Twice a week and for two summers, impressionable eleven year old Doug Drexler was dropped off by his Dad at the front gate of the world of tomorrow. It did not neccessitate a slingshot around the sun, nor did it call for call for Mr. Atoz and his Atavachron. The lad’s awe inspiring and futuristic destination was not some far flung decade, but then and there in 1964. It rose from the most unlikely of places… a landfill in Flushing Meadow. It was the New York World’s Fair, and it was the proverbial world of tomorrow. It would impress him to the core.
As Spock observed, time could be perceived as a river, with eddies and backwashes. Someone else was washed up onto that shore, and our paths undoubtedly crossed at the jetting waters of the iconic Unisphere, or trekked side by side along the undulating Kodak Moon Deck, or stood in line at Ford’s Magic Skyway. My fellow time traveller was Walter “Matt” Jefferies… aviator, illustrator, art director, and he would become one of the most important artistic influences in my life.
The 1964-65 New York World’s Fair was the largest international exhibition ever buit in the United States, and it was all about THE FUTURE. Never before, and never again would there be such an amazing conglomeration of optimistic, sci-fi, wet dream, futurism in one place. Matt Jefferies absorbed it all with intense fascination. And so the New York World’s Fair was the birthplace of the Star Trek design ethic. I would never be the same because of it… and although you probably were never there, and most likely never heard of it, neither would you…
“The answers we seek will be found in the near tomorrow… Let us explore together the future. A future not of dreams, but of reality. For much of what we are about to see is even now beyond the promise and well on it’s way to tomorrow’s world…”
”…The answers we seek will be found in the near tomorrow… Let us explore together the future. A future not of dreams, but of reality. For much of what we are about to see is even now beyond the promise and well on it’s way to tomorrow’s world…”
- The General Motors Futurama ride narration.
The General Motor’s pavilion was one of the largest buildings at the fair. Approximately 4.000 tons of structural steel and 10,500 cubic yards of concrete went into it’s construction. The distinctive canopy that served as the pavilions entrance soared 10 stories over a reflecting pool, and was visible for miles. Housed within was the popular Futurama ride, which predicted moon bases and vacation hotels under the sea. It was a huge inspiration to thousands of kids who grew up to be scientists, engineers, and yours truly.
Many years later in the DS9 episode Homefront, VFX supervisor Gary Hutzel called Mike looking for a model of starfleet command yesterday. The GM pavilion came instantly to mind. To me, the soaring canopy reminded me of the billowing sail of a ship of the line. I showed it to Mike, and he handed it over to Anthony Fredrickson. Anthony slammed it together using an old levelor blind and spare parts. The train was made out of bird feeders and cassette racks. Considering he had no time, he did a marvy job, but it was not as elegant as I would have liked. Still a kick.
The GM pavilion was the definition of a highly stylized form of architecture known as ”Googie” -
“Googie Architecture was born of the post WWII car culture and thrived in the 1950s and 1960s. Bold angles, colorful signs, plate glass, sweeping cantilevered roofs.”
- Chris Jepsen, Googie Architecture Online
(Above) A Futurama pad befitting a starship captain.
The Futurama ride was a cornucopia of ultra modern googie futurism, animated to the max, including gigantic city scapes, moon bases, and underwater communities. In the early 60’s these companies had money to burn.
(Below) Another brilliant example of starfleet googie was the Bell Telephone pavilion, seen here beside the “Pool of Industry.” In the evening it was the site of a spectacular fireworks display.
(Above) The theme of the Bell Telephone pavilion was “From drumbeat to Telstar”.
The Bell pavilion consisted of an upper floating wing, with a multi media ride through the history of communications. The wing itself, which rested on four pylons that made it appear to float over the grounds, was 400 feet long and covered by fiberglass panels. Fairgoers ascended a ramp to a platform to reach the seats on the continuously moving 1,000 chair ride, that journeyed the the communication presentation.
(Above) The GE Carousel of Progress, which was moved to Disneyland in southern California at the close of the fair. A magnificent example of starfleet googie. Immediately to the right you can just make out the “starbase 11″ buildings. Next comes the awesome “Tower of Light”, which reflected sunlight off of hundreds of aluminum prisms. By night, the panels were lighted in pastel colors, creating one of the fair’s most striking visual effects. From the center shown the world’s brightest search light: a 12-billion-candlepower beam. 
