{"value"=>"<p>Under the supervision of Stephen Voorhees, the seven-member Board of Design was assembled in May 1936 to prepare the general plan for the Fair. Made up of building and landscape architects drawn from New York's leading firms, an industrial designer, and a New York City Park's Department engineer, the Board was responsible for the physical layout of the site and the realization of the thematic elements. A sub-unit of the Board, the Committee on Theme, was led by architect and progressive planner Robert Kohn and charged with actualizing the conceptual aspects of the Fair -- the interpretation and integration of the main theme with the built environment and the development of the Fair-sponsored focal exhibits. Members of the Board recommended and selected all architects to carry out the design of Fair Corporation structures including, administrative buildings, concession kiosks, the seven focal exhibits, and the Theme Center structures of Trylon and Perisphere. Building designs prepared by outside architects for concessionaires, exhibitors, and government participants had to conform to established standards of scale and color and meet with the approval of the Board in advance of construction. There were few matters related to the overall appearance of the Fair that did not come before this body: sculptures, murals, lighting, color, landscaping, décor and signage all passed before the Board for comment and consent.</p> <p>Although some textual materials related to the design of uniforms can be found in this record group, the bulk of the abundant documentation of the Board of Design's activities can be found in the reports, memos and correspondence that were integrated into the Administration and Construction sections of Central Files. A set of Board of Design minutes is also available in the records of the Office of Secretary. (See: Office of Secretary: Administrative and Advisory Bodies, boxes 1097-8). The records arranged here chiefly constitute what remains of the Board of Design drawings and plans for the Fair. Correspondence between the Fair Corporation and the NYPL dating from the acquisition of the collection indicates that most of the architectural drawings were destroyed or dispersed. Although fragmentary in nature, the hundreds of design drawings and plot plans in these records capture the early musings of the designers as they established the layout and look of the Fair. Included are original drawings on butter paper, graphite and colored pencil on tracing paper, presentation drawings on board as well as photostatic copies.</p> <p>Representative materials include quick sketches and development drawings of the Fairgrounds site drafted by Kohn and others on the Board of Design demonstrating efforts to devise a plan that would reconcile the thematic and aesthetic vision with the engineering realities of building on reclaimed marsh land (colored pencil on tracing paper). Various iterations of the final plan can also be found here. Also included are site plans of other Fairs -- Buffalo (1901), Brussels (1935), Chicago (1893 and 1933), St. Louis (1904), San Francisco (1915) and Paris (1937) -- utilized by the designers in the course of their research. Proposed plans for permanent improvement to Flushing Meadows Bay and drawings pertaining to the development of Flushing Meadow Park following the closure of the Fair address the long-term prospects for this site.</p> <p>Among the drawings of buildings are studies of the focal exhibits and design drawings of individual Town of Tomorrow model homes. Presentation materials include a distemper painting of the Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Garden entrance and bandstand; a lithograph of the Aviation building; and a water color of the Production and Distribution Building. Exhibit and display drawings include diagrams coordinating the elements for fireworks and fountain spectacles. Files on ground structures include numerous design and presentation drawings for the concessions and refreshment stands that dotted the Fairgrounds. Plot plans offer schematic layouts of the zones and sectors of the Fair while renting plans note plot numbers, rentable square footage of sectors and buildings, and anticipated circulation figures. Presentation diagrams and tables offer graphic representations of the thematic content of the Fair. Progress logs tracking the development of sculptures and murals from inception to completion are also available in these records. Transportation drawings contain sketches of entrance gates at the IRT/BMT station and platform (colored pencil on tracing paper). Notable is a drawing by Walter Dorwin Teague of a Pullman car emblazoned with a NYWF logo. Finally, design materials on uniforms contain reports and correspondence as well as swatches, photographs of uniformed employees, and design drawings including a water-color representation of a whimsical Trylon and Persiphere hat.</p> <p>Additional presentation material related to the design of the grounds, buildings and exhibitions were donated at the closing of the Fair to Columbia University's Avery Architecture and Fine Arts Library and the Museum of the City of New York Archives and are available for study at these institutions.</p>"}