The Future as Seen From The Past, Again

I drive by the old Flushing Meadows Park on the L.I.E. from time to time. That silver globe poking up from the skyline has beckoned me to do a little further research on the site. The World's Fair was a spotlight on things to come in the world of tomorrow (a creepy film shown by GM in the 1939 Fair, 2:18 is it's most sinister moment).Extravagant exhibits blanketed the former landfill and swamp once in 1939 and in '63-'64 respectively. Then, after all of that "looking toward the future" mumbo jumbo, the 196 participating companies, from GM, DuPont, the Masons, and Christian Science to Schaffer Beer and Chunky chocolate bars, ( you could spend all day with this interactive map ) were required to demolish their exhibits within 90 days of the closing of the Fair. The only structures still standing on the site today were paid for with taxpayer money and deemed too expensive to demolish. Because the structures were intended to be temporary, construction crews were forced to drive new metal pilings to replace the 11 or so wood pilings that had sunk into the soft toxic slurry, all of which probably sunk as well.
In the seventies, the New York State Pavillion has housed a roller rink, as well as concerts by the Grateful Dead and The Byrds. There are plans for the structure to be renovated into a new aeronautics and space musuem, but I'm sure they'll need to put in a few more pilings for good measure.

Yours Truly,
Vision