1964-65 New York World's Fair Groundbreaking and Dedication Booklets

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PAVILION OF THE

HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF

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GROUNDBREAKING
AT THE NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR
1 964-1 965

The Pavilion of TheHashemite Kingdom of

Jordan will be a one-story structure with a

concrete roof covered with gold mosaic.

The gently rolling roof will depict Jordan as

a land of sun, blue skies, sand, hills,

mosques and churches, catacombs and tents.

The exterior walls will portray the fourteen

Stations of the Cross, and the interior will

include bazaar-type exhibits specializing

in products indigenous to the region.

Mr. Victor Bisharat of Pasadena, California

is the architect.

Excerpts from transcription of remarks made by officials
of Jordan and the World 's Fair at the groundbreaking
ceremonies for the Pavilion of The Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan, New York World's Fair, Tuesday, July 2, 1963.

© 1963 New York World's Foir 1964-1965 Corporation

AMBASSADOR RICHARD C. PATTERSON, JR.

[Chief of Protocol]: Your Excellency, President Moses,
Governor Poletti, ladies and gentlemen. We are gathered
here this afternoon for the groundbreaking ceremony for
the Pavilion of Jordan which will portray in abstract sym-
bolism the rich religious background of that Kingdom,
as well as exhibit products indigenous to Jordan.

The first speaker is a renowned attorney and former
Governor of New York. I have the high privilege of
giving you Governor Charles Poletti.

GOVERNOR CHARLES POLETTI [Vice President,
International Affairs and Exhibits] : Thank you. Ambas-
sador Patterson, Ambassador Rifa'i, Mr. Moses, distin-
guished officials of Jordan and Kuwait, ladies and
gentlemen.

I want to say how happy we are to have with us
Ambassador Rifa'i. I've had the opportunity of knowing
him, not well, but the occasions that we've had together
developed what I believe are bonds of real friendship.
I know the great interest that he's taken in achieving this
Pavilion of Jordan.

It's not an easy task for a country like Jordan to under-
take a pavilion here at the New York World's Fair. We
appreciate that it's a sacrifice; it entails a substantial ex-
pense. But we hope that Jordan will profit from it by
giving the American people a deeper insight and a keener
knowledge of the great and rich background of the people
of Jordan.

We know of its richness in history, temporal and also

biblical. And we are happy that Jordan is planning to give
to the City of New York one of the pillars from Jerash.
We look forward to this column being here in this great
park for many, many centuries to come, to remind the
people of New York of the contributions to modern civili-
zation made by the people of Jordan.

I also want to take this opportunity of commending a
member of the International Division, Lionel Harris, for
his most ardent and devoted efforts which have brought
about this Pavilion of Jordan. I think he's achieved one
of the nicest pavilions that we'll have in the International
Area of the World's Fair, designed by the genius of a
young American architect Victor Bisharat.

We think it's very, very important for the American
people to learn more about the Arab countries, and we
are delighted to have as a leader in that group the Pavilion
of Jordan. It seems to me only appropriate on this oc-
casion, inaugurating the commencement of the work, that
as Americans we express our appreciation for the staunch,
steadfast and courageous devotion of His Majesty, King
Hussein of Jordan to the freedoms in which we all be-
lieve. Jordan is lucky to have such a leader, and we wish
for him many, many years of happiness and leadership
of this fine people. Thank you very much.

AMBASSADOR PATTERSON: Thank you, Gover-
nor Poletti. I'd like to present The Honorable Saeed
Shammas, Consul General of Kuwait who is here as an
honored guest of Jordan. There are two other distin-
guished gentlemen here that I'd like to present for a

bow. One is Mr. Sami Awad, the First Secretary of the
Jordanian Embassy, and Mr. Tuqan. Jordanian Consul in
New York. And now I give you, with high pleasure, the
president of the New York World's Fair, The Honorable
Robert Moses.

