World's Fare II

One of my favorite buildings at the Fair was the Schaefer Center, because, well, just look at it.

Besides its enormous circular bar, The Schaefer Center featured a restaurant that served rather run-of-the-mill cuisine (it's quite surprising how mundane the tastes of Fair goers seem today).

But to celebrate the opening of the Center, her employees were treated to a thank you dinner on May 16, 1939.  The menu from that occasion is preserved in the New York Public Library's collection.

All of the courses served were made, according to the menu, with Schaefer Beer as an ingredient.  Including the dessert, frozen beer pie.

Well, guess what?  The recipe for the pie is given in Crosby Gaige's Food at the Fair.  It was, according to Gaige, a contest-winning recipe submitted by an employee.  It is doubtful that it ever actually found its way onto the regular menu, though.  So of course I had to try it.  As part of a Fair-themed dinner party which I threw for myself for my birthday in February.

It wasn't bad.  It wasn't good, mind you, but it wasn't bad.  It tasted like a custard pie made out of, well, beer.  The recipe is below, should you care to give it a shot.  (Tomorrow we're making Canadian Cheese Soup with Schaefer Beer.)

Beer Frozen Chiffon Pie (Schaefer Center)

3 egg yolks                                       1 tablespoon gelatine
6 tablespoons sugar                           1/4 cup cold water
1 cup Schaefer Beer                          1 cup cream, whipped

Beat egg yolks, combine with sugar and beer; cook over hot water until thickened.

Soften gelatine in cold water; add to hot beer custard and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat; cool.

When beginning to thicken, beat until light; fold in whipped cream.

Pour into baked pie shell and chill until firm.

Cover top with additional whipped cream and sprinkle with crushed grape nuts.

Makes one 8-inch pie.

Philip Johnson's New York State Pavilion Open One Day Only

Okay, I know this isn't 1939, but I had to share it.

Last Tuesday, April 22 was the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the 1964 Fair. To mark the occasion, the New York State Pavilion was opened to the public for one day only, and only for a few hours.

So I played hooky from work, and we went and stood in line for hours just to be able to go inside for 15 minutes (turns out 15 minutes was more than enough time!) We got there at about 9:15 (for an 11 am opening), pleasantly surprised that there were fewer than 100 people ahead of us.

BUT...by the time we actually got to go inside (after enduring a really unconscionable delay of 45 minutes or so), there were "literally" thousands of people in line!

Though not too terribly high on the "WOW" factor, the view from inside is pretty cool; it's an angle you don't get to see everyday, obviously.

And I know the volunteers mean well, but, to be honest, I don't think the re-painting helps a whole lot. It certainly doesn't add anything; the somewhat garish new coats of paint are a jarring contrast to the rest of the dilapidated structure. The effect feels rather like someone's trying to disguise the fact that the whole thing is just one giant ruin.

Another nice surprise was that they had two fragments (and I do mean fragments) from the pavilion's mosaic floor, which depicted a giant map of New York. I think I read somewhere that what remains of the mosaic (or maybe it's terrazzo?) was removed (or covered over?) in order to preserve it so that it can be restored one day.

Long Island; Route 27 Leading into Montauk

By the way, yours truly was born two months and a day before the fair opened. But I didn't go to the fair; they left me home!

The Watershed's Moment

While in a few previous posts I have debunked myths surrounding things that allegedly appeared at The Fair but didn't (White Mana Diner and Pegasus), here's a bit of an oddity: something that was supposed to be at The Fair, but wasn't.

It's really REALLY low on the "WOW" factor scale, but the topographical model of New York City's watershed was created for display in the New York City Building; its 540 square feet, however, were too large for its allotted space, and the model wasn't seen by the public until a decade later. And then only once, at the City's Golden Anniversary Exposition at Manhattan's Grand Central Palace. (Interesting New York Times piece about the Grand Central Palace by David Dunlap here.)

After years of neglect, the map was restored, and is now on long-term loan to the Queens Museum. Since it was never seen at The Fair, it cannot rightly be called a Fair relic. But it is a genuine piece of Fair history, and it's fun to be able to see it in its intended location. And in its own way, it's an interesting precursor to the Museum's other "topographical" model--the New York City Panorama, created for the 1964-65 Fair (and much MUCH higher on the "WOW" factor scale).