(Below) A few years later, in an illustration I did for Margaret Clark at Pocket Books, I expanded Starbase 11. Evident are the Ford pavilion, Traveller’s Insurance , Johnson Wax, and New York State.
(Below) Forty some odd years later, the kid pays his respects to the Unisphere, recreating a moment out of time.
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“… The time traveler flies high above a glittering City of Tomorrow, and the Futurama journey comes to an end. “The present is but an instant between an infinite past and a hurrying future… Technology can point the way to a future of endless promise, but man must chart his course into tomorrow. A course that frees the mind and the spirit as it inproves the well-being of mankind.”
The General Motors Futurama ride narration.
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If this recollection stirred any interest in you, and I imagine that it did, you’ll want to pick up this teriffic book by Bill Cotter and Bill Young. It was the source of most of the descriptive text and images used when putting this article together. Published by Arcadia.
At Amazon for 14 bucks -
Special thanks to fellow NYWF Fair lover Margaret Clark at Pocket.
Thanks so much for this article. It was fascinating and informative. I love the pictures used.
Thanks for this post. Sometimes I would stop by the Unisphere before I would go and see a Mets Game. If anyone is in the area, they should go see it.
Wow! someone looks after his health, there aren’t too many 50 something year olds that can comfortably kneel in the same seza pose(japanese kneeling position) like an eleven year old, that’s a grimace of pain look … right? he,he. The article is as always first rate.
Went to the NY World’s Fair maybe three times with the family back in the day. Still got a bunch of Instamatic slides shot on Kodachrome somewhere in a box, including shots from those big towers at night. Out of all the experiences at the fair, I have to say that the GM Futurama made the biggest impression. And the Belgian waffles.
Okay, and the rocket park. For a knockout hilarious look at world’s fairs, search out a copy of Bruce McCall’s ZANY AFTERNOONS, where you will thrill to the 1936 Cairo World’s Fair, complete with the Museum of the Hat, the Pyramitrion, It’s a Corrugated World, the Digest-o-Rama, and the U.S. Highball exhibit.
The model city seen in the background of “The Cage” (and “The Menagerie”) (http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/menagerie/old_picknick.jpg) also shows influence, most prominently the Johnson Wax pavillion (seen at the right of the “GE and Tower of Light” photo.
Or at least the same design style.
I’m jealous of everyone who got to go to the 1964 World’s Fair, although I’ve enjoyed looking at it through Doug’s eyes. The nearest thing we have to that today is EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World.
who’s the old guy?
you’ve led a charmed life, Doug.
always love your stories. keep them coming.
Au
Great memories, keep going they make my day!
xoxo
Mitch B
PS Great album reference, too!
Thanks for this Doug!
Some really interesting and inspiring insights. Some parts of these structures are still standing, an eerie example of modern ruins. Have you ever seen photos from some of the buildings for Canada’s Expo ‘67? There were some great concepts there. Years later, the abandoned buildings were actually used as futuristic cities for the original BSG and then the 70’s version of Buck Rogers. Not “starfleet” but equally cool.
A fascinating look back at a time when people thought everything was possible. The NY World Fair buildings are still impressive today. Too bad Will Smith laid waste on the area.
I war born in Brooklyn and went to the NYWF when I was, like, 4 years old. I don’t remember much except the Sinclair dinosaurs and drinking about a gallon of root beer.
Although born 20 years too late and on the wrong continent, I find this era of seemingly boundless optimism very fascinating. And through Roddenberry, Jefferies and the rest that brought Star Trek to me, I still associate this kind of style with the Future.
Thanks for the photos.. I think I have to find that book.
I would have killed a man to go to the 1939 NY World’s Fair.
However, I have been to Disney World and Epcot many, many times. I think there are a lot of similar rides…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carousel_of_Progress
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_small_world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_New_York_World%27s_Fair#Disney_influence
Also, as a Saint Petersburg resident, I fondly recall a few local buildings being used in SeaQuest.
Thanks for sharing, Mr. Drexler.
The World’s Fair would be a wonderful thing to reinstate. What was the last one, Louisville ‘82? Where the Wigsphere is?
