25th Anniversary of the 1982 Worlds Fair

I didn’t keep up this blog to celebrate last year’s 25th Anniversary like I wanted, so at least let me with all those associated with, and visitors to, the 1982 World’s Fair a happy 26th Anniversary!

MAY 2

One of my best friends was named Tim. He was a year older than me and, lucky dog, was able to get a job working at the fair and be there all the time. When you first walked in the Henley Street entrance, two smells assaulted your senses (don’t worry, they were good). The first was the Buddys Bar-b-cue kiosk, which was a new dining experience to many non-East Tennessee’ers. The other was the Fresh Fruit Works sponsored by Big Brothers Association and I believe Krogers.

Tim’s mom was divorced when he was small, so he’d had a Big Brother named Allen for many years. Through that association, Tim was able to work in the fruit stand. I recall many, many times opening my day at the fair at that stand. Nice, cold fruit - perfect for a hot summer’s day.

Just above the two stands was a giant neon mural - if anyone has a better photo I’d love to place it. You can see part of it in the photo below, along with my 14-yr-old self and my younger brother:

The little brother gets married in less than a month. Finally

MAY 1

The best summer of my life started this day in 1982.

Thank you, everyone who participated in the 1982 World’s Fair, for a lifetime of memories.

MAY 1: I was one of the scads of high school marching band kids in the great mass band that played in front of President Reagan and all the dignitaries.  I stood fairly close to him in my formation.  All I remember specifically is being amazed that the temperature was in the 70’s!!!!   In May!!!!   Now the 80’s are not uncommon in April.   So much for energy conservation.

My parents bought us season passes and I still have mine.  In total I believe I visited about 45 times over the course of the summer of ‘82, the summer between my sophomore and junior years at Central High School.   I’d wanted to find a job there, but was just barely too young.   Teri, the mom of one of my friends, worked in one of the offices and tried to find me something but 14 didn’t make the cut.

I’m sure I stayed all day that first day.  The first day of many, many to come exploring such things a 14-yr-old could only dream of.

Tomorrow is May 1, twenty-five years to the day that the 1982 World’s Fair opened.

What’s Knoxville doing on May 1 to commemorate it?

Nothing. Well, except apparently a news conference on Tuesday to announce what they’re going to do.

The Knoxville News Sentinel and several of the local television stations have taken up some of the slack, however. On Sunday, the Sentinel published a special insert retrospective, with lots of detailed referenced material on their website. There’s not much on the TV station websites, though I’ve seen some things on the channels themselves. WBIR in particular will be running several special reports during the week, including Live at Five broadcasting from the Fair site Tuesday.

Hey! Petro’s is running a nice promotion, 2 “special sized” Petros for $2.00 in honor of the World’s Fair 25th Anniversary. As you can read here, Petro’s were first introduced at the Fair - in the little Fritos bags, filled with chili and cheese and other stuff. Good on ya, Petro’s!

I’m just happy for all the memories. What I’d like to do is try and post as many of my own personal recollections on this site during the next 6 months, as well as mention several events that occurred during the run. Any other stories anyone would like to submit would be welcome..

Southern Graces to reopen Sunsphere (Knoxville News Sentinel, 04/13/07)

Southern Graces Catering & Events of Knoxville has signed a sublease for two floors within the Sunsphere, developers Brian Conley of Knoxville-based Cardinal Enterprises and Jon Kinsey of Chattanooga-based Kinsey Probasco Hays announced today.

Southern Graces plans to launch its Sunsphere operation in September. The “Café Floor” will be open to the public and serve lunch and snacks and provide bar service in the evening, Southern Graces president Bob Sukenik said in a statement.

The “Event Floor” will provide catering services for a variety of business and social events.

This is great news for Knoxville, as its most recognizable landmark will finally become functional again.  I can’t wait for my kids to be able to travel up into it and take a look out like I did, 25 years ago.

Also in today’s News Sentinel, columnist Sam Venable relates a story someone sent him about some long-ago World’s Fair souvenirs:

Because next month marks the silver anniversary of the 1982 World’s Fair, the following message from Bill Waldrop of Tellico Village is quite timely: 

“I have in my wine cellar (aka basement garage) a six-pack of World’s Fair beer I’ve been saving for a special occasion. Do you think it is significant that the cans have swollen into a profile shaped like Phil Fulmer?” 

