Rapp's Chain-1959 Moscow World's Fair-St. Louis Area?
Posted: 23 Jul 2008 01:22
Thousands of citizens of the Soviet Union saw images of American supermarkets at the 1959 World's Fair in Moscow. (This exposition is perhaps most famous for the "Kitchen Debate" between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon.) One image was of the exterior of "Rapp's," which apparently was a supermarket chain somewhere in the Midwestern United States.
The American Pavilion at the Moscow World's Fair was a large Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome. Hung prominently above the exhibit floor was a unique seven screen set-up upon which a thirteen minute slide show titled "Glimpses of the U.S.A." was projected. The show was created by Charles and Ray Eames, the husband and wife designing team that is perhaps most famous for their "Eames chairs." Part of the slide show followed food from farms to harvest to grocery stores to dinner tables. One of the grocery images shown is of a store called "RAPP'S." Shopping centers were shown with huge parking lots. Interiors of American supermarkets were also shown (possibly including Rapp's).
The only trace of Rapp's that I can find on the internet is a long defunct grocery store chain in the St. Louis area.
The American Pavilion at the Moscow World's Fair was a large Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome. Hung prominently above the exhibit floor was a unique seven screen set-up upon which a thirteen minute slide show titled "Glimpses of the U.S.A." was projected. The show was created by Charles and Ray Eames, the husband and wife designing team that is perhaps most famous for their "Eames chairs." Part of the slide show followed food from farms to harvest to grocery stores to dinner tables. One of the grocery images shown is of a store called "RAPP'S." Shopping centers were shown with huge parking lots. Interiors of American supermarkets were also shown (possibly including Rapp's).
The only trace of Rapp's that I can find on the internet is a long defunct grocery store chain in the St. Louis area.