1939’s Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

Posted February 23rd, 2008 By: Jackie Steele

One thing you’ll learn about me as you read through this blog over the coming months is that I’m fascinated with the World’s Fairs that were held in New York in 1939 and 1964. Part of that fascination comes from the fact that EPCOT is essentially a permanent World’s Fair. But most impressive to me is the striking similarities between the 1939 Fair and what became EPCOT Center (and the rest of the Walt Disney World development, for that matter.

Most any Disney fan worth his or her salt knows the strong correlation between Disney and the 1964 fair; four major exhibts were put on by Disney and eventually found their way (in one form or another) to Disneyland and then on to Walt Disney World.

But the 1939 World’s Fair often gets neglected for it’s role. Although it was apparently a rather passive role, the similarities are just too rich to be ignored. Do a Google Image Search on “Perisphere” and you’ll see what I mean.

Take, for instance, a little blurb I noticed while flipping through my copy of The New York World’s Fair 1939-1940. (If you are lucky enough to have a copy, look for the page with the huge glass tube sticking out from a waterfall). The item mentioned an exhibit put on by a consortium of electricity providers. The hallmark of this exhibit was a two-scene show; one depicting life in 1892 prior to the electrification of the nation, and another depicting life as it was at the time of the fair — better living through electricity.

Now doesn’t that sound a bit familiar? Replace the 1939 exhibit’s live actors with a talented cast of Disney’s Audio-Animatronic figures and add in a few scenes, and you’ve got a show whose plot line sounds suspiciously similar to the 1964 World’s Fair blockbuster Progressland (Carousel of Progress). Both shows start “right around the turn of the century,” and wind up with a contemporary, fully-electrified world. Lest we forget that Carousel of Progress wasn’t that far-removed from the 1939 World’s Fair. Even before it found its way into 1964’s fair, preliminary plans were underway for a walk-through attraction at Disneyland’s never-built Edison Sqaure.

Take a gander at some of the websites and literature (search Alibris.com for the out-of-print stuff) about the 1939 World’s Fair and see how much of EPCOT and modern Disney you can find that takes root there. I’ll be posting more-detailed observations as we go along.

Filed under: 1939 WF, 1964 WF, Epcot, Uncategorized