Staten Island can be seen in the foreground left; Manhattan foreground center; 

and Brooklyn/Queens foreground right.

The New Queens Museum

Here's a general view of the interior of the newly renovated Queens Museum. Notice the "of Art" has been dropped from its name; this is due in large part to the recognition that the museum building and its collections have an historical relevance as well as an artistic one.

The City of New York IV: I Have Seen the Future

It was with a fair amount of trepidation that I walked from the Shea Stadium (as I will forever refer to it) subway stop on the 7 train through Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to see the recently renovated and re-opened Queens Museum, aka The New York City Building.

I needn’t have feared! As far as this Fair enthusiast is concerned, the New York City Building is better than ever!

Gone from the east façade (the “Fair” side of the building) is that hideous silver drum, that darkroom-type revolving door that hadn’t been used as an entrance for years, anyway. (Photo Here) The original open-air colonnade remains mostly enclosed, but the new unobtrusive and unobstructed wall of glass gives visitors and Fair buffs a much better idea of the structure’s original appearance. So much so that I don’t even mind the panels that have transformed the west façade into a fiber optic light show. The west façade, facing as it does Grand Central Parkway, was never really intended to be the main prospect, anyway; it’s a view many museum visitors still will not notice, unless they arrive by car. 

And what’s really kind of amazing is that while the interior has been expanded with what looks like an enormous barrel-vaulted ceiling, you get no hint of this standing on the ground outside; the roofline remains visibly unaltered, further preserving the original 1939 façade as much as possible. 

Kudos must go to Grimshaw (the architectural firm responsible for the renovation and re-design) partner-in-charge Mark Husser, who said recently in an interview with Architectural Record:

“Our goal for the design was to reinforce the mission of the museum within a historic building that has an architectural quality of its own.”

NY Public Library

Then there’s the uncovering of an original building feature, one that I found terribly TERRIBLY exciting (seriously—my heart skipped a beat!). Stopping briefly in the men’s room, I was immediately struck by what I was certain was an original design element: two sections of blue and orange wall tile. I could, of course, be mistaken, but it LOOKED old, and, as it was not carried throughout the entire room, gave the fragmentary impression of a remnant, rather than a new, conscious design decision. A quick stop at the NYPL’s Web site confirmed my hunch: the photographic evidence speaks for itself, I think. Of course, I shall have to confirm this in the interests of accuracy--Grimshaw Architects did not immediately return my phone call--but I feel fairly confident that my hunch is correct.

Next time we’ll take a look inside the museum…

More Fair Myths: Pegasus, the Flying Horse

At the Old Red Museum in Dallas there's a red neon "sign" that depicts Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek Mythology, and the mascot of Standard Oil Company. The neon Pegasus is believed by many to have been created for The Fair and displayed as part of the Petroleum Industries exhibit. Indeed, the museum itself claims the connection, based upon the recollection of a single individual. This fact was related to me by Kerry Adams, Curator and Exhibits Director at Old Red.

TripAdvisor

There's just one little problem: the Dallas Pegasus (or any other Pegasus for that matter) was never seen at The Fair. As with the White Mana diner in Jersey City, I really wanted to confirm the truth of the story. So back to the New York Public Library I went, this time to examine the Library's Fair files pertaining to the Petroleum Industries exhibit.

While I found no plans or photos of the interior of the Petroleum building, I did find the Petroleum Industries Exhibit Corporation contract. Language contained in that document offers rather conclusive proof that Pegasus never made it to The Fair:

The Exhibitor will advertise the businesses carried on by the Advertisers by conducting at the New York World's Fair, during the duration thereof, an exhibition of matters and things relating generally to the Petroleum Industry and its various phases and branches; for the purposes of such exhibition, the Exhibitor will erect a building on realty leased or to be leased by the Exhibitor within the area where the New York World's Fair is to be held.

The sole advertisement of the individual businesses of the Advertisers to be made at said exhibition shall be a list of the names of the advertisers displayed upon a plaque or plaques within or without said building, coupled with the statement that said exhibition has been made possible through their cooperation.

