On this date in 1965, New York City's third World's Fair came to an end, ultimately welcoming over 51 million visitors. While that sounds like a lot, it was well short of the organizers' original goal of 70 million. The now fondly remembered event ended up mostly as a U.S. consumer products showcase mixed with the occasional international exhibit. It wasn't even allowed to be an official World's Fair.
Despite the official theme being "Peace Through Understanding," dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe," the 1964/65 World's Fair ended up with an overwhelmingly corporate message, hosting pavilions for some of America's biggest conglomerates including Westinghouse, Kodak, General Motors, Ford, RCA, and Johnson Wax. There was even a Sinclair Gasoline gas station of the future. The Fair's iconic Unisphere sculpture was built by US Steel, a commission the industrial giant put on a pedestal for a 1964 promotional film.
