CHRYSLER CORPORATION Press Information Services Detroit 31, Michigan 883-4500 (Area Code 313)   For Use In Newspapers Of Sunday, January 19, 1964 DETROIT, January 19 -- Five bridge-connected islands in a large, artificial lake covering a unique oval-shaped site will highlight Chrysler Corporation's 1964-1965 New York World's Fair exhibition. First official details of Chrysler's World Fair plans were announced today by John D. Leary, Chrysler Corporation vice president - administration. Chrysler's exhibits, Leary said, will cover six acres -- more than 250,000 square feet, and will be located in the Transportation Section of the Fair. Each of the five islands will be symbolic of a major facet of the company's activities. visitors will have easy access to the islands and exhibits by means of causeways and bridges. "Our exhibition," Leary said, "will provide an exciting setting for entertainment and information -- a dual objective synonymous with any successful world's fair exhibition." "Millions of visitors will have an opportunity to better understand what Chrysler Corporation is doing in the automotive world, the aerospace field, and other industrial areas. The exhibition has been planned to interest members of the entire family -- from youngster to grandparent," Leary said.     (more)

-2- Chrysler Corporation's exhibition will be a departure from traditional one-building world's fair formats. The displays will be spread out over a number of indoor and outdoor facilities. Leary said fair visitors will be able to walk through and around the exhibits, thus selecting their own route and pace. Displays will be self-explanatory and visual. In reviewing some of the highlights of Chrysler's World's Fair project, Leary pointed out that the company's corporate symbol -- the Pentastar -- has been architecturally integrated into one of the area's most unusual buildings. The building consists of four connected structures each shaped like a pentagon and will have a seating capacity of 2,500 individuals and will feature a huge 70-foot revolving stage. Facilities will permit up to 45,000 visitors each day to view the continuous musical presentation which will be given during regular fair hours. "Some of the company's major facets, such as engineering, production, and styling, will be uniquely portrayed on the islands," Leary said. "Engineering, for example, will be symbolized by a huge, walk-through 'engine'; production will be dramatized by a simulated assembly line; styling by an enormous building shaped like an automobile. Interspersed with these will be dramatic interpretations of other company activities, such as its international operations, diversified products, space and missile work -- all typifying the many activities of the company throughout the world," he added. Richard E. Forbes, corporate advertising manager, reported that work on Chrysler's New York World's Fair project was begun more than two years ago, and that progress at the site is rapidly approaching completion. "Our World's Fair staff in Detroit has been working with a number of firms for many months in planning, designing, and constructing our exhibition," Forbes said. (more)

Source: Chrysler January 1964 Press Release

-3- "We have been working directly with the George Nelson Company, New York, on design and construction; James King and Son, New York, site construction; George P. Johnson Company, Detroit, exhibits and fabrications; Max Liebman, Inc., New York, show producer; and Francisco & Jacobus, New York, project coordination. Subcontracted under these organizations are more than 35 other firms which are contributing their visual specialties toward the success of the undertaking. "We are confident that the enthusiasm evidenced by all who are associated with our project will be shared by millions of fair visitors in 1964-1965. "We want to re-emphasize that the entire Chrysler Corporations exhibition has been planned to provide purposeful entertainment along with information -- and that means fun for every member of the family," Forbes said.                   -0-

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The Chrysler autofare Islands would occupied most of the central section of the Fair's Transportation Area

 

SOURCE: NY World's Fair Operations Drawings Manual

Presented Courtesy Kevin Carsh Collection