They’re still held, but no one seems to care anymore. My parents went to the one in Aichi, Japan, in 2005. They said it wasn’t worth the trip. Expo ‘70 in Osaka was probably the last one that attracted world-wide interest. AFter the early 70s, the future didn’t seem as bright.
doug, would it be possible for you to post a larger version of that tmp-de san francisco image?
Masao, after reading what you said, I took a look on Wiki. Seems there interest in attracting one for the next decade or so back to the US, & Expo 2010 is to be held in Shanghai; I’d love to see what the Chinese can come up with for it.
World’s fairs used to attract as much attention as Olympic Games. But now, unless you’re living near a venue, you barely hear about them.
Very cool photos! I miss the World’s Fairs…and the cutting edge/experimental architecture.
In Texas, we have the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio left over from HemisFair 68 (which opened the same month that Spock’s Brain debuted on NBC!) –
http://www.toweroftheamericas.com/gallery/tower1.html
Doug – wow! this is great. Such a flood of memories I didn’t know was stored away in this old brain. Of course I was dragged through this by the nuns in full regalia – but despite the chilling looks from the penguins, I remember feeling so positive about the future from all of this. Keep writing – I’ll check back often. And darling – you haven’t changed a bit in 30 years. You still look fabulous. XX Johanna
Wowsers! I never knew! Ya never know where yer day is gonna take ya sometimes. Explains a LOT. And your recreation of your own pic is time-less and prices-less. And the Unisphere is still there. Cool. Seems vaguely familiar. I wonder if we visited it when I was 12… my only time in NY.
As I was reading and looking at the pics at first, I was like, this remind me a lot of Tomorrowland at Disney World, and Epcot Center too. And sure enough, then comes the Disney story-points.
I would have loved to have been there as well, Lucky you dude, and to be able to be there as a (shorter) kid. Not that any age would not be great, but to be so influenced by it all at such an early age, even better. So cool.
So, those the motorpool designs make much more sense now, eh.
Thanks for trip back in time, and thanks for the Drex Files link back Rick.
PLL,
deg
That’s an awesome pic of the man too BTW, thanks for posting it. What a happy and kind face MJ has.
LLP,
deg
Gawd what a great post. If only the real future had turned out half as cool.
Thanks for the fabulous postage, Doug.
How awesome this would have been to attend! I wish this sort of optimism was still as prevalent today. I think that we’ve become so bogged down with our burdens that we tend to look downward more than we are looking up.
Great pictures, Doug!
Love this article. Would have been great to be there at the time.
They sort of did a spoof on it in Batman: Mask of Phantasm.
these are great images….
great stories…
i also just saw and “reconnected” the dots to your work with the venus project. I had read about them and reached out to them a few years ago– offered some VR technology and ability to show off the environments on the net.
They still should..and SL offers them such an easy way to do it today.
I also just volunteered some time to help a group in NY build a VR Worlds fair 1939 using the Open Sims servers based on SL.
cube3, Fascinated about the ‘39 Fair VR project. Please tell more!
The Venus Project is near and dear to my heart. What kind of response did you get from Jacque?
Doug
howdy.
I had reached out maybe 2003 or so– I never spoke to Jacque but to his wife?- assistant?. I saw all your videos and renderings..nice stuff… I love his vision- work product as a whole, probably like 70% of his designs aesthetically… But the same goes for my love of Frank Gehrys work too:)
I think i reached out too early- she /he really didn’t get what i was suggesting about virtual worlds- realtime 3d online, actual live communities of avatars.. etc..They got your renderings and movies, but i think I was a bit way out for them:)— but its ok…
everything evolves on its own time.maybe we can bring the “worlds” to life on day soon on the web… You have all the datasets, I know more than enough how to make it come together rather quickly…
As to the worlds fair group, its funny the first vr project we did in NY in 95 was the virtual coney island vr web project, so theres a history to vr worlds fair like places online…., this new one is just starting and may have some underwriting..– hopefully in a week or so ill have a “sim” set up on their server, and if you like we can meet up in vr space and ill walk you to it..they have a beginning of the spire and sphere up with some expo images and kiosks/flags built around it…
id love to see a 1939 and a 1964 worlds fair rebuild in these systems… i think it’ll be much easier over the next year to come as the online techs are converging…
if you ever want a tour of the vr worlds ive got up now– some in browser. some in Second Life, let me know… theres a number of places still up.-i took many down a few weeks ago- in Sl that are googie and scifi.: SKY CINEMA FLY IN THEATRE is still up:)
http://starbasec3.com/skycinemaworld.html the actual 3d location has changed though… a search in SL can find it:)
also if interested..this should work in any browser/ mac or pc…. try this link
http://www.cube3.com/sfpodz.html
its a first pass of a scfi movie poster/ gallery and expo space.
