World's Fair in the Poconos? Not a bad idea | Howard J. Grossman

Is it time for a world event to be held in the Pocono-Northeast? The answer lies in how focused this region is on what is happening throughout the world.

Think of the world fairs that have been held in various locations across the globe, including within the United States. We may forget the Columbian Exposition of 1893, which was a year late to celebrate Columbus.

Despite being a year beyond the world of Christopher Columbus, the Fair was designated a signature event in a recent article featured in Archeology Magazine. However, even though most world fairs seemingly did not make money, they drew large crowds over a multi month period of time, and resulted in many nations joining together to have events and their nation’s capabilities.

In fact, the Chicago Exposition became known as the community of plaster, concrete, and jute fiber and showed off the wonderful buildings that still remain in Chicago. London, Philadelphia, Paris, and other locations have had major events, and the latter featured the construction of the Eiffel Tower. Frank Lloyd Wright, a young architect at the time of Chicago had a hand in the design of a major house in that community.

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This region has a great number of architects who could offer their skills and designs in helping to feature the whole region of over one million people.

Highlights of the Pocono Mountains could become event more known to visitors and our own residents if an event was planned and developed that might not be a world’s fair but could become a stable influence on the role that the Pocono-Northeast plays.

Call the event what you will and sharpen the best that the region can offer, and involve the entire assembly of the private, pubic, and nonprofit sectors that have made this region what it has become as perhaps lately led by the Discover NEPA program.

In fact, a competition could be undertaken to demonstrate new ideas and a fresh approach to viewing what this region truly commits to its future.

Make this idea become a futuristic commitment to economic, physical, social, educational, environmental and all types of disciplines for the betterment of the region and the advancement of its quality of life. Perhaps one of the measures of language could be the term “quality of life” as defining what this event might be, inclusive of both domestic and international settings.

Other ideas

Here are a few suggestions relative to some type of regional event.

• Develop a plan by which some type of event could be structures and ask the various community foundations in the region to help in this function.

• Utilize the talent of our primary secondary and higher educational institutions across the region to stimulate new suggestions and ideas that could be applied to this event.

• Develop competition among all the sectors to create a new approach to what an event of this nature could lead to over the next few years as planning begins.

• Utilize the many planning organizations a professional talent that exists in he region as one measure of support and thinking.

All of these ideas and possibilities will open new chapters of regional life and benefit the growth and development of the Pocono-Northeast.…Howard J. Grossman, AICP operates his own consulting company, HJG Associates, in Pittston, PA. He has a Master of Public Administration from New York University. He served as Executive Director of the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania (EDCNEPA). He may be contacted at grossmanhj@aol.com.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Opinion: Here's how a World's Fair could happen in the Poconos