Talk:1982 World's Fair
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[edit] About the Bank Failures Mentioned in the Third Paragraph
The bankrupties were not really a result of World's Fair debt. Rather, one bank failed, United American Bank run by Jake Butcher, and the failures were due to Butcher's own personal corruption. --ZekeMacNeil 08:40, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)
[edit] "Failure" is a little strong, and inaccurate
The 1982 World's Fair--just in the nick of time before its closure (which was always scheduled to be October 31, 1982)-- got 11 million visitors, exactly the number projected when the initial go-ahead was given. The Fair was not a failure; neither did it make any money. It was a break-even affair.
(Actually, it made something like $50.00)
Some would argue that the Fair left Knoxville with an unmanageable tract of land and buildings that it has only 20 years later begun to deal with effectively (thus, an infrastructure "failure"); however, others could counter that the land is now worth a great deal more than it was when it was occupied by trainyards and tract housing, as it was before the Fair.
[edit] Success from a Teen's Point of View
As a teenager, I went to the 1982 World's Fair and found it a wonder to behold. As a visitor, I found it met all my expectations. The SunSphere, China Pavilion, and a giant Rubix Cube are fond memories of my family vacation to the fair. A bonus on the trip was seeing President Carter at the American Pavilion! Financially it may have broke even, and some may always call it a failure, but as a visitor it did what it was suppose to do for me: encourage, enlighten, and entertain me with wonders and inventions from around the world. And that it did!
[edit] Forgotten?
"The fact that this Fair has been largely forgotten even by residents of East Tennessee..."
I'd say this is largely incorrect. I mean, who can forget it with the Sunsphere in your face?
[edit] Unencyclopedic
I add a {{noncompliant}} tag to the article. There is good information here, but also a lot of POV. Some I agree with, some I don't, but that's beside the point. Wikipedia is supposed to have no opinion of its own, so a phrase like this should not normally be used:
- "This operation proved to be incredibly bureaucratic and inefficient--bordering on incompetent--and spawned numerous allegations of favoritism and corruption."
An exception to this would be if it were included as a quote from notable publication, organization or individual. In that case, Wikipedia would be quoting an opinion, not rendering its own. Even then, their are some pitfalls -- see NOTABLE for more on this.--A. B. 20:53, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
PS It was not a failure -- what other town can claim a wig factory anchoring its skyline?
I took a stab at fixing it. -- ke4roh 02:50, 19 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] "Forget the World's Fair?"
I'm pretty sure that no one has forgotten the World's fair around here. In fact, during high school it was the "cool thing" if you had one of your parent's tee-shirts from the event. My dad worked at the resturant up in the Sunsphere, so I have a few :)
