History
The 1939 World’s Fair Washington
James Earle Fraser’s Washington towered over the New York World’s Fair, then was destroyed. Our 16-inch statue is modeled on it.
Facts
- Sculptor
- James Earle Fraser
- Made of
- Plaster
- Today
- Gone: destroyed after the fair
Why Washington
The fair opened on April 30, 1939, 150 years to the day after Washington took the oath as the first president, in New York. The fair rebuilt Federal Hall, where he took it.
Facing tomorrow
He stood on Constitution Mall, facing the Trylon and Perisphere: the founder looking toward the World of Tomorrow, the fair’s theme.
After the fair
It was plaster, and it was destroyed after the fair closed in 1940. Nothing of it stands today. For the ones that do: the tallest Washington statues.
Questions
Who made the George Washington statue at the 1939 World’s Fair?
James Earle Fraser, the sculptor of End of the Trail and designer of the Buffalo nickel.
How tall was it?
65 feet including its 15-foot base. Other accounts give 60 or 61 feet.
Where did it stand?
On Constitution Mall, Flushing Meadows, Queens, facing the Trylon and Perisphere, the fair’s symbols of the World of Tomorrow.
What happened to it?
It was plaster, and it was destroyed after the fair closed in 1940.
Can I buy a statue of it?
Yes: our 16-inch statue is modeled on it. Every one sold helps build our 50-foot Washington near Austin.
Bring it home.
Sixteen inches of George Washington on a black base cut with his own words from 1789, modeled on the statue that stood over the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
James Earle Fraser’s statue also inspired the 10-foot Washington we built, which we’re now scaling up to 50 feet near Austin. Sales of the 16-inch statue help build it.
Follow the build
Updates as our monuments go up, and first word on the next one.