#WorldsFair64: Uniroyal’s Giant Tire Ferris Wheel Was a Hit in New York and Later, Detroit

This giant tire was born as a World’s Fair Ferris wheel and became a Motor City icon.

by Rich Watson 

Due to a dispute between the international sanctioning body in charge of world’s fairs and New York Fair Director Robert Moses, corporate sponsorship dominated the 1964 Fair. Lots of major businesses created pavilions for the event.

Among them included the U.S. Rubber Company, known today as Uniroyal. They took a creative approach into making something common to fairs everywhere: a Ferris wheel in the shape of a tire.

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#WorldsFair64: “Parable” and “To Be Alive!” Were Unconventional Films That Generated Buzz

Among the films screened at the World’s Fair include these two, which delighted and divided audiences.

by Rich Watson 

During the 1964 World’s Fair, the Protestant and Orthodox Pavilion played Parable, a short film. The Johnson Wax Pavilion showed To Be Alive!, another short.

These two films had different agendas, to say the least, and had different receptions. One bewildered audiences. The other won an Oscar.

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#WorldsFair64: The Taste of Belgian Waffles

This delicacy from an unfamiliar part of the world dazzled World’s Fair audiences.

by Rich Watson 

Belgian waffles didn’t debut at the 1964 World’s Fair, but it was where they were popularized. 

A wider variety of exhibiting nations came to the Fair than in previous years. As a result, dishes we take for granted today—falafel, tandoori chicken, hummus, and kimchi, among others—first made a splash with an American audience there. 

The biggest hit may have been this dessert from Brussels.

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