From queenstribune.com:
Information Executive Bill Cotter grew up in New York City and spent the summer of 1964 at the World’s Fair. Forced to entertain himself on a limited budget, he went on the rides that didn’t cost extra. He explored the pavilions, where conversations with an international crowd would be free of charge.
“I remember walking by the Egyptian pavilion – it had air conditioning so I figured I might as well go in,” Cotter said. “So I’m in there, talking to the woman who was there. She reached up and pulled a piece of cotton off the wall. I still have that piece of cotton stuffed in a box.”
Cotter, one of more than 51 million people to visit the fair in 1964 and 1965, is not alone in his continued enthusiasm for the event. He attends shows where fair devotees trade collectables. He met Bill Young, a Wisconsin-based computer systems analyst, at such a show and together they collaborated on a World’s Fair book. That was four years ago. Their second book on the subject, “The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair: Creation and Legacy,” hits bookstores next week.
As the title suggests, the book reveals how such a massive undertaking was carried out and documents where surviving pieces of the fair have ended up.
Although neither author lives in Queens, both have invested time and energy into the effort to revitalize the New York State Pavilion, one of the few remaining structures. In addition, they maintain fair web sites and plan to attend the 2010 Expo in Shanghai.
“I haven’t been this excited about another Worlds Fair since the 1964,” Young said, adding, “There’s nothing quite like it in my life. People think I’m crazy with this love for something from 40 years ago that’s never gonna come back again…I’d like to retire closer to the east.”
Cotter doesn’t question the impact the fair had on his life. A visit to Disney world later in life reminded him of the fair and convinced him to apply for a job at the Walt Disney Company, where he eventually met his wife.
“I keep thinking about how the trip to the fair in ’64 sticks with you every day,” he said. “Maybe it didn’t make all the money it was supposed to, but it left behind Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Maybe all the fountains don’t work, but the place sure looks a lot better than it would’ve if the fair hadn’t happened.”
Fair enthusiasts who groan about the throngs of soccer players and picnickers who appear to have no appreciation for the grounds’ history get under Cotter’s skin.
“The only reason [Robert Moses] did the fair at all was to fund the park,” Cotter said. “If he hadn’t come along that place would still be a swamp.”
“The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair: Creation and Legacy” will be available for $19.99 at bookstores, online or through Arcadia Publishing, starting July 21.