one day i gotta get back to queens:)
anyhow… virtual world’s need “reality”
hopefully talk more:)
cube3
Dear Doug,
The following is totally off topic, but is inspired by the photo of Matt Jeffries holding the D-7 model and I have no idea where else to put on the following…
When watching this photo something stirred in my memory…I delved into my own arcvhive and discovered something that for me, after all these years, came as a total surprise (and I think for many others too)…The original D-7 studio model was NOT a single coloured model but had a multi coloured scheme…As with the original Enterprise studiomodel the original D-7 studiomodel was far more detailed as we were led to believe.
Judging from the only two appearences on TOS, and in no small measure enhanced by the first release of the AMT-kit around the same time, I always believed the D-7 was outfitted in a mono-colourscheme much like the Miarecki restoration for the Smithonian (everybody else seemed to think so).
http://www.edmiarecki.com/starships/klingon-battlecrusier/
Sure enough when I stumbled upon this picture (the originalcrated model deliverd to Miarecki for restauration),
http://www.modelermagic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kg_star-trek_tos_d7_studio_model-001.jpg
my first thoughts were that the studiomodel suffered badly through abuse, wear and tear, damage, passing of time in general and whathaveyou…I did not connect the dots just then. This picture is however proof for the following
However organizing the fast amount of pictures of studiomodels on my harddrive (the amount of which has quadrupled since I’ve discovered your site, I’m being treated for repetetive stress syndrome on my right indexfinger, thank you for that by the way-LOL-), I came upon three old pictures of the D-7 studiomodel clearly indicating the multi-coloured scheme.
The pictures were salvaged from William S. McCullars Idicpage, by far the most pre-2000 eminent site concerning studiomodels (not only Star Trek). Since the demise of AOL his site has been unfortunately off the air (the last mention of his site was from a blog where someone managed to get a hold of his email and asked him if he would consider putting his site back-online…His response was that “he was weighing his options”…that was back then in 2007…Darn I wished he would put it back online, besides tremendous rare pictures, he had also some very interesting stories to tell about the models).
These 3 pictures show the in no uncertain way the multi-coloured scheme the original D-7 model was endowed with. And knowing this, if you look at the b/w picture of Matt Jeffries holding his model you discern that there are slight differences in the grey-tones of the model.
I cannot provide links to these photos, but I can email them to you if you’re interested (I think this would make a nice seperate entry in your blog), my email should be on file by now…
As an European I’m not versed in US copyright laws and “Fair Use”, maybe you can do something with that…But I think this is mighty interesting…
And come to think of it, maybe this colourscheme was applied to distinguish between the Romulan D-7’s and the Klingon ones…nice discussion topic
Hi Robert! Many years ago I wrote a Star Trek Poster Book article called “The Smithsonian Report”. It was about the Trek miniatures at NASM. They hauled out the Klingon model for me, and indeed it was multi-colored. I have some slides that I took back then, and I should dig them up and run them.
Hi Doug,
I’ve gotten a copy of that issue and it seems you’re in the possession of the only existing good quality off screen-pictures of the original model as used for filming, before restoration. The few pictures lurking about on the net are actually of the 2nd model, not used for filming.
I’ve came to realize, this must be very strange to you, this being one of the very first entanglements you had with “Star Trek” How do you look back on those day’s ???
Interesting stuff, in regard to the fact that I am building a KBC, John’s retro D7 (or D4). This info and pics come in handy, eh.
Thanks Robert!
LLP,
deg
And holy barrel of space-monkeys, the IDIC page is gone! Waaaaa……
I used that site extensively when gathering ref for my TOS.5 E. Waaaaaaaaa….
