{"id":160,"date":"2014-10-15T02:00:51","date_gmt":"2014-10-15T02:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=160"},"modified":"2014-12-21T04:20:33","modified_gmt":"2014-12-21T04:20:33","slug":"pittsburgh-at-the-new-york-worlds-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/10\/15\/pittsburgh-at-the-new-york-worlds-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh at the 1939-40 New York World\u2019s Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The <\/a>
The Lagoon of Nations and Court of Peace at the 1940 New York World’s Fair. (Handout\/Fair Publicity) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A photo illustration from The Pittsburgh Press showing one of several buildings announcing a prominent Pittsburgh presence. <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A photo illustration from The Pittsburgh Press showing one of several buildings announcing a prominent Pittsburgh presence. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The interior of the Pennsylvania Building. Its main feature is the 136-foot Unity Bridge, entirely suspended, which was a gift of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. (Handout\/Fair Publicity) <\/div> <\/div>
\"This <\/a>
This setup was featured in the Hall of Progress. (Handout\/Bogart Studio) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"May <\/a>
May 11, 1940: Opening day from the air. The Court of Peace is in the foreground, Constitution Mall in the center and thematic trylon and perisphere behind that. (ACME photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The center of significant innovation and dominant building industry, its presence was on prominent display across the grounds of the 1939-40 World\u2019s Fair in New York.<\/p>\n

This was still more than a year before World War II really fired up the region\u2019s steel mills.<\/p>\n

Among the most striking exhibits was the Pittsburgh House of Glass, a building that had its home in the Town of Tomorrow, an entire suburban block designed to showcase home features that architects believed would be part of the future.<\/p>\n

The house wasn\u2019t made entirely of glass. That would have made for a better joke about who should or shouldn\u2019t throw stones.<\/p>\n

See photos inside the house not found in the PG\u2019s archive.<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, its purpose, according to\u00a0architect Landefeld & Hatchl, was \u201cto suggest possible additions to the comfort of modern living, particularly those features made available through the use of glass products.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, \u201cfew persons or families may want to reproduce this house exactly as it is shown,\u201d they wrote, according to a fan site dedicated to preserving the World\u2019s Fair<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Beyond the House of Glass, there was the Pennsylvania Building, whose exterior was made to resemble Independence Hall. But it had a \u201cvigorous modern interior,\u201d according to the Fair\u2019s publicity team. It and other Fair buildings had substantial help from Pennsylvania builders and raw materials such as steel, aluminum and anthracite coal.<\/p>\n

Back then, anthracite could only be found in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

But symbols of the state\u2019s ingenuity? Crowds from around the world witnessed those.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In those years, Pittsburgh was flying high.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesPittsburgh at the 1939-40 New York World\u2019s Fair<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[948],"tags":[980,983,991],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/tumblr_ndg2y2znJk1rr5swxo2_1280-e1418791626347.jpg?fit=1276%2C761&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1878,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/04\/15\/pittsburgh-at-night\/","url_meta":{"origin":160,"position":0},"title":"Pittsburgh at Night","date":"April 15, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"By night, Pittsburgh has always been spectacular.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/tumblr_ml25ckGcNg1rr5swxo5_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2135,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/01\/17\/trolleys-on-fifth-avenue-in-oakland\/","url_meta":{"origin":160,"position":1},"title":"Trolleys on Fifth Avenue in Oakland","date":"January 17, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Streetcars figured prominently in Pittsburgh\u2019s history and carried many students to classes at the University of Pittsburgh.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/tumblr_mgq36sDIYQ1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C849&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2446,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/10\/05\/oct-1-1939-president-roosevelt-visits\/","url_meta":{"origin":160,"position":2},"title":"President Roosevelt visits Pittsburgh in 1939","date":"October 5, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Check out this fascinating YouTube video of FDR visiting Pittsburgh in 1940.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tumblr_mbe2pkjGMX1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C983&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":990,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/02\/05\/cardinal-wuerl-north-catholic-high-school-on-troy-hill\/","url_meta":{"origin":160,"position":3},"title":"Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School on Troy Hill","date":"February 5, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The Troy Hill building opened in 1939. Three years later an annex was added. A 1942 photo captured several dozen priests overseeing its dedication.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/tumblr_n0hytgXbpk1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":914,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/02\/26\/the-pittsburgh-public-theater-at-40\/","url_meta":{"origin":160,"position":4},"title":"The Pittsburgh Public\u00a0Theater at 40","date":"February 26, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Everything old is new again.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/tumblr_n1cz2y8dlZ1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1000%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2292,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/14\/gas-explosions-in-1927-on-pittsburghs-north-side\/","url_meta":{"origin":160,"position":5},"title":"Gas explosions in 1927 on Pittsburgh’s North Side","date":"November 14, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The tanks were never rebuilt. 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