MR. ROBERT MOSES: Ambassador Rifa'i, Dick Pat-
terson and friends. I've only one quarrel, if it is a quarrel,
with Jordan. I'm one of those funny fellows who likes to
work in out-of-the-way places, and I had an ambition way
back when Charlie Poletti and I were on the Power
Authority of the State. We always talked about Jordan
as one of the places where we'd like to operate ; and the
other was, of course, the Nile. Somehow or other, there
didn't seem to be a great demand for us to go to either one
of those places to help them out. These are the things that
those of us who are on the practical, working side here
in the United States have hoped we would be able to do:
to help foreign countries, not only with money and loans,
but with technical skill, so that we could point to actual
achievements — not merely to foreign aid, and not merely
to our goodwill and good nature and aspirations, but to
actual accomplishments.

Jordan is a remarkable country, and the Jordanians
have a good deal to show here. We want them here, and
we're glad they're coming. All that we ask of them now
is to get just as busy as they can in finishing their design,
starting work — they have, in fact, started work — and
get a roof over their heads as soon as possible and then
begin to move in their exhibits. I think perhaps we've
been spending too little time in recent months on con-

4

stmction as such, and perhaps too little time in figuring
out what we can do to help the exhibitors bring in the
exhibits. Because the buildings, the facades, the packages,
the boxes, however attractive, are not the important thing.
The important thing is what you have inside — the amount
of imagination that is brought to bear on your exhibits —
the things that a country like Jordan wants to emphasize,
wants to be known for.

AMBASSADOR PATTERSON: Thank you, Presi-
dent Moses. Our next speaker is a very distinguished
diplomat who has received high decorations from his
sovereign, as well as from many, many foreign countries.
He was Ambassador of Jordan to the United States from
1953 to 1956, and he's also been Ambassador from his
country to Great Britain, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran and Pak-
istan. For the last seven years he has been his country's
chief delegate to the United Nations. It is my high
privilege to present to you, at this time, His Excellency
Abdul Monem Rifa'i, Ambassador to the United Nations
from The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Mr. Ambas-
sador.

AMBASSADOR ABDUL MONEM RIFA'I: Ambas-
sador Patterson — President Moses, Governor Poletti,
Mr. Harris, ladies and gentlemen. The beautiful and kind
words which were said about His Majesty, my King, about
my country and about myself, require eloquence to enable
me to reciprocate them. It suffices me to thank you whole-
heartedly for your very kind and sincere compliments.

We are used, at the United Nations, to read our state-
ments in a written form. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me

At the groundbreaking for the Pavilion of The
Hashemi He Kingdom of Jordan were: (left to
right) Ambassador Richard C. Patterson, Jr.,
the Fair's Chief of Protocol; The Honorable
Saeed Shammas, Charge d 'Affaires of Kuwait;
Mr. Wael Tuqan, Jordanian Consul in New
York ; Mr. Victor Bisharat, architect for
the pavilion; Mr. Sami Awad, First Secretary
of the Embassy of Jordan; Governor Charles
Polelti. vice president of International
Affairs and Exhibits at the Fair: His Excel-
lency Abdul Monem Rifa'i, Ambassador
of Jordan; Mr. Robert Moses, president of the
Fair : and Mr. Lionel Harris of the Inter-
national Division of the Fair.

to read these remarks: On the occasion of its centennial,
the City of New York opens its precious soil today to
hold, among the pavilions of other nations, that of The
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan at the World's Fair in
New York.

Indeed, there could hardly be a center that entertains a
wide international scheme of the magnitude of the
World's Fair better than the City of New York. For on
this island flourishes the greatest international organiza-
tion in the history of mankind, where 111 nations are
permanently represented ; and on this island peoples of
all races and languages live in one community as good
citizens. It is quite natural that, at its 300th anniversary,
New York should demonstrate human civilization at large
and the progress of man.

If my country, Jordan, enjoys the privilege of joining
with other governments in building a pavilion on this
spot, it is not because we wish to present to other peoples
what we have inherited and what we possess, but rather
to show our brethren in humanity what belongs to man-
kind on the two banks of the Jordan River.

Whether we in April 1964 are going to see the products
of this country or that country, the industry of this state
or that state, the contribution of this nation or that nation,
the treasures of this land or that land, the everlasting fact
is that we shall see the achievements of man and his march
throughout the ages within the space of his earth and, at
present, beyond space.

