We’re returning to the 1964 World’s Fair this week for another look at the Unisphere. Here’s a great “documentary” about the Unisphere, produced by MPO Productions and sponsored by US Steel. The doc focuses mainly on the construction of the Unisphere, really amping up the unique properties of steel that made construction psosible (big surprise there)., but also highlighting the ingenuity of the people who built a huge open-air structure that nobody had tried before. Also, the narrator and music seem yanked straight out of a Futurama government documentary ripoff. That’s a compliment. And that set he’s standing in!
An interesting tidbit taken from the notes of this video:
“During the fair, dramatic lighting at night gave the effect of sunrise moving over the surface of the globe. Additionally, the capitals of nations were marked by uniquely designed lights that held four bulbs each. One of these lights is placed at the location of the Kahnawake Indian Reservation, which the Mohawk ironworkers requested to be placed there to honor their labor. When one would burn out, another would rotate in place so that the bulbs would not have to be changed during the two-year run of the Fair. None of these lighting effects are still in operation.”
So, that’s the Biggest World on Earth. Next week, we’ll take a look at a rival World, created at another Expo.
Sorry for the late post (and the no-post last week – I’m on vacation!)
-ds