The Candela Structures

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And Then There Were Two
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The Candela Structures: before and after

View looking west along the Flushing Bay Promenade, during the Fair (left) and today. The Fair photo is one of only three known photographs showing all three original structures together. (Photo at left courtesy of Owens Corning; photo at right by Kirsten Hively)

 

Of the three original Candela Structures, the one in the middle — originally occupied by the Coast Guard — is now gone. Aerial photos show that it had already disappeared from the site by 1966, one year after the Fair's conclusion. What happened to it?

We're not sure, but here are two clues: According to an internal World's Fair memorandum dated April 3, 1964, the Coast Guard had inquired about possibly "removing their exhibit building from the Marina after the close of the Fair." And a retired Owens-Corning engineer told us he heard back in the 1960s that the Coast Guard did indeed take their pavilion after the Fair's conclusion.

So is the missing structure now standing somewhere else? Or perhaps it was disassembled and its 12 panels are gathering dust in a Coast Guard warehouse? For that matter, why were the other two Candelas left standing when most of the World's Fair exhibits were dismantled, and why were their glass walls removed? For now, these questions remain unanswered.

aerial view of the 2 remaining Candela Structures

The Coast Guard pavilion was already gone from the site by the time this aerial photo was taken in 1966, one year after the Fair's conclusion. You can see the scar left by its removal between the two remaining structures. (Photo by the U.S. Department of Agriculture)

 

the missing Candela Structure

The missing Coast Guard pavilion as it appeared during the Fair, with the Coast Guard flag flying at right on the flagpole below the American flag. Of the three original structures, this one is unaccounted for. (Collection of Mike Kraus)

 

inside the missing Candela Structure

The Coast Guard pavilion featured radar, radio, and teletype facilities. (Collection of John Pender)

 

The Candela Structures: before and after

Street view looking north from Shea Road, during the Fair (left) and today. Budgetary restrictions prevented the walking figure in the contemporary photo from being dressed in Coast Guard attire. (Photo at left from the collection of Mike Kraus; photo at right by Kirsten Hively)

 

 

 

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