This is funny because I think my dad still has a couple of 6-packs of World’s Fair beer stored in our basement.  I think we should take it out and open it on May 1st, and see what’s become of it.

Ick.

I am glad, however, than another media person recognizes the 25th Anniversary of the World’s Fair opening is less than 18 days away.

WATE-TV and Gene Patterson seem to be aware of the pending anniversary:

In just a few weeks, Knoxville will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the start of the Knoxville International Energy Exposition. You may remember it as the 1982 World’s Fair.

…

I’m interested in your stories about the Fair. I may use them in some upcoming stories on the anniversary. Think about it.. Write in…

It’s interesting he mentions that Knoxville will soon be celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the World’s Fair. Does he mean the City of Knoxville has something planned? Or Knoxvillians in general, and by extension the media, will be the ones actually doing the commemorating?

A quick scan of the Knoxville City Government website doesn’t mention any kind of celebration or commemoration pending, and the events calendar lists nothing for May 1st except an unrelated event on Market Square and a golf tournament….

Yesterday was April 1, 2007.

In one month it will be May 1, the 25th Anniversary of the grand opening of the 1982 World’s Fair here in Knoxville, TN.

What is Knoxville planning to commemorate this silver anniversary of arguably the biggest, most important event to happen to this city?

As far as I can tell, nothing.

If anyone has heard of anything - anything at all - being done to honor or remember this date and occasion, please let me know and I’ll publicize it here.

Otherwise I guess we’ll all just have to celebrate quietly at home with friends….

Former US Rep. Kenneth Gray of Illinois bought the World’s Fair Energy Express train years ago and is now selling it on Ebay:

After the Knoxville International Energy Exhibition closed, Gray spent more than $150,000 on the Chinese, Egyptian and Philippines pavilions, the Federal Express theater, the front gate and the fair’s $375,000 train, the Energy Express.

..

But Gray, now 82, recently suffered a stroke. Now he can’t see himself driving the train to town for any more holiday displays. So he is selling it.

Interestingly, Rep. Gray left a comment on a recent post offering to sell me the train at what he says was his cost of $50,100:

I was there in 1982 at the World’s Fair and was do enthralledwith the World’s Fair Energy Express Train that I bought it at the end of the Fair along with some of the buildings.
I have had the train stored for all of these years with the exception of loaning it to our park during Christmas for the light expo.
I bought the train for $50,100.00 and will be wiilling to sell it back to you at no profit. if you are interested, call me at…

There is a phone number after that point, but I never called it - nor is there an email address attached the the name so I have no way of knowing if this was really him or not. But since it was commented weeks before this article, I have no reason to think anyone would hoax it or even know about it.

Well, if someone buys it for close to the asking price of $200,000 on Ebay, I’ll kick myself for passing up a $149,900 profit…

On another note, it says he also bought the Federal Express Pavilion at the same time he bought the train. I’d love to set that baby up in my back yard.

I wonder if it still has the movie(s) that ran in it? I must have watched those shows 100 times during the run of the fair - it was far and away my favorite pavilion during the fair. The music and images were memorable - I still remember some of the words to the songs, and for 1982 the laser shows (inside and outside) were spectacular. What I wouldn’t give to have a copy of that show on DVD….

*sigh*

I’m preparing to post a number of photos we took during the World’s Fair. Click on the thumbnails for larger versions.

As always, if you were there sometime during the 6-month run in 1982, please post a memory in comments.

Saudi Arabian pavilion - if we knew then what we knew now…

Some awnings I believe near the Panamanian pavilion. Panama was the last nation to join, actually not arriving and opening their pavilion until after the Fair opened.

View of Tennessee Amphitheater from the skybuckets

The West German pavilion, or the pavilion of the Federal Republic of Germany. Interesting from an anachronistic point of view, but in reality one of the weakest of all the World’s Fair pavilions in terms of quality of show. No real artifacts or cultural presentations to speak of, but lots of boasting about energy progress.