LLP,
deg
In my neverending quest fore foto’s of studiomodels, I stumbled upon the archived Idic-site here:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://members.aol.com/IDICPage/main.html
Not all foto’s are ther anymore but most of them are, glad to have it back though…
I knew this info would stir some heads (it did mine) and yeah the Idic-page is sorely missed
In that disasembled photo, it looks almost like a stealth fighter!
Now that I´ve mentioned it, I know Matt Jefferies designed th D-7, but who build the actual model, it wasn´t Richard Datin, his involvement with TOD pretty much ended when he was done building the K-7 model…
samuel t cogly would have had the idic site printed out as books..lol
lessons from the digital frontier.
cpt. dunzel..:)
Another tidbit about the original D-7 I’ve never known about, there were actually 2 of them…this is what I wrote about them in in the Star Trek Wiki:
“…Ironically, the model was not commissioned by the producers for the show who had to contend with severe budget cuts during the third season, but resulted firstly from the wish of kit producer AMT/Ertl to do a follow-up of their highly successful Enterprise model kit. Under their exclusivity agreement they would manufacture a master model for shooting purposes as they had done with the Galileo studio model. The ship’s design was perfected by the twenty-fourth sketch on 20 November 1967. The sketch was then sent to American Model Toy Corporation (AMT), and under personal supervision of Jefferies produced 2 “master tooling models” of which one was turned over to the Howard Anderson Company for final detailing and filming stock footage to be used in the show. In order to make maximum use of their new nifty model, the producers decided to use it wherever possible in the remainder of the third season of TOS and so the new model first appeared as a Romulan battle cruiser in “The Enterprise Incident”. The original model for the D7 was given (personally delivered by Dorothy Fontana) to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum along with the original model of the USS Enterprise. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 9, pages 69-70).
The original studio model was originally finished by the Howard Anderson Company in a multi-colored paint scheme (green, grey and steelblue), but that scheme was obscured by studio lighting conditions, resulting in what appeared to be a blue-gray overall color on screen. This impression was reinforced by the box art of the release of the D7 kit by AMT. When Ed Miarecki undertook a major renovation on the model in 1992, he repainted the model in a mono colored scheme in the normally perceived blue-gray.
The second “master tooling model” was handed over to the studio a short time later when AMT was done with it. It received the same finishing touch as the first model and was apart from a very slight detailing difference on the end of the warp engines indistinguishable from the first one (exactly 2 times the size of the AMT model kit). Although slated to be also used for filming it was never used as such and ended up in Gene Roddenberry’s office for awhile. Roddenberry gave the model away and it changed hands several times before finally auctioned off in a “Profiles in History”-auction in 2006…”
And here you can find the second one in full glory:
http://atomiccity.yuku.com/topic/528
Now if we include some pictures of of Greg Jein’s model of the reimagined D-7 of DS9 and some ortho’s from TOS-R we should have enough for a new blog-topic…
Great stuff, R.J.Minnes! Thanks!
Interesting, Ed apparently did the exact opposite with the D-7 that he did with the ENTERPRISE then, as far as painting it in regard to studio lighting effects diminishing the ultimate finish on film.
And hey, I have Atonic City’s 2011 EVA Pod kit, eh.
LLP,
deg
Hello Deg,
I’ve done some re-editing on the model-article in Memory-alpha:
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/D7_class
I think I have the full story on the model straight now and while you’re at it check out the follow-up in the studio model section
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/K%27t%27inga_class
There I did some heavy additions since the story of th D-7 and K’tinga studio models are very closely related…
Heya back R.J.Minnes!
And nice reads, thanks for taking the time to compile and post all the great data, eh.
I’m building (to go with: TOS.5.2 E) a “D4″, John Eaves’ unused design for ENT. Gotta love the big K-ships, eh.
KAHPLAH’,
deg
Sorry, blew coding the link…
This good: TOS.5.2 E
Hey Deg,
Did some browsing on your site…I’m with Doug on this one; Marvelous doesn’t even begin to describe it…Wow!!!!
Hey thanks, R.J.Minnes. I do my best, eh.
Glad you enjoy me stuff.
LLP,
deg
R.J. – Perhaps this weekend I should try to get those posted!
Wonderful, no pressure though, food on the table and quality time with the family is more important…