Fifty years ago, Brussels invited the world over for the first World's Fair after the death and destruction of World War II. Expo 2008 will be held later this year in Zaragoza, Spain, but Brussels is celebrating anyway with exhibitions like "Expo '58: Between Utopia and Reality," in conjunction with the renovation of the fair's most durable remnant, the Atomium.
Built in the shape of a crystallized molecule of iron, the Atomium, like the Eiffel Tower, was intended to be a temporary monument but ended up redefining the city where it was constructed. After the jump, another startling view of the Atomium and some more history.]]>