The Mexican Pavilion

The outside of the French Pavilion. On the whole, the pavilions from what they then called the EU (European Union) were fairly boring. Even for a techno geek like my 15-yr-old self, there was only so much an electronic diagram of energy consumption in the outlying surburbs of Nice could hold my attention…

This is our family friend Sheila in front of the US Pavilion. Behind the photographer is the fruit stand where her son Tim worked, that was sponsored by Kroger foods and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

My brother and I outside the Kroger Fruit Stand. This stand sold fresh, cool fruit that was a Godsend on hot summer days and my traditional first stop when arriving at the fair in of my 42 trips. It was located on the deck just beneath the Sunsphere and inside the Henley Street Gate. There was an intricate neon mural on the wall above the Fruit Stand that stayed up and lit for a while after the Fair was over. I miss it.

I’ll leave it to you to guess which one is me and which is my brother.

The Elm Tree Theatre was nestled between some of the European pavilions, near the site of where today stands the Knoxville Museum of Art. The Elm Tree had stood for many, many years in that spot and rather than chop it down to build the Fair, they built around it and made it into a cool outdoor theatre. One of the many innovative approaches the designers made. Notice the Buddy’s BBQ stand in the back - you can imagine what it smelled like sitting there watching a show…

I saw Jimmie “J.J.” Walker perform there one night where he made his famous “Falkland Islands” joke. Ask me.

View from the top of the Elm Tree Theatre. Mmmm…smell that barbecue!

Ah, the famous Australian windmills. The Aussies had one of the coolest pavilions at the Fair and there was even a “back door” pub serving Aussie beer. The specific memories have faded about what was inside - what I wouldn’t give to go back and walk through it all again…

One of my favorite shots. The Sunsphere framed by a giant hanging American flag from the US Pavilion. Just gorgeous.

A generic catch-all pavilion for the European Union. I’m not sure what this person is doing in front - probably the traditional, “Oops!” duck when someone walks in front of a camera taking a photo.

Walking outside the (then) newly renovated and restored Candy Factory. One of the several restoration projects on old buildings at the Fair site, the Candy Factory still remains. It’s getting ready to be re-re-renovated into condos now.

Funny, this view’s not much different than it is today. Except for the giant mutant lollipops, of course.

The 1982 World’s Fair meant Knoxville, and Knoxville means cloggers. Can’t have one without the other, so here they are on the Court of Flags - the central performance space of the Fair. This area hung around for several years after the Fair, before it was finally torn up and rebuilt into…well, nothing really.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Creator’s plan may save Tennessee Amphitheater without breaking bank (Knoxville News Sentinel - 12/14/06)

In between the all-or-nothing options presented to Knoxville City Council last month, a more affordable fix now is being considered for the aging Tennessee Amphitheater at World’s Fair Park.

With some free assistance from local architect Doug McCarty, who designed the one-of-kind tent structure in 1980, city officials say the replacement of its rusting steel trusses could be enough to resurrect the site as a viable performance venue.

Council members reviewed four options at a November workshop, ranging from the most expensive option, a $3.4 million full renovation, to complete demolition for about $655,000.

…

The latest idea is to replace the four flawed trusses that support the main tent, along with a few smaller improvements to meet building codes, which could cost about $850,000, said Jeff Galyon, senior project manager for the Public Building Authority, which manages the site.

I think this is a great idea. If you’re going to spend a minimum of $655,000 to demolish the structure anyway, why not tack on the extra $200,000 and fix the part of the amphitheater that actually needs fixing?

It’s a shame almost a whole generation of people in Knoxville have never seen a show at theTennessee Amphitheater. I’ve actually performed there a few times, mostly when I was still at UT. It’s really a fun venue, although it can get a little dicey when storms start coming through (been there).

I once posted about watching Red Skelton perform there back during the World’s Fair - just today Brad Zinn, the Skelton impressionist that inspired that post, commented with some interesting information about Red Skelton. If you’re a Skelton fan, go back and read the post and read his comment.

Here are some shots we took of the Amphitheater during the Fair:

A performance at the Amphitheater during the Fair - either Up With People! or “Sing Tennessee” (the signature show)

The Tennessee Amphitheater flanked by the U.S. Pavilion. Note the skylifts that traveled from one end of the park to the other.