Looking Back at the Future: Photographing Vintage Leftovers of New York's World’s Fairs: Book Talk

Event Highlights:

• See photographs taken here in New York and in cities across the country where preserved structures from the two Queens World's Fairs still stand
• Learn how both of New York's World's Fairs focused on the future and joy despite the critical times surrounding both events
• Hear Gloria's own recollections of visiting the 1964 fair as a young girl
• Discover stories of the July 4, 1940 bombing at the British Pavilion, those delicious Bel-Gem Brussels Waffles (the fair's most popular food), attractions like the Parachute Jump, and much more
• Find out what happened to iconic structures of the fairs such as the majestic Billy Rose Aquacade
• See how preserving World's Fair remnants can support sustainable urban planning and development, build heritage, create traditions, add quality to life, link the past to the present, and evolve communities into unique destinations that thrive and attract tourism

About this Event:

Looking Back at the Future, a book of photographs and text about the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs, commemorates the 85th anniversary of the 1939 New York World's Fair and the 60th anniversary of the 1964 New York World's Fair. New York City "master builder" and parks commissioner Robert Moses transformed an "ash dump" into fairgrounds for both, then developed a permanent public facility, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. 

Organizers considered these fairs to be financial failures, yet over 96 million visitors remember both as unforgettable triumphs. Their passion is seen as icons they have permanently installed on the facades of their homes, like the Trylon and Perisphere, symbols of the 1939 World's Fair that would be melted down to make bombs for World War II.

There will never be another fair like the one(s) we remember. The 60th and 85th anniversaries of the fairs are an opportunity to recognize the treasures that still exist. When 96 million people traveled to Queens to visit the future their lives were forever enriched.

Let the line between past and present be blurred. Take a walk through time to travel back to another place and time to discover the people who lived and worked there!

About Gloria R. Nash:

Gloria R. Nash is a native New Yorker who worked as a therapist and teacher before rekindling her childhood passions to photograph and write about midcentury collectibles and roadside architecture. Her interests began while growing up near the Howard Johnson's in Rego Park built for the 1939 World's Fair, as well as being a frequent visitor to the 1964 World's Fair. While living in California and Las Vegas for a few years, she wrote a newsletter, "For Here or To Go," reporting on vintage food and beverage advertising collectibles. Gloria's road trips photographing the vanishing American roadside show many structures that have since been demolished, inspiring an interest in preservation. During the pandemic, her travels were mostly local. A visit to Flushing Meadows Corona Park after an absence of fifty years inspired the book, Looking Back at the Future, to celebrate the 60th and 85th Anniversaries of the 1964-1965 and 1939-1940 New York World's Fairs in 2024.  Gloria is working on Part 2 of this pictorial series and a manual to build websites.

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