When the United States entered the 1960s, the nation was swept up in the Space Race as the United States and the Soviet Union competed for supremacy in rocket and satellite technologies. Cities across the country hoped to attract new aerospace companies, but the city leaders of Seattle launched the most ambitious campaign of all. They invited the whole world to visit for the 1962 Seattle World�s Fair, and more than nine million people took them up on the offer. A colorful collection of exh...

Falling in between the dark days of the Great Depression and World War II, the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair offered a refreshing prediction for "the World of Tomorrow." There were exciting demonstrations of robot servants, computerized highways, color photography, and a new invention called television. Visitors could tour the latest in model homes, enjoy the marvel of air-conditioning, and watch the newest streamlined steam locomotive in action. America's largest corporations joined for...

The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair was the largest international exhibition ever built in the United States. More than one hundred fifty pavilions and exhibits spread over six hundred forty-six acres helped the fair live up to its reputation as "the Billion-Dollar Fair." With the cold war in full swing, the fair offered visitors a refreshingly positive view of the future, mirroring the official theme: Peace through Understanding. Guests could travel back in time through a display of full-...

To mark the 100th anniversary of the city's founding and the arrival of the first trans-Canada train, Vancouver's political and business leaders invited the whole world to participate in the festivities.The result was Expo '86, and more than 22 million people came for the party. It took eight years of planning and hard work to transform a former railroad yard into a colourful showplace full of pavilions and shows for the six-month event, but those lucky enough to have been there would agre...

After enduring 10 harrowing years of the Great Depression, visitors to the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair found welcome relief in the fair's optimistic presentation of the "World of Tomorrow." Pavilions from America's largest corporations and dozens of countries were spread across a 1,216-acre site, showcasing the latest industrial marvels and predictions for the future intermingled with cultural displays from around the world. Well known for its theme structures, the Trylon and Perispher...

In 1984, the city of New Orleans hosted the last world's fair held in the United States.Conceived as part of an ambitious effort to revitalize a dilapidated section of the city and establish New Orleans as a year-round tourist destination, it took more than 12 years of political intrigue and design changes before the gates finally opened. Stretching 84 acres along the Mississippi River, the fair entertained more than seven million guests with a colorful collection of pavilions, rides, and ...

The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair: Creation and Legacy uses rare, previously unpublished photographs to examine the creation of the fair and the legacies left behind for future generations. When the gates of the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair swung open on April 24, 1964, the first of more than 51 million lucky visitors entered, ready to witness the cutting edge of worldwide technology and progress. Faced with a disappointing lack of foreign participants due to political contention, the...

Angie Bigelow has won the jackpot: a $324 million lottery ticket. How will she spend the money? Will she share it with the father of her children, dissolute Dean Lee Grandet—even though he's an inveterate gambler she plans on leaving? Angie, the lost soul at the center of Bill Cotter's poignant and darkly comic novel, The Splendid Ticket , is facing this dilemma when a new tragedy tears through their household. Is that mere slip of numbered paper in the watch pocket of A...

The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) was a massive undertaking. The city of San Francisco had long looked for a site for a new airport to service the Pacific market, and the fair provided the impetus to build Treasure Island, a man-made island that would eventually service the massive seaplanes in use at the time. The GGIE also helped cement the Bay Area as a tourism and business center, competing directly with the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. While New York centered more on...

In 1967, Canada celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding with a spectacular party, and the whole world was invited. Montreal's Expo 67 was the first world's fair held in Canada, and it was a huge success, attracting over 50 million visitors. The 1,000-acre site was built on two man-made islands in the St. Lawrence River and incorporated 90 futuristic pavilions created by some of the world's greatest architects and designers. Over 60 countries were represented, along with many priva...

En 1967, le Canada fêtait le centième anniversaire de son existence avec une fête spectaculaire, et tout le monde a été invité. L'Expo 67 de Montréal était la première exposition internationale à avoir lieu au Canada et c'était une grande réussite, qui a attiré plus de 50 millions de visiteurs. Le site de 405 hectares a été construit sur deux îles artificielles dans le fleuve Saint-Laurent et incorporait 90 pavillons d'aspects futuristes, créés par les meilleurs architectes et concepteurs ...

In the late 1960s, Spokane's civic leaders were desperately looking for a way to revitalize a large section of downtown, especially a motley collection of little-used railroad lines and polluted industrial sites along the Spokane River. Their solution was to use the area for Expo '74, which was billed as the first ecologically themed world's fair. Critics predicted the project was sure to fail, as Spokane was the smallest city to ever host a world's fair, but history proved them wrong. Fro...