The 1976 Bicentennial celebrations prompted some grand visions for Philadelphia. Planning director Edmund Bacon envisioned a world's fair modeled on the highly successful 1876 Centennial, the first major world's fair in the United States. The fair was to be held on the same exhibition grounds as the 1876 fair with a system of boats and aerial trams along and across the river linking it to the central parts of the city.
Utlimately this and other grand plans were sunk by the politics of the time. The bicentennial events did bring millions of tourists to the city but the numbers were well short of expectations, as were the long term benefits to the city.
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