What's left of the World's Fair in New Orleans, 40 years later
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Aerial view shows Centennial plaza of the 1984 World's Fair here. Photo: Bettman via Getty
The 1984 World's Fair opened to the public 40 years ago this week in New Orleans.
Why it matters: The six-month fair was a financial flop, but it spurred the creation of what is now known as the Warehouse District.
The big picture: The World's Fair was envisioned as a way to attract tourists while also building a new convention center, writes Emilie Bahr for 64 Parishes.
- Fair officials wowed attendees with thrill rides, nightly fireworks, a beer garden and live music.
Yes, but: Only about half of the projected visitors came.
- The low attendance combined with other financial woes led fair officials to declare bankruptcy while it was still happening, the New York Times reported at the time.
- It was the last World's Fair to be held in the United States.
Driving the news: Most of the infrastructure from the fair is long gone, but a few things remain.
Gondola: Nesbit's Market has one of the original gondolas in front of its Warehouse District store, co-owner Nick Nesbit tells Axios New Orleans. He bought it about eight years ago on the West Bank.
- The fair had two giant towers that transported the gondolas up 300+ feet and then over the river.
- The system was called the Mississippi Aerial River Transit, and officials hoped to keep it open after the fair closed. But, ridership was low, and it was dismantled and sold off.
Convention Center: Part of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention center was built to be the exhibition hall of the fair.
- It had an indoor boat ride that went through the bayou and included a fake hurricane, according to a YouTube video of the tour.
- The boat ride is gone, but the convention center is still around and has expanded over the years.
Riverwalk: The International Riverfront housed pavilions from other countries and was later expanded and converted into the Riverwalk Outlets, writes Mike Scott for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
Sculpture: Lynda Benglis' "Wave of the World" sculpture was created for the fair and was lost for decades.
- It is now displayed in City Park.
Ferris wheel: The Ferris wheel, now called Colossus, is at Six Flags in St. Louis.
Monorail: The monorail went to Zoo Miami, where it operated until 2022.
Neptune and the gator: Mardi Gras float builder Blaine Kern created these figures to decorate the Bridge Gate entrance to the fair.
- Neptune, who is the Roman version of Poseidon, and the gator are on Tchoupitoulas Street welcoming visitors to Mardi Gras World, which Kern owns.
Between the lines: The controversial, bare-breasted mermaids were at the City Gate, the other entrance at Poydras Street.
- Mardi Gras float builder Joe Barth III built them with 4-foot-wide breasts and "nipples the size of dinner plates," according to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
Fun fact: New Orleans also hosted the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in 1884 in what is now Audubon Park. See what remains.
What's next: Learn more about the World's Fair at two exhibitions this year at the Louisiana State Archives and Louisiana's Old State Capitol.
Go deeper:
- Ride the monorail with this video from Atlanta journalists.
- More photos from the World's Fair via The Historic New Orleans Collection.
- The Friends of the Cabildo's World's Fair Symposium video.
- WDSU coverage of the fair at the time.
- 64 Parish's story about fair's financial and legal woes.
- NOLA.com | Times-Picayune's story about the fair's exhibits.