Park benches

How would a small state exhibit like Oklahoma attract attention at a Fair filled with attention-grabbers? Oklahoma's simple but effective plan to provide a lovely and restful oasis brought many Fairgoers to the Oklahoma Pavilion who might otherwise have passed the exhibit by. Oklahoma's park benches, miniature lakes and streams, were enjoyed by countless sore feet.

Following the Fair, a number of the benches found their way back to Oklahoma, returned to the communities that had sponsored them at their state's exhibit at the Fair.

The bench in the photo below was presented by the City Council of Garden Clubs, Woodward, Oklahoma, and can still be enjoyed in Woodward today.

The plaque fixed to the back of the bench still commemorates Woodward's contribution to the Fair.

Manufacturer's mark.

MORE OF THE FAIR IN OKLAHOMA

Park benches weren't the only legacies of the Fair to be find their way to Oklahoma. These World's Fair streetlights can be found today at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.

SOURCE: Photos presented courtesy of Jim Crouch

webmaster's note... My thanks to Jim Crouch, Bradd Schiffman, Rick Flannery, Craig Bavaro, Tal Davis and Philip Ras for their contributions to the Oklahoma feature. February 11, 2005