“THE WORLD OF TOMORROW“ 1939 OPENING OF NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR (SILENT FILM) 89644

Silent film showing footage from the New York World’s Fair, the “World of Tomorrow“ in 1939-1940. The film shows President Franklin Roosevelt officially opening the Fair at (1:00). At (1:18) the Lagoon of Nations is shown, looking out over the World of Tomorrow. At (1:34), James Earle Fraser’s sculpture of Washington on the Constitution Mall. At (1:50), the statue “Speed“ symbolizing communications. At (2:14) some of the sixty foreign pavilions are shown including Japan (2:40) with whom the USA would soon be at war. At (2:58) the film shows the Lagoon of Nations nighttime water and light show. The 1939 World’s Fair opened on April 30, a date that coincided with the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration as President, which also took place in New York City. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit
Back to Top