1939 New York World's Fair - Part 1 of 2 - A Home Movie Spectacular!

[BobJoseph1022]

My first thought is how very much the same we are as our ancestors. Our basic values and appreciation for greatness keep us in awe while watching the leading edge of yesterday, even while we are very much aware of our progress since then and how dated these scenes are. It doesn't matter. We're the same...children of today, yesterday and tomorrow.

[paullubliner]

This footage was shot in 1940. The GM Diesel engine was completely cream in 1939 and was repainted with the top portion in red for the '40 season. "Freeze frame" Mrs. Marten and her son in front of the engine and observe the "1940" date in the number board on the engines "nose." I find it interesting that many people are surprised by and at the use of color here. Many railroad enthusiasts were shooting color film and slides several years earlier than this. I collect those images and films.

[robertwmartens]

@paullubliner What a sharp eye you've got! Someone else pointed out that in Part Two of this movie, my father is wearing on his suit jacket a little pennant or ribbon that was issued to fair goers on the very last day of the exhibition in October, 1940.

[paullubliner]

@robertwmartens: Thank you and thank you very much for posting and keeping this wonderful and significant film.

[irish89055]

my father went to the fair, he graduated from a NYC high school in 39... Belgium pavillion is here in RIchmond at Virginia Union University due to Nazi occupation in 1940. Wonderful color images well shot..

[irish89055]

i remember a documentary of this fair and there was a scene with a little girl saying to her elderly grandfather as they looked an exhibit of what the world would be in 1960..." won't it be wonderful grandfather?" and the look on his face as he knew he would not likely be around to see it....(these were actors... and a good view of the fair , I wonder if it's on here, hmmm)

[robertwmartens]

@irish89055 Westinghouse produced a film in which a fictitious family named The Middletons visited the Westinghouse Pavilion at the 1939 fair. A highlight of that film was their look at a kitchen of the future - maybe that's the scene you were remembering.

[irish89055]

@robertwmartens yes, that is the film... i'll see if it's on here.. No, it was a scene just as I described... thanks for the reply

[irish89055]

@irish89055 Robert, I''m pretty certain it was the exhibit called The World ofTtomorrow...

[StMartinTours]

What is the musical selection?

[robertwmartens]

@StMartinTours The first movement, titled "We The People," from Symphony #9 composed by Roy Harris, 1962.

[Bruno47602]

Appallingly!

[pennyf9]

all of those locomotives still survive to this day, most i think are at the Baltimore and ohio railroad museum.

[tarotbear]

SPECTACULAR! Your grandfather would never know how excellent this footage is! the section on the Trains is just magnificent! AND IN COLOR! It's amazing how many videos of the 64/65 World's fair are black and white! i can't wait for Part 2!

[fayeteville]

thanks for the video - i enjoyed very much-- i also watched the 1965- world fair video- its great-

very proffesional

thanks - gracias

[Schwertleite]

This is an outstanding look into the past, and I'd like to thank you so very much for sharing this with everyone. 

[RobNLynchburgVA]

Thank you so much for posting this. Your grandfather obviously had a great cinematic "eye." I beliieve this NY Exposition was much grander than the 64-65 fair, which was acutally not sanctioned by the Worlds Expo Committee, which made it not a "worlds fair," but you probably knew that. Thanks again.

[tomitstube]

thanks for putting this up, after this fair opened in may 1939, hitler would be invading poland 5 months later starting wwii.

can you imagine anything like this taking place today? rep. peter king would be trying to block it saying terrorists and communists were taking over america.

[theOlLineRebel]

Very neat, but...a HOME movie in color, in '39? How the heck did that happen?

[robertwmartens]

@theOlLineRebel Kodak introduced color home movie film, called Kodachrome, in 1935. It was expensive, so most people continued using black and white film. However, at the 1939-40 fair the Kodak pavilion gave out lots of free rolls of Kodachrome to its visitors, so quite of lot of color home movies of the fair were shot. By 1946, after World War Two had ended, color home movie film had become the norm. Please check out my grandfather's other home movies on my channel - and please subscribe!

[paullubliner]

@theOlLineRebel: Kodak BOUGHT the Kodachrome Process from a pair of Bronx, New York Musician/Chemists in 1932. It first appeared as a"Kodachrome" in 1935 16mm and slit in half 8mm home movie film (this example is 16mm) and as 35mm still (or professional motion Picture film) in 1936. It received a major improvement in the quality in the green spectrum during July of 1939. It is still regarded as the finest grain color film ever made and ceased production about 2 years ago.

[jrkelm]

Thank you for sharing this! I've seen alot of "official" fair footage and footage provided by various exhibitors like GM but this is by far, the best! The Train Exhibit was a piece of work. Can you imagine choreographing those locomotives, the animals, and the actors? Thanks again!

