United States Pavilion
The United States Pavilion was a pavilion at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, U.S. Themed to the "challenge to greatness", it was designed for the 1964 New York World's Fair by Leon Deller of the architectural firm Charles Luckman Associates. The building was a hollow square surrounding a garden court. Inside the building were two auditoriums, a dark ride–style attraction, several exhibit spaces, and a library. In addition, the pavilion had a hall of presidents during the 1965 season.
The United States Pavilion was first proposed in January 1960, but the United States Congress did not provide an appropriation for the project for two years. The U.S. government hired Luckman for the project in 1962, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy attended the building's groundbreaking ceremony on December 14, 1962. It opened on April 23, 1964, and operated for two seasons of six months each, attracting five million visitors during its first season alone. The structure became part of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in 1967, but it remained abandoned for several years due to a lack of upkeep. The building was extensively vandalized, and numerous attempts to renovate and restore the pavilion proved unsuccessful. The United States Department of Commerce proposed demolishing the building in 1974; following protracted disputes, it was ultimately razed in 1977. Arthur Ashe Stadium was built on the pavilion's site in 1996.
The structure was tall, standing upon four stilts, with a frontage of on each side. The structure had a translucent facade of multicolored plastic panels, and it was accessed by pyramidal staircases leading into the garden court. The exhibit spaces contained objects relating to American history and culture; they included the Challenge to Greatness, the Exhibit Hall of the Great Society, and two scientific-exhibit halls. The hall of presidents displayed artifacts from 13 U.S. presidents, while the library had study areas and numerous activities. The basement included a 600-seat theater that screened a short film, as well as a 200-seat multipurpose auditorium. Occupying the second floor was the American Journey ride, where visitors watched a short Cinerama film from slow-moving vehicles. Luckman's initial design for the pavilion was not well-received, but the final design and the exhibits themselves received positive reviews.
Development
, a former ash dump in the New York City borough of Queens, was used for the 1939/1940 New York World's Fair. At the conclusion of the fair, it was used as a park. The Flushing Meadows site was selected in 1959 for the 1964 New York World's Fair. Gilmore David Clarke and Michael Rapuano, designers of the original World's Fair layout, were retained to tailor the original 1939 park layout for the new fair. New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses was president of the World's Fair Corporation, which leased the park from the city until 1967, after the fair's completion.Early plans and funding
When the fair was announced, the New York state government had pledged not to request federal funds for the fair. As early as June 1960, United States Congress members from New York had proposed legislation to allow the U.S. government to host an exhibit at the fair. That December, Moses proposed constructing a science center at the fair, which would be maintained by the U.S. government and known as the Franklin National Center. This exhibit would have been located near the center of Flushing Meadow and would have cost. Wallace Harrison drew up plans for the structure, a hemispherical building with glass arcs and rectangular annexes around it. Another proposal, drawn up by the engineer Theodore J. Kauffeld based on a New Jersey teenager's idea, called for a sphere atop a series of piers. Had the Franklin National Center been built, it would have remained in the park as a permanent structure, but plans for the Franklin National Center were canceled in 1961. Even though the U.S. government had not committed to a pavilion, Moses wanted the federal government to construct a structure that "compel the respect and even the admiration of mankind".The United States House of Representatives passed a bill in mid-1961 to appropriate $300,000 for a U.S. government pavilion at the fair. Former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower expressed support for the appropriation. The United States Senate would have to pass the bill; U.S. Senator Frank J. Lausche of Ohio opposed the appropriation because he did not want to use any federal money to finance the 1964 fair. J. William Fulbright, who chaired the Foreign Relations Committee, refused to consider the appropriation. As a result, the bill died in committee in September 1961. The Standard-Star criticized the "know-it-all way" of Fulbright's decision, and the New York Herald Tribune called Lausche's and Fulbright's behavior "petty". Likewise, Moses thought there would be "irreparable damage" to the fair's reputation if the U.S. had no exhibit at the fair. At the time, the United States' geopolitical rival, the Soviet Union, was planning to host an exhibit there.
After the congressional appropriation failed, New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner asked U.S. President John F. Kennedy to endorse the U.S. government's involvement in the fair. Moses also encouraged Kennedy to appoint a presidential committee to develop a U.S. pavilion. After Moses and Kennedy talked about the fair, Kennedy pledged support for U.S. involvement in the fair in October 1961 but did not explicitly approve funding for a pavilion. Kennedy also agreed to establish a committee to discuss the U.S. government's involvement with the fair. No progress occurred for several months, and, at a speech in March 1962, Moses expressed concerns about delays in the U.S. Pavilion's development. Following Moses's speech, Kennedy requested that Congress provide $25 million for the pavilion. This included $10.1 million for the pavilion itself, $13.7 million for the exhibits, and $1.2 million for the pavilion's programs.
