Urban Futures at the New York World’s Fair of 1939

Visual records from the past are in a perpetual state of flux, creating new spaces for contemplating mnemonic processes that actively and passively contribute to (re)-understanding and (re)-shaping of history, thus generating new opportunities to (re)- access and (re)- engage with the past in audiovisual form. Using the New York World’s Fair of 1939 (NYWF39) as a case study, this paper will show how the video essay can help us to (re) contextualise and confront the many visible or surpassed, hidden forgotten, and/or manipulated traces of the period, and to reconstruct the fragmentary character of the Fair’s legacy and its impact on urban planning. Remembered as one of the most mesmerising events of the twentieth century, the NYWF marked a significant departure from traditional exhibitions of the past. In a time overshadowed by the Great Depression and the looming threat of World War II, it offered a compelling vision of the future where technology and science held the promise of a safer, more peaceful world, meticulously planned, much like the Fair itself. Through a comparative lens, this paper uses the audiovisual essay to explore how the construction of the Fair and its three most popular exhibits: Democracity, The City and the Futurama collectively represent a vision of a futurist utopian city. These narratives interweave seamlessly, showcasing the interplay of peripheral land utilization and the expertly orchestrated regional development efforts that moulded the modern American metropolis.