Saturday, February 9, 2013

Colorful postcard from 1964-1965 New York World's Fair


This postcard is from the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair and pairs nicely with my May 2012 post about the AMF monorail at that fair. The caption on the back of this Dexter Press postcard states:

NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1964-1965
"Peace through Understanding"
Left Side: Unisphere® from the Promenade of the Court of Nations; Top Right: Chrysler Corporation's Giant "Autofare"; Bottom Right: Coca-Cola Pavilion.

The Unisphere still resides within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens.1 The carillon from the Coca-Cola Pavilion was moved to Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, Georgia.

The reverse side of the postcard isn't terribly interesting. It was mailed to a family in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, in September 1964.2 The brief cursive note states: "Hi. Having the most wonderful time. Home soon. Love Elsie & Shrum family." The postmark and the cancellation mark are both specific to the World's Fair. The 5¢ stamp features George Washington.


Finally, I wonder if the woman featured prominently on the front of the postcard ever knew that she was famous?


Footnotes
1. The park was originally built in preparation for the 1939-1940 World's Fair. It was constructed at the site of the ash-, manure- and garbage-filled Corona Ash Dumps, which inspired (if that's the correct word) the "valley of ashes" in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."
2. Note for Phillies fans: This card was postmarked exactly two weeks before Chico Ruiz stole home.

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