ARTSCULTURE · HISTORICAL MARKER
The 1982 World's Fair Walking Tour
Knoxville, Tennessee
· International Pavilions
Arts & Culture
21
This northwestern part of the fair site was reserved for multiple international pavilions, including those of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, West Germany, and Mexico, arranged down a long corridor. Especially memorable was that of the Philippines, which featured a restaurant on a veranda overlooking Second Creek and a colorful charcoal-powered bus. President Ferdinand Marcos and first lady Imelda liked to visit. The Hungary pavilion featured large rotating models of the already popular Rubik's Cube and an extended visit from its inventor, Erno Rubik. A large Rubik's Cube from the pavilion is on display at the Knoxville Convention Center. The European Economic Community pavilion puzzled many, but is notable today as the first world's fair pavilion ever hosted by the entity later known as the European Union. The Japan pavilion featured a thrilling "bullet-train" experience and a painting robot. In nineteen ninety, the Japan pavilion's location became the site of the Knoxville Museum of Art. The Museum, with its Tennessee pink marble exteriors, was designed by well-known museum architect Edward Larrabee Barnes.
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