(Petroleum Industries Exhibit/New York World's Fair Exhibit Agreement, Exhibit "D"
Dated August 13, 1937)

In addition, the files contain this memo:

August 17, 1939
The Petroleum Industry in connection with their exhibit building at the Fair has a clause in their contract with the Fair that no advertisement or display of a petroleum company can be shown on Fair grounds.

Today the Petroleum Industry Exhibit Corporation has called to our attention that the Paragon Oil Company has a globe bearing their trade name on display in the Amusement Area in connection with the concession operating small gas-driven automobiles. I presume that this is in the "Drive-a-Drome".

In view of our contract, it will be necessary to have this identification sign eliminated. Will you kindly take care of this matter and advise me of your action so that I can in turn notify the Petroleum Industry Corporation.

Walter M. Langsdorf
Director, Department of Exhibits and Concessions
to Chairman, Amusement Control Committee

(H.M. Lammers responded on August 24, 1939 that the sign was removed.)

I contacted the museum for comment, but they did not answer my email.

World's Fare

Finally, here’s a piece from my own collection, a “souvenir” that isn’t really a souvenir at all, but a genuine Fair relic.

Chicago restaurateur Dario Toffenetti opened his first permanent New York establishment in the summer of 1940, after his Fair concession proved a big hit with the public.

By all accounts, Toffenetti was something of a showman, known for the lofty, florid language with which he described his food. Here he is on the lowly spud:

Toffenetti’s was “famous for ham and sweets.” I must confess it took me some time to realize “sweets” meant sweet potatoes. “Spaghetti a la Toffenetti” was also a popular dish, and in typical Toffenetti fashion, was touted as “an old historical recipe of Mrs. Toffenetti, procured from the Castle of Count Belvidere.” By 1948 the story had become a touch more elaborate: “The sauce is made from a treasured recipe of old, discovered by Mrs. Toffenetti among the ruins of the ancient castle of the Count of Bonpensier in Bologna.” Ahem.

Whatever its origins, Mrs. Toffenetti’s meat sauce recipe has survived. Here it is, verbatim, as given in Crosby Gaige’s Food at The Fair:

This recipe is for six people. Two packages of spaghetti, seven ounces each, are used.

First prepare the sauce. Take three ounces [6 tablespoons] of butter and melt in a saucepan over the fire. Chop one ounce of onion very fine, place in butter and fry until brown. Grind one pound of lean round steak and place in pan with butter and onion. Then add a whole can of (six ounces) Paoli Tomato Paste, twelve ounces of water, one level teaspoon of salt, and one pinch of pepper.

Stir the whole mixture and bring to the boiling point, then let it boil for exactly 25 minutes, stirring it from time to time. Then skim surplus fat and your sauce will be ready.

Take a pot with one and a half gallons of water, bring it to the boiling point, add one teaspoon salt, two boxes (seven ounces) unbroken spaghetti, and boil for 25 minutes.

Drain water from spaghetti and place spaghetti in large mixing bowl. Grate two ounces of genuine Parmesan cheese, and sprinkle over the spaghetti in layers. Take your sauce, pour spaghetti [sic], mix thoroughly and place on a large platter, sprinkling over a little more cheese and you are ready to serve.

So guess what I had for dinner last night? With one very minor exception, I followed the recipe for the sauce exactly, right down to the “boiling” time. The only thing I did not do “a la Toffenetti” was measure out one ounce of onion; because A, I didn’t feel like getting out my kitchen scale for such a small amount, and B, because I love onions and one OUNCE of onion isn’t nearly enough. So I just chopped up about a third of a large yellow onion. (Oh. And I also didn't use Paoli tomato paste, whatever that is; I used Trader Joe's organic. Oh. And I also didn't grind my own beef. Trader Joe's again.) I ignored the directions regarding the spaghetti itself (boil for 25 minutes?!), but did follow the bit about tossing it with some Parmesan before saucing it.

The result? Pretty darn tasty, I must say. I really expected that it would be bland, but was quite pleasantly surprised. It was meaty and rich and not overly tomato-y. I’ll definitely be making it again.

By the way, the menu pages above are from the awesome collection of the New York Public Library. They have quite a few from Fair eateries, and you can browse the collection online here.  Bon Appétit!