staffed by professional librarians and equipped with a Univac computer to answer questions on subjects covered in the exhibit. There is a children's theater where story-telling and film programs are presented every half hour. This is a preview of the library of tomorrow.

Source: Pamphlet - Guide to the Federal Pavilion

...One theme, I believe, is constant throughout this exhibition ... a declaration of faith in the spirit of the American people. ...We find it in Archibald MacLeish's lines: ..."The American journey has not ended ... ... America is always still to build." ...We find it in the film of America's immigrant origins, in the expression of today's challenges, in the vision of our future. For what, finally, do we mean by Challenge to Greatness? Greatness is not only material might, it is also spiritual firmness in the right, firmness in freedom, firmness for peace. The challenges we face are, at last, challenges to the concept of greatness. As we accept responsibility to meet these challenges, we carry on the journey of the American spirit. Our future begins today.   LYNDON B. JOHNSON President of the United States April 22, 1964 -- New York, N.Y. The film "Voyage to America" is dedicated to the millions of immigrants who gave strength to the American spirit. This film and theater have been made possible as a public service by the FRANKLIN NATIONAL BANK NEW YORK

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THE MANY IMAGES OF THE UNITED STATES

A 330-foot facade of multi-colored glass draws the visitor's eye to the beauty of the United States Pavilion.

the big show is a Cinerama "ride" through 400 years of American History The late John F. Kennedy endorsed "Challenge to Greatness" theme of the United States Pavilion. This is the entrance to the Cinerama "ride" which takes groups of Fair visitors on "The American Journey."

FEATURE SHOW on the top floor of the huge United States Pavilion is a "ride" with film that takes the visitor through 400 years of the history of this nation. The American Journey, produced by Cinerama, Inc., requires a dozen 55-seat vehicles which move along a 1,200-foot journey which passes 110 screens of every shape and size. 159 projectors (both movie and still) are used to fill the screens with scenes ranging from the

depths of the sea to the outer reaches of space. Individual headsets built into each chair carry the narration ... "here is our past, look at it!" An "Environmental" Film The experience is called an "environmental" film program, designed to encourage audiences to feel "in" the events as they happen, to psychologically participate in the nation's history as it unfolds. The Journey begins with early scenes of America before the explorers arrived, rolls on though pictorial highlights on the past, leading up to the challenges of today's jet age.

The "Voyage to America" picture is shown in this 500-seat theater; Graphic Films collaborated with John Houseman for this production..

There are 19-35mm motion picture, 14-16mm motion picture and 126 Eastman Carousel slide projectors along the ride. Narration for The American Journey was written by Ray Bradbury; Jeremy Lepard directed for Cinerama. The musical score is all "Americana" with sounds of railroad whistles, old tunes, harmonicas and the like.

Film "Voyage to America" Before reaching the Cinerama show, visitors are first received in a 500-seat theater for a showing of Voyage to America. This introductory film was produced by Graphic Films Corporation in collaboration with John Houseman. Its black & white images utilize both live action and animation to move through America's Colonial period, to the phase of American Immigration and the period of Expansion (from 1820 to 1920.) An original music score by Virgil Thomson, direction by Ben Jackson, and editing by Pieter Van Deusen of Graphic Films make this a notable film. It was narrated by Alexander Scourby and designed to create an understanding and mood of excitement and confidence in the American way of life -- past, present and future. This nine-minute black & white film should be made available to the nation's schools when the Fair closes.

Source: BUSINESS SCREEN MAGAZINE Presented courtesy Eric Paddon Collection

The Pavilion's theme "Challenge to Greatness" was endorsed by the late John F. Kennedy. It is exemplified in a Pavilion area of "Challenge" through which visitors walk on their way to the Journey film. Here several hundred other displays include continuous films shown at the bottom of a "well" set in the floor of the United States Pavilion.

Films are also projected in several "wells" in the U.S. Pavilion; here they are shown on side walls by overhead repeater projectors.