But more than that, ladies and gentlemen, much more,
is rhe concept which motivated my government to follow

His Excellency, Ambassador Abdul Monem Rifa'i
receiving the official Fair medallion from
Mr. Robert Moses. At left is Mr. Wael Tucjan.
Jordanian Consul in New York.

the procession of the makers of history and the builders of
civilization at the New York World's Fair.

We who gaze at eternity, and for whom material life
is nothing but a detail in the greater concept of existence,
cannot, and must not, be represented in a space which
manifests a physical force or a solid power. Our belief in
the unity of the universe, the unity of time, and the unity
of creation guides us to connect the past with the future
in an infinite existence whose space is the Kingdom of
Heaven and whose time is eternity. With this under-
standing of life we identify ourselves in our small pavilion.

My country will not be able to exhibit atomic power,
or a special mechanical energy, or an advanced electrical
device, or a remarkable invention; but we will be quite
able to exhibit that which shall remain when everything
else shall vanish. We shall show the love of God and
peace on earth. We, who have within our potential people
like Jesus Christ and Mohammad the Prophet, must be
represented by a scheme that reflects the ideals of our life
and the simplicity of our nature. In our pavilion the Ten
Commandments shall echo, the birth of Jesus Christ shall
shine, a-id the ascendance of Mohammad shall be re-
flected. In our pavilion, the oldest Torah, the Church of
the Nativity, and the Mosque of the Dome of the Rock
shall stand, symbols of righteousness, tolerance, peace
and brotherhood.

It is not easy for a country which lives in the light of
such high and moral values and supreme ideas to illustrate
its spiritual existence in terms of buildings and designs.

It was therefore to our great satisfaction that a true son
of Jordan whom you claim as American and we both
claim equally, Mr. Victor Bisharat, came to be the de-
signer and the architect of our pavilion.

We wanted the pavilion, in its modest appearance, to
reflect the true face of a country which has limited physi-
cal capacities, and a people who do their utmost to live a
decent, honorable and progressive life with what nature
has provided them in water, resources and mineral wealth.
And, on its highest level, we wanted our pavilion to rise
to the level of a native land which was die shining spot
of the three Divine Religions and the field in which the
East met the West in its hills, and on its shores washed by
the waves of the Mediterranean. The artist had to dig deep
in his art to reach the depth of this concept.

We break the ground today with full devotion to the
cause which prompted us to participate in the World's
Fair of New York, and we therefore dedicate our pavilion
to peace and brotherhood among all nations.

We view the World's Fair with this wide approach; and
in the service of this wide approach we shall cooperate
with you, you who have conceived the idea of establishing
the Fair and who brought it into reality. To you all, my
country and I extend our greetings and compliments. They
are extended to every individual who works in the area of
the Fair, indoors and outdoors, in summer and in winter,
with unswerving loyalty. And to join with you in the
construction of the great Fair, I have the honor to break
the ground for the Pavilion of The Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan. Thank you.

PAVILION OF THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN

HIS EXCELLENCY ABDUL MONEM RIFA'I, Ambassador of The
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the U. N.

MR. SAMI AWAD, First Secretory, Permanent Mission of The
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the U, N.

THE PAVILION OF THE
HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN

\ will occupy a

12.123 sq. ft. sice

<c5y^' in the

International
Area.

MR. VICTOR BISHARAT, A.I.A., Architect of the Pavilion of The
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

MR. JAMES A. EVANS, New York Architect for the Pavilion of The
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

NEW YORK

WORLD'S FAIR

1964-1965

C O R P O R AT I O N

Flushing 52, N. Y.

Tel. 212-WF 4-1964

ROBERT MOSES, President

THOMAS J. DEEGAN, JR., Chairman of the Executive Committee

WILLIAM E. POTTER, Executive Vice President

CHARLES POLETTI, Vice President, International Affairs and Exhibits

STUART CONSTABLE, Vice President, Operations

WILLIAM BERNS, Vice President, Communications and Public Relations

ERWIN WITT, Comptroller

MARTIN STONE, Director of Industrial Sect/on

GUY F. TOZZOLI, (Porf of New York Authority) Transportation Section

ERNESTINE R. HAIG, Secretory of the Corporation and
Assistant to the President

WILLIAM WHIPPLE, JR., Chief Engineer