New York 1939 World's Fair: Johns-Manville Building

Detail of map from Official Guide Book – New York World's Fair 1940 showing location of Johns-Manville Building

Among Hildreth Meière’s commissions on the facades of four different buildings in various mediums at the 1939 Fair was her personification of Asbestos-the Magic Mineral in metal relief above the main entrance to the Johns-Manville Building.

Johns-Manville Building under construction

Detail of Asbestos–the Magic Mineral on facade of Johns-Manville Building

At the time of the fair, asbestos was popular with the construction and manufacturing industries because it was “cheap, durable, flexible and naturally acted as an insulating and fireproofing agent.” Meière’s Art Deco-style rendering of Asbestos—the Magic Mineral as a male figure in an asbestos suit set against a background of flames related directly to her belief in the importance of a World’s Fair because it created “the opportunity for invention and experimentation from which progress results.”1

Unveiling of Asbestos-the Magic Mineral