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The Director, Petr L Spurney, also worked on the
1974 Spokane World Exposition, the 1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train and the 1980
Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
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Featured Art work from:
Dali, Matisse, Raphael, Rouault.
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Nations Participating: Australia, Belgium, Canada,
Caribbean, China, Denmark, Egypt,
France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Liberia, Luxembourg, Peru, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States.
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Two main entrances: City Gate and the Bridge Gate.
The City Gate was over 50 feet tall.
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Another way of entering the Fair was by
Riverboat. Breakfast River Cruises were offered aboard the Natchez and Creole
Queen. The one hour trip included a light champagne breakfast accompanied by a
Dixieland Band. Price of the cruise was $15.
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Featured Performing Artists: Pete Fountain, Neville Brothers,
Lionel Hampton,
Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Clark, Wynton Marsalis, Al Hirt, George Burns, Red
Skelton,
Bob Hope, Johnny Cash, Linda Rondstadt, Willie Nelson, Donna Summer, Mack Davis,
Captain and Tenille, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Henry Mancini, Freddie
Hubbard Quintet, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Shelly West, David Frizzell, Dionne
Warwick, Mel Tillis,
Barbra Mandrell, George Benson, Larry Gatlin, Englebert Humperdink, Oakridge
Boys,
Tom Jones, Julio Englesias, The Osmond Brothers, Boston Pops, Vienna Boys Choir,
Itzhak Perlman, The London Philharmonic and Isaac Stern.
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The Mississippi Aerial River Transport (MART) was
a fancy name for "skyride". It
took passengers on 2,200 foot cable trips across the
Mississippi River. The trip lasted
4 minutes and cost $3.50.
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The ten car 146 passenger monorail, circled the
Exposition counterclockwise. It reached speeds of 10 miles per hour and took 12
minutes to complete the trip.
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Cajun Walk was a log fishing pier that resembled those found in the Louisiana swamps and bayous. It had a transparent roof and was part of Bayou Lagoon.
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The Chrysler Building featured the new H-body automobiles.
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The Conenergy Building featured an energy efficient house. It featured the latest computer controlled furnishings and you could design your own house with computer software.
Remember this is 1984.
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The Union Pacific System Pavilion featured locomotive No. 8444. It was made in 1944 and was the last steam locomotive acquired by the railroad. The locomotive was retired in 1959 and is used
occasionally for special occasions.
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The Giant Wheel was the tallest ferris wheel in America. It was 178 feet tall, had
40 gondolas and could hold 320 people.
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The Centennial Pavilion was created as a replica of a building from the Cotton Centennial Exposition which was held in New Orleans in 1884.
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The Petroleum Industries Pavilion featured a reproduction of an offshore oil rig. It was 20 stories high, had a stocked 50,000 gallon salt-water aquarium and provided a working demonstration of an actual drilling.
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The Source was a sculpture by Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne of France. It was a giant human head lying on it's side with water streaming from its eyes (resembling tears) into a pool below. It found a permanent home after the Fair in front of City Hall.
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Centennial Plaza also contained a working Antique Carousel that was built in 1904 by the Philadelphia
Toboggan Company.
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The Jazz and Gospel Tent provided 12 shows daily. It had 2 stages and featured such artists as the Neville Brothers and Deacon John.
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The Italian Village covered 60,000 square feet and was an exact replica of the Piazza San Filippo di Giacomo in Venice.
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Miller was the Official Beer of Expo 84. And it's Beer Garden was reminiscent of beer halls in Germany (go figure).
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The Skylab fun ride resembled a ferris wheel. It started in a horizontal position and rose vertically as the ride progressed.
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The Vatican Pavilion featured a scientific study of the Shroud of Turin and contained The Treasures of the Vatican, an exhibit covering 2 centuries of religious art. The exhibit was an additional $5 and included works by: Caravaggio, Dali, El Greco, Giotto, Matisse, Raphael and Rouault.
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The largest building at the Fair was The Great Hall. After the Expo it became the New Orleans Convention Center.
