1939 New York World's Fair

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Grand opening

On April 30, 1939, a very hot Sunday, the fair had its grand opening, with 206,000 people in attendance. The April 30 date coincided with the 150th anniversary of George Washington's inauguration, in Lower Manhattan, as the first President of the United States. Although many of the pavilions and other facilities were not quite ready for this opening, it was put on with pomp and great celebration.

David Sarnoff, then president of RCA and a strong advocate of television, chose to introduce television to the mass public at the RCA pavilion. As a reflection of the wide range of technological innovation on parade at the fair, Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech was not only broadcast over the various radio networks but also was televised along with other parts of the opening ceremony and other events at the fair. On April 30, 1939, the opening ceremony and President Roosevelt's speech were seen on black and white television sets with 5 to 12-inch tubes. NBC used the event to inaugurate regularly scheduled television broadcasts in New York City over their station W2XBS (now WNBC). An estimated 1,000 people viewed the Roosevelt telecast on about 200 television sets scattered throughout the New York metropolitan area.

In order to convince skeptical visitors that the television sets were not a trick, one set was made with a transparent case so that the internal components could be seen. As part of the exhibit at the RCA pavilion, visitors could see themselves on television. There were also television demonstrations at the General Electric and Westinghouse pavilions. During this formal introduction at the fair, television sets became available for public purchase at various stores in the New York City area.

After Albert Einstein gave a speech that discussed cosmic rays, the fair's lights were ceremonially lit. Dignitaries received a special Opening Day Program which contained their names written in Braille.

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New York World's Fair Opened (1939)
6,764 views Apr 13, 2014

British Pathé
2.71M subscribers

Full titles read: "NEW YORK'S WORLD'S FAIR OPENED"



Aerial shot for the World's Fair complex. L/S's of the President of the United States of America Franklin Delano Roosevelt arriving in an open topped car. M/S of Roosevelt giving a speech to declare the Fair open. Several shots of the fantastic sights a the fair including a large statue of George Washington and many spectacular fountain. Good aerial shots of the building illuminated in the night sky.
FILM ID:1011.01

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1939 NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR NEWSREEL "WORLD OF TOMORROW" 72342
78,229 views May 12, 2015

PeriscopeFilm
447K subscribers

Support Our Channel : https://www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm

This newsreel of the 1939 New York's World's Fair shows some of the highlights of the fair, including the pavilions of various states and nations, the General Electric Pavilion, the Amusement Area (the Life Saver Parachute Jump later relocated to Coney Island, is at the 5:15 mark), the Savoy stage show, and the automotive pavilions including those of Ford and General Motors -- known as the Futurama. There are also displays of modern and historic railroad locomotives as part of the "Railroads on Parade" stage show.

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1939 NY World's Fair - People
58,587 views Aug 24, 2007

JDProductions2
1.36K subscribers

Amateur color footage of people at the World's Fair.

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Music: "All The Things You Are" by Artie Shaw & His Orchestra

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Twilight Zone Part 3
158,144 views Jun 10, 2008

Raptoreagletube
317 subscribers

Original Serie's
Show
Twilight Zone : The Odyssey of Flight 33