Tulane University - Jambalaya Yearbook (New Orleans, LA)

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24 the fair

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THE FAIR A Personal Look Back at the LWE There ' s a joke that circulated around after the World ' s Fair closed. It went: What ' s Seymour D. Fair ' s sister ' s name? Sue D. Fair! Everyone tittered politely when I would tell it, even those who, like myself, had loved every minute we ' d spent there. The 1984 Louisiana World Exposition was a very complex, conflicting, lavish undertaking. That it was brought off with such aplomb from day one to day the • last wasn ' t as astounding: no one can throw a bash like New Orleans can! That it was so mismanaged shouldn ' t be so astounding either: this is afterall Louisi- ana, folks — the only state in the Union where a gubernatorial candidate can boast of past corruption and promptly get himself elected to office. What is astounding is that all the fin- gerpointers and loudmouths who have been lambasting the LWE since before the busty gate-guards looked down upon their first visitors just turn a blind eye to all the positive aspects of the Fair. There ' s more to the story than money although by listening to some local politi- cos you ' d never believe it. Sure it lost money: all world ' s fairs lose money. They ' re expected to lose money. So we lost more money than most: big deal. We got far more residuals from our expensive little fair than many cities even hoped for. We got the basics: streetscape improvements, new paving, trees planted, bums relocated, etc. We got a new pedestrian mall that is bringing The crowds may have been less than crowds, but those who went received a royal treat. night life to the CBD. And we also got some pretty substantial benefits from the Fair as well. These include a brand new conven- tion center, one of the largest in the na- tion. We got a formerly decrepit ware- house district renovated in part. We got a new river transit system that will open up the West Bank as a periphery area for the Central Business District. We made out really well, rivalled only by the suc- cess of Seattle. Heck, San Antonio ' s fair site is practically abandoned, and New York ' s Flushing Meadows and Knox- ville ' s sites are all but wastelands. But the best part of the Fair was no doubt the function itself. I went 31 times and loved every trip. Aunt Jean Peder- sen, the now-retired info desk lady practically had a residency there. A sub- stantial portion of those Tulane students who stayed in New Orleans for the sum- mer of 1984 were employed there, so we were always running into people we knew. New Orleans ' fair typified the city ' s way of organizing every event. There was a perpetual festive atmosphere about the 80-something acres, fostered by such elements as architect Charles Moore ' s WonderWall, the 1.5 mile long extravaganza designed to camouflage high-tension wires of Front Street (now Convention Center Boulevard) and var- ious other California architects ' fanciful design work. Structures like Turnbull ' s Cajun Walk by the Water Garden and Gehry ' s original concept for the Quality Seal Amphitheatre, while functional, were also delightful and, unlike many samples of modern architecture, were pleasurable to look at and use. Combine festive design with on going music and entertainment and we had one fun fair! Unlike Knoxville ' s fiasco, our fair proved to be both educational and fun. Australia and Canada outdid themselves to enlighten fairgoers to the wonders and delights of their respective nations. Each was staffed by natives of their respective nations, many of whom became good friends by the close of the Fair. We learned about energy, both supply and conservation. We watched rough- necks demonstrate the function of a drilling rig. We sampled native cuisine from the Philippines, China, Japan, Mexico, Korea, Egypt, India, the Caribbe- an and more. We toured boats and ships ranging from a Viking sailing boat to America ' s mightiest training ship. We learned how the Corps of Engineers con- trols flooding and we gaped at the shuttle Enterprise! We saw how our contribu- tions to UNICEF helped starving children in underprivileged nations. We watched craftsmen from the Far East creating ev- erything from velvet birds to exquisite pottery. We gorged on food, did the 26 the fair