World Fairs Monuments
World fairs originated in the French tradition of national exhibitions that culminated with the French Industrial Exposition of 1844 held in Paris. This fair was followed by other national exhibitions in continental Europe and the United Kingdom.
Crystal Palace, London
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Eiffel Tower, Paris
One of the most famous landmarks in the world was, at the time of its construction for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, also the tallest building on earth, at 1,063 feet high. Before its opening, plans for the structure were met with scorn. Notable artists, including Guy de Maupassant and Paris Opera architect Charles Garnier even signed a letter in Le Temps that called it a "dizzyingly ridiculous tower dominating Paris." Still, Gustave Eiffel, an engineer by trade, persevered, and on the day of its opening he climbed the 1,710 stairs himself to unfurl the French flag at the summit.
The Palace of Fine Arts, Chicago
Golden Gate Bridge, San Fransisco
The Atomium, Brussels
Inspired by the dawn of the Atomic Age, engineer André Waterkeyn designed a structure for Expo ’58 based on an iron molecule enlarged 165 billion times: the Atomium. Each of the nine interconnected spheres is about 60 feet in diameter, and the highest rises to more than 300 feet. Today, the Atomium still houses an exhibition dedicated to the expo, in addition to other rotating installations and a restaurant with panoramic views on the eighth level.
The Space Needle, Seattle
The Unisphere, New York City
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City has hosted two World’s Fairs: one in 1939 and one in 1964. And those fairs boasted many impressive landmarks, including the 610-foot-tall Trylon spire and the “UFOs” of the New York State Pavilion. But the Unisphere is one of the most well-known—and longest-lasting. Designed by landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke, the steel sphere was, at the time, the largest globe ever constructed, rising 140 feet and weighing 900,000 pounds (including its base). Today, it’s still an icon of the city; try spotting it from your plane when landing at LaGuardia.
Biosphere, Montreal
Built by R. Buckminster Fuller for the 1967 World Fair, the Biosphere is located at Parc Jean-Drapeau, on Saint Helen's Island. Since 2007, the building has been an environmental museum, focusing on water, climate change, and sustainability.
The Sunsphere, Knoxville
Like a giant disco ball in the sky, the 266-foot-tall Sunsphere beckoned visitors to the World's Fair in 1982. It was constructed out of 360 panes of glass (about 14,000 square feet of glass overall—much less than London’s Crystal Palace a century earlier) and laminated with a gold-dust-filled vinyl, which gave the sphere its color. Today, the Sunsphere is a place for one of the cheapest dates in Knoxville—there's no charge to take the elevator to the observation deck. And, if the date goes well, the Sunsphere can also be rented out as a location for weddings.
Canada Place, Vancouver
Hanbit-Tap (Tower of Grand Light), South Korea
Standing more than 300 feet tall, South Korea's Hanbit Tower was designed to recall Cheomseongdae, an ancient Korean astronomical observatory, though what surrounds it is decidedly more modern. The site of the fair still operates as the Expo Science Park, which houses an IMAX dome theater, simulation rides, and a an electric energy pavilion. The observation deck in the Hanbit Tower gives a bird's-eye-view of all the park's attractions.
The Millennium Dome, London
The China Art Palace, Shanghai
Like other World's Fair structures, the iconic China pavilion of the 2010 Expo has taken on a second life as an art museum—a really, really big one. The China Art Palace has more than 160,000 square meters of exhibition space covering five floors. One of the Expo highlights, "Along the River During Qingming Festival," a digitally animated rendering of an ancient scroll, is still on exhibit within.
Expo202, Dubai
This article was previously published on UAE Moments.To see the original article, click here