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The Christian Pavilion contained an exhibit last displayed at the 1884 Cotton Exposition. Among the items displayed were a Hebrew Scroll and approximately 200 bibles.
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The Church of Christ Pavilion had two sections, one for adults and one for children.
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The Louisiana State Pavilion featured a 14 minute boat ride exhibit
that covered the States unique features and cultures.
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The Ochsner Pavilion featured a 47 foot high walk-through model of a working heart.
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The Preservation Resource Center Pavilion featured a relocated 1835 Creole cottage ... complete with garden, brick stoop and picket fence.
It was one and a half stories tall, had two rooms plus an attic and was built by Jean Bozant. The exhibit was paid by 10,000 people who donated $25 each to have their names imprinted on bricks. The bricks paved the sidewalks of Fulton Street Mall.
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The City of Portland, Oregon Exhibit featured the locomotive SP 4449. This engine was used to power the American
Freedom Train during the US Bicentennial celebration in 1975-76. It arrived on June 2, 1984 and stayed for
only one week.
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The Great River Road Exhibit was housed in a
replica of a Mississippi River steamboat that floated on a water course in the
Great Hall. It housed displays by the 10 American States and 2 Canadian
Provinces that border the Mississippi River ... Louisiana, Mississippi,
Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Manitoba and Ontario.
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The Lipton Pavilion housed the 1912 delivery
truck of Sir Thompson Lipton.
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The Great Hall Water Course was a 300 by 100 foot
lagoon. It housed a parade of themed barges in a floating show that included
bolts of lightning and rain.
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The WDSU Telecommunications Center housed a
working television studio that broadcast live segments six times a day. They
also provided taped coverage and live-feeds for 75 stations across the US,
Canada and England during the duration of the Fair.
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The ATT International Calling Center featured a revolutionizing
long distance calling system ... telephone calling cards.
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The International Business Center played host to
24 individual trade shows and fairs.
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The Canadian Pavilion had an exhibit promoting
Expo 86 in Vancouver.
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The US Army Corps of Engineers displayed the
restored dredgeboat "Kennedy".
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The France Pavilion contained an animated scale
model of the Acheres water treatment plant in France.
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The Japan Pavilion had a display promoting Expo
85 in Tsukuba.
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The Republic of Korea Pavilion had a 1/3 scale
replica of the Geobugseon, the world's first ironclad naval vessel.
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The US Pavilion featured the world's first
Stereospace movie, Water the Source of Life. A 70mm 3-D presentation that spanned
21,000 production miles.
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Some of the sea-faring vessels that visited the
banks of New Orleans during the World's Fair included: tall ships,
paddlewheelers, steamships, showboats, hovercrafts, ocean liners, naval
cruisers, aircraft carriers, battleships, submarines and Coast Guard cutters.
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Sky Transpo was a 30 foot chairlift ride that
traveled along the International Riverfront.
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Mardi Gras parades were performed twice daily
with floats designed by Goddard Productions. They are best known for their Rose
Bowl parade floats.
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The Louisiana Folklife Festival featured 14
musical shows daily.
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All the amusement ride were operated by Six Flags
over Texas.
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Three paddleboats offered Mississippi River
Cruises: Natchez, Bayou Jean Lafitte and
The Creole Queen.
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The World's Fair hosted five International Water Symposia's
in the Great Hall. Each symposia was open to the public and had an admission
price of $250.
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The Fairs mascots were: a pelican, a crawfish and
an alligator.
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Three roaming mobile stages appeared
spontaneously throught the Fair to provide entertainment. Each musical show
lasted 10 minutes.
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Fireworks displays were held around 10:30 PM
nightly.
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The Fair sanctioned many sporting events
including a Major League Baseball Old-Timers game featuring: Brooks Robinson,
Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew and
Whitey Ford. The Game was played at the Superdome.
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The Italian Village had people dressed as
Pinocchio characters selling souvenirs and Uncle Gheppetto making toys from
wood. Pinocchio also had a birthday party ... every afternoon.
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The Official Short-Wave Radio Station: WRNO.
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The Official Soft Drink: Coca-Cola.
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The Official Airline: Delta.
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The Official Tea: Lipton.