[sandman19681012]

Thanks for posting.

[ruthgeva]

my father visited here in 1939. I am making a movie about him, can I use a few seconds from this movie, in mine? If so, please provide me with proper credit i.e. name of photographer.

Thanks so much,

Ruth Geva

ruthge@inter.net.il

[ideagirlconsulting]

ive posted this on the munroe series - my writers blog about my novels from 1900s to 1939 (novels 1,2,3)

[Conrail6370]

The old time steam locomotives are now in railroad museums around the US.

in frame 3:47 you see the John Bull Replica made for the 1939 Worlds Fair and is at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania , In frame 3:51 - 4:21 these's are in the B&O railroad Museum and the list gose on and on. Plus my Mother was 8 years old when she was to the 1939's World Fire she's now 79.

Len.

PS. Thanks for posting this.

[PRR5406]

What I find amazing is how the separation of time shows how the predicted future, especially the artistic blandishments, were skipped over. The art deco futurism never happened, the teutonic austerism of columns and towers, never occurred. Sadly, the "modern" railroad power wound up as scrap. I always liked the trylon and perisphere logo.

[paullubliner]

@PRR5406: ACTUALLY, That Art Deco design mode was quite prevalent in architecture and house-hold appliance to transportation (diesel locomotives) until the early 1960's.

[paullubliner]

@PRR5406: Not quite. The "Coronation" loco from the U.K. is alive and well and only two years ago received a re-streamlining back into it's exact appearance at the '39-'40 NYWF sans headlight and bell. I supplied two color photos taken opening and closing day of the Fair to the National Railway Museum in York, England which I am told assisted in securing financing for this recent re-streamlining. Google Images: LMS 6229 to see it now.

[thegalaxybeing]

This is really magical.

Surprising the footage is in color. Cool stuff.

[skot66]

This is the most amazing footage! Thanks for posting!

[JerryBarryLover]

wow this movie is almost 71 years old!!! this was filmed the year my grandpa was born!!!

[jocam32]

Watching ur videos gave me that "hard to describe" feeling...l look at all the beauty in this video and think "Wow, hitler was at the height of his oppressive power then, yet there were still happy times, full of color & brightness, even in the midst of WW2"

we forget just how big the World really is...esp nowadays...im mid 30s now and wish my Grandparents had these types of videos in the 50s/60s when my parents were young...this is why youtube is so popular...its a time machine!!! JC

[clapdeeclap]

its so strange how the style back then and even before was all dress like, what a fucking crazy era. we live in now

[philcobeam]

thank you for posting ,I have DVDs of the fair and too see yours set to music make them more enjoyable .Thank Grandpa he is a lucky kid to have such beautiful memories to share.

[thebestofsopherboys]

Future Youtube star that kids has to be at least 81 right now 3:25

Willy Wonka got pissed off at 3:41

[robertwmartens]

You're right - that kid's my dad, and he turns 81 this December!

[The391956]

@thebestofsopherboys

I don't see anyone getting pissed of

so he must have been quietly pissed

off.

[thebestofsopherboys]

@The391956 Look in the back at all the men with hats and canes. You'll see a woman tap a man on the back the man then marches angrily.

[MrRJBowman]

It's great to see these sights on a film stock that portrays natural color; much of the film from that era that has been widely distributed was black and white or technicolor, which has beautiful color but looks fake. Its funny that realistic color was reserved for "cheap" home movies and documentary use. This real film gives immediacy to a subject that commercial films place in an unearthly stylized world.

[michaelXXLF]

Awesome! Thank you for posting!

m

[ginir00kami]

Thank you, I enjoyed it

[cooldawg95]

is this still there?

[robertwmartens]

At the fair's conclusion every pavilion was demolished except for the New York City pavilion, which in the late 1940s served as the temporary headquarters for the United Nations, and today serves as The Queens Museum. The Amphitheater survived until the 1960s. The Lagoon of Nations fountain display was shut off for 20 years until it was refurbished and renamed The Fountain of the Planets for the 1964-65 fair. The entire fairgrounds is now Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

[earthforce2]

How sad - it is like watching the dawn of the modern era. At least the memory is preserved in fim.

[fattuchus]

Yes, it is. And the buildings are beautiful.

[mplsguy1979]

This is fascinating. A wonderfully rare and valuable film.

[macandrewes]

AMAZING to see such footage in colour!!! Thank you!!!

[imanacer]

Fascinating. Thank you so much for posting this unbelievably rare footage.

[AaronApolloCamp]

Very rare to find color film from 1939.

[mykittykatmykittykat]

MANY thanks for posting this EXCELLENT footage, just marvellous!