The Crystal Palace from the northeast from Dickinson's Comprehensive Pictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851, published 1854.
Credit Castellani, Italy (Rome), 1814–1927. Diadem, ca. 1860. Gold. 1 x 5 1/2 x 4 3/8 in. (2.5 x 14 x 11 cm) / Private Collection.
Similar designs of this diadem were shown at the London International Exhibition of 1862.
Credit Fukagawa Yeizaemon, Japanese, 1833–1889. Vase, ca. 1875. Glazed and enameled porcelain. 30 x 13 in. (76.3 x 32.9 cm). / Philadelphia Museum of Art: The General Hector Tyndale Memorial Collection, 1897, 1897-352a.
Japanese vase shown at the Centennial International Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876.
Credit John La Farge, American, 1831–1910. Lunette, ca. 1880–82. Stained glass. Framed: 34 3/4 x 68 7/8 x 2 in. (88.3 x 174.9 x 5.1 cm). / The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mrs. Otto Heinigke, 1916, 16.153.1.
This lunette was shown at the Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1889.
Credit Louis Majorelle, French, 1859–1926. Cabinet, ca. 1900. Kingwood, mahogany, amaranth with various woods, gilded bronze, and replacement textile. 71 5/8 x 23 1/4 x 18 1/8 in. (181.9 x 59.1 x 46 cm). / Indianapolis Museum of Art, Purchased in memory of Josephine Cowgill Jameson (Mrs. Booth Tarkington Jameson) by the Alliance of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Josephine Cowgill Jameson Fund, 1991.42.
A model of this cabinet was shown at the Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1900.
Moving sidewalk, Pont des Invalides. Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1900. Courtesy of Brown University Library.
Credit Raymond Ruys, designer, Belgian, 1885–1956. Delheid Frères, manufacturer, Belgium (Brussels), 1828–1981. Zaire Centerpiece Bowl, 1930. Silver. 5 1/4 x 10 3/4 in. (13.3 x 27.3 cm) / The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Purchase: the Charlotte and Perry Faeth Fund, 2002.4.
Zaire Centerpiece bowl, shown at the Exposition Internationale Coloniale, Maritime et d'Art Flamand, Antwerp, 1930.
Credit Gilbert Rohde, American, 1894–1944. Herman Miller Clock Company, United States (Zeeland, MI), 1927–1937. Z-Clock, 1933. Glass, enamel and chromium-plated steel. 11 3/4 x 12 x 3 in. (29.9 x 30.5 x 7.6 cm). / Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous gift, 2006.19.
A model of this Z-Clock was shown at A Century of Progress International Exposition, 1933.
Credit Westinghouse Manufacturing and Electric Company, United States (Pittsburgh, PA), 1886–present. Radio Broadcasting Panel, 1933. Micarta with aluminum, steel and wood. 49 1/2 x 97 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. (125.7 x 247.7 x 3.2 cm). / The Wolfsonian-Flordia International University, Miami Beach, Flordia, The Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection, XX1989.190a-c.
Radio broadcasting panel shown at A Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, 1933.
Credit PLCjr on Flickr.com / Wikipedia Commons
View of the 1964 New York World's Fair from the observation towers of the New York State Pavilion; the Unisphere is in the center, Shea Stadium background left.
Credit Eberhard von Nellenburg / Wikipedia Commons
Habitat 67, a housing complex designed by architect Moshe Safdie, built for Expo 67 in Montreal.
With a limited budget and 81 days, Generator Studio constructed an interactive space in conjunction with Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs 1851–1939 on the grounds of The Nelson.
London's Serpentine Gallery commissions temporary pavilions from internationally acclaimed architects. This pavilion, designed by Frank Gehry, was built in 2008.
Unveiled at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, the UK Pavilion, designed by Thomas Heatherwick, is six stories tall and features 60,000 translucent rods that channel sunlight into the interior of the pavilion.
This design, the Nimbus Project, was submitted to a competition in New York City in which designers were asked to create buildings with as little environmental impact as possible.
From the Ferris wheel to the ice cream cone, some pretty influential things have been unveiled at World's Fairs. For Kansas City, even an upcoming exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art featuring World's Fair fare is getting some local designers and architects excited.
