By Katie Uva Since their inception in the mid-19th century, world’s fairs have been major cultural touchstones. While fairs have typically had malleable themes and many different types of activities and displays on offer, one of the signature features of world’s fairs has been their role as industrial showcases. Fairs present new technology and inventions and promote the goals of their funders. In the mid-20th century, many of those goals centered on reshaping America’s cities. At the 1939 World’s Fair, several exhibits sought to awe visitors with a picture of prosperous regions anchored by cities, sculpted by highways, and based in suburban family living. By 1964, these ideas and the public-private cooperation they demanded had remade American life. The 1964 World’s Fair aimed to celebrate and perpetuate an already powerful mode of thinking about America’s cities, but in doing so also became a major target for criticism. Read this in its original format here.

Designed by York & Sawyer, Hurley & Hughes, and Edward Luders. Given Luders background, it is almost certain he was brought in for his ecclesiastical and liturgical expertise, as the other two firms did not specialize in church architecture. The circular pavilion was one of the most popular at the Fair and included Michelango’s Pieta, viewed from a moving sidewalk.

Vatican Pavilion, 1964. Perhaps surprisingly the Vatican Pavilion was the second most popular site at the 1964-1965 World's Fair. 52% of attendees visited the pavilion, including Pope Paul VI, 15 Cardinals, one Patriarch, three Apostolic Delegates, and 127 Archbishops and Bishops. It was five times more popular than any other religious sponsored locale at the fair. The attractions in the popular pavilion included the tiara of Pope Paul VI, a replica of the Tomb of St. Peter, and the Pietà, Michelangelo's stone masterpiece, which was shipped from St. Peter’s Basilica in a waterproof metal container and displayed behind bullet-proof plexiglass. The artwork, which had not left its basilica home since 1499, was dramatically situated by Jo Mielziner, famed Broadway set designer and viewed from a series of multilevel moving walkways. The oval-shaped mid-century building with a golden roof and cross that rose to 100 feet was designed by the firms of York & Sawyer, Hurley & Hughes, and Luders and Associates. The building also featured a glass-enclosed mezzanine that formed a tent-like circular chapel. Following the close of the fair, both interior and exterior architectural elements of the Chapel of the Good Shepard were purchased by St. Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Church in Groton, Connecticut. A new church building (which still stands today) was designed using these features by architect, William F. Herman, Jr.