The House of Representatives voted in late March 1962 to provide $17 million for the pavilion. The Senate was then asked to consider the appropriation. Fulbright and Lausche indicated that they would approve it only if the New York City government reimbursed the federal government after the fair. That April, the Senate approved $15 million at the recommendation of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Discussions about how to resolve the discrepancy were delayed due to disagreements over who should lead the discussions. U.S. Senator Jacob Javits introduced an amendment to a foreign-aid bill in June 1962, allowing the U.S. government to provide financial support to the fair. The next month, the House and Senate agreed on a $17 million appropriation, and they agreed to hire a commissioner to oversee the pavilion's development. The Senate also voted to approve the revised appropriation. Around $3 million from the appropriation was allocated to the interior design. The appropriation did not include funding for the Space Park, which was also sponsored by the U.S. government.
Design
Kennedy appointed Norman K. Winston as the U.S. Pavilion's commissioner during the first week of August 1962, and Winston was sworn in to his position that week. The same month, Charles Luckman Associates was hired to design a pavilion for the fair, themed to the "challenge to greatness". U.S. Commerce Secretary Luther H. Hodges appointed an advisory committee to pick out the theme, which was inspired by a quote from congressional librarian Archibald MacLeish: "The American journey has not yet ended. America is never accomplished. America is always to build." The General Services Administration, United States Department of Commerce, and World's Fair Corporation all had to review Luckman's design.Luckman had already begun working on the plans before his firm was formally selected, and the U.S. government decided to use his designs due to time constraints. His initial plan, consisting of three spheres suspended from a central core, was criticized extensively. After the artist William Walton showed the designs to Kennedy, the president asked other architectural advisers to review Luckman's other proposals. Luckman drew up 28 alternate plans, which the U.S. government eventually whittled down to four finalist designs.
In October, the GSA hired Del E. Webb as the United States Pavilion's general contractor. The U.S. government decided not to select a contractor through competitive bidding because of the limited time available for construction. The original plans provided for contemporary American art galleries run by the Committee of Artists' Societies, though the committee had requested twice that floor area. U.S. Representative Benjamin Rosenthal also proposed adding a hall of human relations in accordance with the pavilion's "challenge to greatness" theme. The U.S. government tentatively approved an alternate plan for the United States Pavilion in November 1962, which called for a hollow square on stilts. The New York Times said that the revised design resembled "a rectangle on a squat pyramid". The planned contemporary art galleries were canceled after the building was redesigned, as the new designs would have provided only of art exhibition space, which the Committee of Artists' Societies felt was too small.
Construction
Kennedy attended the building's groundbreaking ceremony on December 14, 1962. At the ceremony, Kennedy described the pavilion as presenting "a picture of democracy—its opportunities, its problems, its inspiration and its freedoms". A final model for the United States Pavilion was displayed the next month. Concurrently, the U.S. government began developing exhibits for the fair, in conjunction with 200 educators from across the nation. Workers were constructing the pavilion's foundations by April 1963, and the first steel pier for the pavilion, weighing, was bolted into place that June. During the building's construction, civil rights groups claimed that the United States Pavilion was discriminating against African American construction workers, Federal authorities ultimately negotiated with the Union League of Greater New York to prevent the league from protesting outside the pavilion. In addition, one worker died during construction after falling off the second floor.The pavilion's steel superstructure topped out on August 23, 1963. The Cinerama Camera Corporation received a $2.25 million contract that month to design a film for the pavilion. Work was slightly delayed that October due to a labor strike involving many of the pavilion's concrete workers. Following a discussion with U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Herbert W. Klotz, Kennedy approved plans for a hall of presidents at the pavilion in November 1963, shortly before he was assassinated. The federal government hired George Nelson to design the hall of presidents, and a group of 75 historians created a list of 11 "great" and "near-great" presidents who should be featured in the hall. After Kennedy's death, his successor Lyndon B. Johnson added Kennedy to the hall of presidents. The U.S. government planned a 600-seat performing arts theater in the building, which was canceled in December 1963 because the congressional appropriation did not cover the theater's cost. Plans for a sculpture show at the pavilion, sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art, were also canceled.
The U.S. government unveiled a scale model of the pavilion in late 1963 and provided further details about the exhibits. By early 1964, the pavilion's estimated construction cost had increased to $10.5 million; this left only $4 million for exhibits and $2.5 million for operating costs. Accordingly, Klotz asked individuals and companies to donate money, artifacts, and decorations for the pavilion. The dramatist Jean Dalrymple was hired as the pavilion's performing-arts consultant. Two films were produced for the pavilion itself. As late as April 1964, the facade of the building was still surrounded by scaffolding, and workers were planting dogwood around the pavilion. To expedite the pavilion's construction, the federal government paid construction workers $100,000 in overtime.