Top 20 Places No More – ’64 Worlds Fair and Freedomland
I am slowly working my way through a countdown of the most notable places gone from the past, here are number ten and eleven …
1964 – 1965 Worlds Fair
Yes it was organized by Robert Moses, was not officially sanctioned, didn’t make any money, and stole business from other area attractions, so it did have a few negatives; but that is not looking at the whole picture. It also gave Queens its most enduring symbol, the unisphere, It was the impetus for the building of Shea Stadium, the Van Wyck Expressway extension, and the Throgs Neck Bridge. Many buildings on the grounds remain from the fair and still used today. The fair gave a generation of New Yorkers and Americans memories that have lasted a lifetime, many area residents look back on it as one of the greatest moments of their childhood. I read them almost every time I post a photo of the fair at the facebook fan page, and you can see the expressions of wonder in the children in many of the old photos taken at the fair.
,,
Freedomland 1960-1964
It was billed as Disneyland in the Bronx, it was a large scale amusement park right in the metropolitan area. It had a real Chicago fire, a train ride around the park, and a sky-ride. But it didn’t last very long. The ownership seemed to be running out of money as fast as a Chicago fire could spread, and it started to show around the park. Without new attractions attendance dwindled. By the time 1964 came around the thought of competing against a worlds fair, just a few miles away, for two years, without money to build, the decision was easy to make, it was time to close down. A lot of fond memories remain of the place, and today it is the site of co-op city.
2/9/60 from gorillasdontblog who has a great collection of freedomland photos
mommy and daddy take my hand were going off to freedom land.
mitch
February 24, 2012 at 11:11 am
I remember that I was there in the early 60s.
Rocco
February 25, 2012 at 1:20 pm