34 The Queens Courier • may 8, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com A new old way to look at the New York State Pavilion By Liam La Guerre [email protected] / @liamlaguerre Many people dream of time travel, but Rego Park freelance photographer Natali Bravo has actually completed a photo essay through time. Using a 1964 World’s Fair Kodak camera and vintage film, Bravo captured the opening of the New York State Pavilion to the public last month through the same lens that people a half-century ago would have been able to use. She developed and released the photos exclusively to the Courier for readers to view. Bravo, who is also a camera collector, found the old Kodak being sold online from a woman in Virginia in February. It was a bargain at $25, as currently, the rare camera runs for about five times that price on average on eBay. About two months later, the shutterbug found someone selling six rolls of vintage film for just $35. And a week after that, she learned that the New York State Pavilion — a space-like relic left over from the 1964-65 World’s Fair — would be opening to the public for the first time in decades. “I couldn’t believe it,” Bravo said. “I had the camera and the film, so the universe was telling me something here.” She seized the opportunity to capture the event with her vintage Kodak. With her half-century-old Kodak slung by her side, Bravo shot 39 frames from the camera of the pavilion, politicians and people viewing the wonders of the structure. The Darkroom, a business in California, developed the images, which revealed rich black-and-white shots of the modern day pavilion opening, making the event look as though it took place 50 years ago. Bravo felt delighted to know that she was able to shoot photos the same way people did decades ago. “For a photographer traveling is very significant,” Bravo said. “To be able to travel through time is beyond words.” To view more of the photos from the 1964 camera visit queenscourier.com MAGICIAN FROM 1964 WORLD’S FAIR TO REAPPEAR AT QUEENS THEATRE They call him “Kamarr,” and he was born on Kalymnos, an island in the southeastern Aegean Sea. According to legend, he traveled to Flushing Meadows Corona Park as a teenager to work as a busboy at the Greek Pavilion during the 1964 World’s Fair. He so dazzled visitors with his coin tricks that he took his act to the General Cigar Company’s Hall of Magic, where a machine blew 12-foot smoke rings about 150 feet into the air every 20 seconds and human beings and objects appeared from nowhere, floated about, and vanished during a 10-minute show staged three times an hour. Kamarr was at home with his signature move at the time, which involved placing a coin in a box and making a cigar pop out. Another coin went in, and a tiparillo (a General Cigar Company product) popped out. A third coin entered, and a beautiful woman magically appeared. At the same World’s Fair, Kamarr met his future wife, an illusionist called “Georgianna.” They went on to perform in night clubs, on cruises and in hotels throughout the world. In the 1980s, he Freelancer Natali Bravo captured these moments of the New York State Pavilion during the public opening with her 1964 World’s Fair camera. became a regular on David Letterman’s TV show, where he was jokingly called “The Discount Magician,” who was willing to cut back his act to fit any budget. He also became a Hollywood actor, appearing in films with Woody Allen, George Clooney and Dustin Hoffman. Still going strong today, Kamarr, whose real name is E.N. Kamarados, will return to the place where his career began, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, on May 17 to make a special guest appearance in the 105th Annual Salute to Magic Show at Queens Theatre. This one-night-only event will include performances by The Society Photos courtesy Natali Bravo of American Magicians, which played major roles in the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs. This year’s version of Salute to Magic — the world’s longest-running annual magic show with a 1909 birthday — will include interactive illusion in the lobby to get the audience in the mood, followed by the most astonishing tricks ever in the Queens Theatre’s main stage. Jeff McBride (aka “Master of Masks” and “King of Cards”) will headline the show, which honors Sol Stone, the champion of the one-hand thumb palm turnover switch, the hot potato shuttle pass and Sol’s spellbound sequence, as Magician of the Year. Jay Scott Berry (aka “The Modern Day Merlin”) will serve as master of ceremonies. This article is part of a series by the Queens Tourism Council that will run periodically in The Queens Courier until October in commemoration of the 75th and 50th anniversaries of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs, which took place in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. For more information on the 105th Annual Salute to Magic Show at Queens Theatre and other commemorative events, go to www.itsinqueens.com/worldsfair.
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