On April 30, 1939, the New York World’s Fair opened  in New York
City. The opening ceremony, which featured speeches by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt and New York Governor Herbert Lehman,
ushered in the first day of television broadcasting in New York.

Spanning 1,200 acres at Flushing Meadow Park in Queens, the
fairground was marked by two imposing structures–the “Perisphere”
and the “Trylon”–and exhibited such new technology as FM radio,
robotics, fluorescent lighting, and a crude fax machine. Norman Bel
Geddes designed a Futurama ride for General Motors, and users
were transported through an idealized city of the future. Sixty-three
nations participated in the fair, which enjoyed large crowds before
the outbreak of World War II interrupted many of its scheduled
events.

President Roosevelt speaking at the opening of the New York
World’s Fair.