With all the glitzy-hip hotels opening in New York City these days, you could get very tired of the boutique approach that went into full throttle after Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell opened Morgans Hotel in 1984.

Toward the turn of the 20th century, the world’s fair as galvanizing cultural phenomenon had long been capturing the collective imagination, while its more demure cousin, the regional expo, busily proliferated in its shadow.