There have only been six world's fairs in the United States since the end of World War II. Each of the cities that hosted a fair between 1945 and 1984 used it for civic improvements in their urban cores, the funding for which came partially from the United States federal government. The legacies of these fairs exist in either urban parks or civic center complexes and are becoming historically, culturally, and aesthetically significant. This thesis discusses the Knoxville Worlds Fair Park and Festival Center as a case study for the preservation of post-World War II worlds fairs in the United States. It explores the planning and implementation of the 1982 Energy Expo in a national context with other United States worlds fairs as urban renewal initiatives in the post-World War II era. Considering that the sites of these worlds fairs as rare and worthy of preservation in their current states as public improvement projects in urban settings, the preservation community must consider their significance as cultural landscapes and categorize them as park-plaza landscape types for historic designation as sites or districts in the National Register of Historic Places. Finally, this thesis recommends the Knoxville Public Building Authority use the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) as a guideline for future management of the Worlds Fair Park and Festival Center located in Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee.