1964-65 New York World's Fair - Filmed by Gus Martens

[AI4QT]

I really enjoyed your video. What a great way to remember this great fair! Best regards.

[oldsalt97]

I remember it well...My brother-in-law worked for one of the construction crews that built the roads & walkways within the fair...

[gotham61]

Wow, those two kids might as well be my brother and I at the same fair. I would have been 3 and my brother 8 and we have a sister who would have been 5. We lived in nearby Fresh Meadows and went several times, although I was too young to remember anything these days.

[powertube5671]

By what means did you have the movie transferred to video?

I had 16mm movies transferred to VHS over 20 years ago and they look horrible compared to your video. I know the cheap method uses a machine which simply projects onto a frosted screen and a video camera records it. I better method would be to scan each frame directly.

[robertwmartens]

@powertube5671 You'll need to contact a professional film and video service that uses an electronic device called a "Telecine" to digitize film. I took this film to business called "Duggal" in New York City. Another one is "DuArt Film & Video". Whatever business you find, make sure they use a top-grade Telecine. Good luck!

[powertube5671]

@robertwmartens Thanks! And, nice job! I visited the Worlds Fair in both '64 & '65.

I took only four minutes of film with a Bell & Howell 16mm camera! I also took some Anscochrome slides, that I developed myself in the bathroom sink. The color was a bit blue cast, but, the fact that it wasn't Kodachrome allowed me to scan them in my slide scanner 40 years later and adjust the color and retouch the photos in Photoshop.

[robertwmartens]

@powertube5671 Should you put the pics and the film on YouTube, please let me know!

[powertube5671]

@robertwmartens Because of your encouragement, I put together a slide show of my slides. Search for "1964-1965 NY World's Fair Slide Show "

Or just go to my channel. Thanks!

[clothingonly]

I think the video is great. Brings back memories of me going there. I was only 8.

[Simon5005]

I was 10-years old when I went in 1965, and it's so surreal to see these videos now!

[RALPHIEREDRYDER1]

GRANDPA DID A SUPERB JOB!

[truejava1]

I was 7 when we went in the summer of '64. Thanks for sharing this wonderful video!

[RedOcktober]

yes... this was truly the best of times...

thx for the memories Robert...

--Mike

[ScottMacFie]

Great film ! Reminds me of my parents' old films (shortly before I was born in 1970).

Hey, for some reason, I was waiting for the guy at 8:10 in the leather jacket, to flip out a cell phone (ala "time traveler" vids). Too funny. A different time and place indeed.

[GlobalTubeTruth]

Cool video!! If you paste this code into your tags, it might make the picture full screen. yt:stretch=16:9

[jameshagerstrom]

great video.

[guitarrick57]

I was there in 1964, thanks for the memories......

[dieselducy]

This video is truly a trip back in time. Now we have a camera that fits in our pocket with FULL hd.

[robertwmartens]

@dieselducy If only they had them back then! Grandpa considered his 8mm movie camera to be compact because it was smaller than a breadbox!

[userTWA]

Great movie. Loved the Fair - went two or three times. Coming from NYC, I didn't know that sand could be white (instead of the dirt color of NYC) until I went to the Florida Pavillion. Also loved the rain forest which I believe was Coke's pavilion.

[Kartoonkid95]

THE TOWER OF THE FOUR WINDS was designed by Disney!

[rayrobin05]

I was 8 yrs old, Dad took us kids twice. I now have hundreds of items from fair, huge collection. Lots of Peter and Wendy stuff too. . . This video is now my favorite of the fair. The boys could be my brother and me. Beautiful film and music. Thanks

[eagle76nj1]

I love it !!! I was there both years. Thanks so much Grandpa Martens !!!!!!!!!!

[ahhraspberries]

World's fair....great memory..I worked for greyhound posthouse..which was a restaurant...across from the gm building.

[Lester2955]

Thank you for sharing this. Was 10 when this was going on and brought back amazing memories.

[theredarrow78]

The LIRR minature train is still around. It is at the Railroad Museum of Long Island in Riverhead where it is run in the summer.

[theredarrow78]

Terrific. Brings back a lot of memories.  Glad you showed the LIRR exhibit..

[larciabella]

Great !!!! Brings me back to an AMAZING time of my life as a 6 year old.I remember like it was yesterday.Love the music too.Thanx jamie from NYC. I just went back to Flushing meadow @ two weeks ago.Got some great photos.And to relive those priceless moments! I rem alot of fountains and lights at night.

[larciabella]

Great !!!! Brings me back to an AMAZING time of my life as a 6 year old.I remember like it was yesterday.Love the music too.Thanx jamie from NYC. I just went back to Flushing meadow @ two weeks ago.Got some great photos.And to relive those priceless moments!

[mrrocco1]

Great memories in wonderful 16mm. My uncle had the spin art concession at the fair and we lived in flushing and went just about everyday that summer.

[UncleBarryDean]

Was this shot in 16mm? It certainly looks it. Again, bravo and the music's great, too.

[robertwmartens]

@UncleBarryDean Thank you! Grandpa used 8mm Kodachrome film. It does look good, but it's still not up to the sharpness and detail of the 16mm movies he made earlier. I've put many of those on my channel too, so please have a look (especially his film of the 1939/40 Fair!)

[UncleBarryDean]

Your grandfather had a good eye. Enjoyed this immensely. My Dad took some Regular 8 and the visuals are very limited. I remember being thrilled seeing GE's Carousel of Progress, Honest Abe at the Illinois pavilion, Small World, the hokey Hall of Science, and since my Dad worked for AT&T/Long Lines, we got to go to the front of the line at the Bell System exhibit. Talking on video phones!! Still have the official guide book to remind me. Thanks for the images. Now I feel all nostalgic.

[gryphonshire]

As a 16yr old living in rural Missouri in '64, I could only dream of visiting a World's Fair. Thanks for sharing this well-made video so I could see what I missed....

[mediamadman747]

It's no Zapruder, but it's still good.

[robertwmartens]

@mediamadman747 I did manage to see the french president Charles De Gaulle riding in his limousine at Expo 67 in Montreal, but nobody took a shot at him, and my dad wasn't filming at the time anyway!

[mediamadman747]

@robertwmartens That's okay, I saw "The Day of the Jackal."

[stageactor1958]

This is wonderful and beautifully done! A fantastic memory for you, I am sure...and now for us! Thank you!

[jaemel1]

Priceless! I enjoyed it very much, I have such fond memories of the fair. Thanks!

[lovemytbird]

Terrific video, I was at the Fair in 1965. This brought back so many

memories. Thanks.

[gothamguy08]

Nice job. I spent a day at the '64 World's Fair with my 6th grade class. I distinctly remember typing a postcard to my Dad on one of those new-fangled IBM Selectric Typewriters -- the ones with the stationary ball and no return carriage. While most of the Fairground was allowed to deteriorate, I'm glad that just this week the Unisphere fountain was restored and reopened after nearly $2 million in improvements.

[vcoaster]

Great memories. I was also nine and living in NY in 1965. These are scenes of the Fair that I haven't seen since then, except in my memories. Thanks for posting!

[fayeteville]

the last song of the video was played at the pepsi cola pavillion at the worlds fair-its still in disneyworld-- i didnt have a chance to be at the fair- i was only 5 yrs old-

i remember my parents talking to me aboutthe fair. i believe it was a wonderful fair by thet time(1965) .I think its been one of the most famous world´s fairs of all times-

[MrMelgibstein]

Awesome family,awesome video.Thanks for sharing.

[BoyScout1960]

Dang, I went to the Fair! We went to the GM Pavilion, Disney, the Science Exhibit, GE, Johnson&Johnson, and to the German village, where I wolfed down sausages, sauerkraut and root beer.

I still remember that stupid "Subway Special" song, too!

[fayeteville]

i remember that music at the " its a woonderful world attraction in disneyland"-- great video- very clear and proffesional-- thanks very much -

how did u get that clear and sharp images? great work

[robertwmartens]

@fayeteville I took the film to a reputable film and video service called Duggal Visual Solutions in New York City. They transfered the 8mm film to a mini-DV tape from which I downloaded the footage to my computer.

[michalo2]

thanks for sharing!

[marcoshark]

Thank you Robert!!!! For some of us, back then this was the way the future should have been!

[aqua600]

No need for the apology, robertwmartens. The only people who are critical of The Fair are "Monday Morning Quarterback" social commentators who over-analyze The Fair from a 40 year later viewpoint. I went to The Fair twice as a 9-10 year old, and I LOVED it!. I am 54 now, and I still consider the 64-65 NYWF to be one of the seminal experiences of my childhood. Thanks for posting.

[Scorpionbrnu]

I have a Disney souvenir record from the 1964 Worlds fair. Its about Abe Lincoln. cool stuff.

[tothedunes]

Fantastic video. I like your grandfather's shots better than the pro footage he spliced in at the end! I went to the fair but was too young to remember it.  Thanks for sharing your memories with us.

[radioflyer52]

very nice. Oh yes. I was in 6/7 grade during the fair and loved it. It was the first time I had seen lights in trees and not be Xmas. A few years ago, a guy brought to the office the official guide book. Oh gosh. We used to have like 4 of those around the house all the time for planning our next trip to the fair. We have a Belgium waffle maker in the cabinet here today because of the fair. Very good quality video as well. good job.

[Lester2955]

Wish so much it was still operating. Thanks for the memories.

[hungboar]

Tremendous film! It brought back great memories that I was able to share with my 20 year old daughter!

Thank you!!!

[YTM021807]

Fantastic memories. Thanks! Wow!

[webnik]

Was that the Liberty Bell at 2:44?

[robertwmartens]

Yes, and no - it was a full scale replica at the Pennsylvania pavilion.

[Ghoulardifan]

I still have the dinosaur souvenir I got the Sinclair Dino Land.

[robertwmartens]

Did you mean the plastic dinosaur that was manufactured on the spot by a plastic injector? I had one of those too, except that the plastic didn't cure properly and remained soft, so that after a couple months it was so dented and scarred that Mom threw it away.

[Ghoulardifan]

Straight up, man. This is fantastic footage! I was there when I was seven and I consider it to be one of the highlights of my life---definitely of my childhood no doubt. There was nothing like this in NE Ohio at the time!

[mase4t4]

WOW! Fantastic quality, well filmed, great editing. I was 12 in 64 and went to to the fair a few times. That made me feel as if I could go back there tomorrow, it was so fresh. Really enjoyed it. thanks

[konmun]

Grandpa Gus's footage of the fair is the best yet. Thanks!

[bradericdriver]

cool

[macNjulia]

wonderful idea, to match the footage with music from "La Dolce Vita"!

[NerviFrank]

@macNjulia

Not only! The also used the march-song "Bevete più latte" (Drink more milk!) from Fellini's Bocaccio '70!

[worldsfairphotos]

That was a fun trip back to 1965. The video was great, and the music matched it well. Thanks so much for sharing it!

[UrsoChappell]

Thanks so much for posting this. It's fantastic!

There are several items in this film I've never seen before!