1982 World's Fair

Coordinates: 35°57′43″N 83°55′28″W / 35.962064°N 83.924389°W / 35.962064; -83.924389

The 1982 World's Fair logo.

The 1982 World's Fair, formally known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition, was held in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the United States. The theme of the exposition was "Energy Turns the World."

It opened on May 1, 1982, and closed on October 31, 1982 after receiving over 11 million visitors. Participating nations included Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United States, and West Germany.

The fair was constructed on a 70-acre (280,000 m²) site between downtown Knoxville and the University of Tennessee. The core of the site primarily consisted of a deteriorating L&N railroad yard and depot. The railroad yard was demolished, with the exception of a single rail line, and the depot was renovated into a restaurant. The Sunsphere, a 266-foot (81 m) steel tower topped with a five-story gold globe, was built for the 1982 World's Fair. It still stands and remains a symbol for the city of Knoxville.

In 2007, the East Tennessee Historical Society opened an exhibit commemorating the 25th anniversary of the World's Fair.

Genesis

The Sunsphere at the center of the Fair

The idea for a World's Fair in Knoxville came from a visit to Spokane, Washington, in 1974 that touted the benefits of the Expo for the city. W. Stewart Evans, president of the Downtown Knoxville Association, came up with the idea of hosting a fair in Knoxville and presented the to the city and the mayor.^[1]

Knoxville Mayor Kyle Testerman appointed banker Jake Butcher to lead an exploratory committee on the fair, and Butcher served as the driving force behind the fair. Many Knoxvillians called it "Jake's Fair".^[1] The organizing body was the Knoxville Foundation Inc.^[2] There was skepticism about the ability of Knoxville, described as a "scruffy little city" by a national publication, to successfully host a World's Fair.^[3]

This was the second World's Fair to be held in Tennessee, the first being the Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897, held in Nashville.

Opening day

On 1 May 1982, the 1982 World's Fair opened with the theme "Energy Turns the World". Television commercials broadcast prior to the fair used the marketing tagline "You've Got To Be There".^{[citation needed]} The opening ceremony was broadcast on local and regional TV, with President Ronald Reagan arriving to open the fair.^[1] TV personality Dinah Shore was the master of ceremonies, and artists such as Porter Wagoner and Ricky Skaggs performed as the gates opened.^{[citation needed]} A six-month pass to the fair sold for $100.^{[citation needed]}

The fair

The fair drew over 11 million visitors, making it one of the most popular world's fairs in U.S. history, and even turned a small profit ($57), but short of the projected $5 million surplus.^[2] Knoxville itself was left with a $46 million debt.^[2]

Participating nations included Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United States, and West Germany. Panama never occupied its pavilion space, which was eventually occupied by a group of Caribbean Island nations.^{[citation needed]}

The Peruvian exhibit featured a mummy that was unwrapped and studied at the fair. The Egyptian exhibit featured ancient artifacts valued at over thirty million dollars.^[4] Hungary, the home country of the Rubik's Cube, sent a large, automated Rubik's Cube with rotating squares for the entrance to its pavilion. The cube is still present in downtown Knoxville, where it has been displayed in the Knoxville Convention Center.^[5][6] Every night of the fair, at 10 p.m., a 10-minute fireworks display was presented that could be seen over much of Knoxville.

A TV station, KM2XKA on Channel 7, was built for the fair, initially specializing in World's Fair information.^{[citation needed]} It later converted to DTV-only WMAK, an independent station.^{[citation needed]}

Difficulties with the fair

Local hotels and other accommodations were not allowed to take reservations directly. Room reservations for everything from hotels to houseboats sold in a package with fair admission tickets through the first 11 days of the fair, handled by a central bureau, Knoxvisit. However, financial and administrative troubles pushed reservations to be taken over by PLM^[7], which itself filed for bankruptcy^[8] and was mired in its own difficulties.^[9]

After Jake Butcher's United American Bank failed the year after the fair (on February 14, 1983, when FDIC took over the bank due to irregularities in financial records), there was speculation that the failure was due in part to his financing of the World's Fair.^{[citation needed]}

After the fair

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In 1991, the city of Knoxville demolished the U.S. Pavilion in a controlled blast. This was due to structural failure that could not be safely resolved. The cleared site became a parking lot along Cumberland Avenue. The former site of the Korean and Saudi Arabian pavilions and the Tennessee Gas Industries exhibit became host to a regular concert series for eight years.

In 2000, the park was closed for two years while a convention center was added in the space formerly occupied by Rich's/Millers Garage, the KUB Substation and the former site of America's Electric Energy Exhibit.

In 2002, the World's Fair Park was reopened to general events and concerts, such as Earth Fest and Greek Fest. A July 4 celebration is held there every year with the Knoxville Symphony playing a free concert with a massive fireworks display. The 2007 July 4 celebration was held in conjunction with festivities commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the 1982 World's Fair.

The following day, July 5, 2007, The Sunsphere's observation deck reopened to the public.

Arcade tokens

Reverse, 1982 World's Fair token

Seven video arcade game tokens were minted for the 1982 World's Fair, each depicting a different game. These tokens were given out at the arcade at the World's Fair itself. The seven games on each of the tokens are Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Qix, Gorf, Scramble, and Donkey Kong.^{[citation needed]} A special Coca-Cola pin was given to 500 dignitaries on opening day.^{[citation needed]}

New inventions

The Knoxville World's Fair debuted several new inventions, including touch screen display screens, boxed milk, and the Cherry Coke flavor by Coca-Cola.^{[citation needed]} The fast food chain Petro's Chili & Chips also debuted there.^[10]

See also

• National Conservation Exposition

References

External links

• 1982 World's Fair Research Site, by Bruce Schulman
• World's Fair 20th anniversary retrospective, Knoxville News Sentinel, 2002
• The 1982 World's Fair in photos - www.worldsfairphotos.com
• 1982 World's Fair 25th Anniversary site
• Tennessee Encyclopedia article
• ExpoMuseum's 1982 World's Fair Section