The World of Tomorrow
At the height of the Great Depression a group of businessmen decided New York City needed to host a World Fair to stimulate the city’s and nation’s economies as well as to provide a new sense of optimism. The fair was named The World of Tomorrow, as it emphasized modernism and technology. It ran from April 30, 1939 to the end of October in 1940, beginning in the midst of The Great Depression and ending with the commencement of World War II. As the Second World War approached, the New York World Fair reflected the changing attitudes of the American People—from growing optimism and hope to fear and anxiety.
In 1935 the New York World’s Fair Corporation was formed with Grover Whalen, who had served previously as New York’s Commissioner of Police and headed President Roosevelt’s New Recovery Administration. The Fair’s economic purpose was demonstrated by the presence of corporate giants on the Executive Committee, which included Percy S. Straus (president of Macy’s), Floyd Carlisle (chairman of the board of the Consolidated Edison Company), and Mortimer Buckner (chairman of the board of the New York Trust Company.) Despite this corporate angle, the mayor of the New York City, Fiorello La Guardia, who also sat on the committee, asserted “this world’s fair is not a private undertaking. It is as official as government can make anything official . . . a fair dedicated to the future of the American people and the glory of our country."
In the spirit of innovation and improvement, Robert Moses, the head of the New York Parks Commission, decided that the fair would not take place in an already existing park. Instead they would clean out and utilize the ash dump popularized by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in the Flushing Meadows area of Queens. New York would then inherit the park after the fair was over.
After over three years of planning, clearing away trash, and building, the Exposition opened, marking the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s presidential inauguration. The Fair covered 1216 ½ acres, was divided into seven zones-- Communications and Business Systems, Community Interests, Food, Production and Distribution, Transportation, Government, and the Amusements Area--and was the second largest exposition the United States had ever hosted. 206,000 people attended the first day alone, with notable guests such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Albert Einstein giving speeches.
Every exhibit the exposition offered underscored its emphasis on the future. The central symbols of “The World of Tomorrow” were the Trylon and Perisphere, designed by architects Wallace Harrison and J. Andre Fouilhoux. The Trylon was spire-shaped and the Perisphere was a huge sphere, 180 feet in diameter. Not only were these structures daring and modernistic in their design, but the Perisphere housed Democracity, a diorama of a utopian city set in the year 2039. Fairgoers stood on rotating balconies that overlooked the model city.
Another popular exhibit geared toward the idea of tomorrow was the Westinghouse Time Capsule. The capsule is to be unearthed and opened in the year 6939 and contains objects, according to The New York Times, “selected based upon how well they captured American life as it was in 1939.” A Gillette Safety Razor, a dollar in change, a kewpie doll, copies of Life magazine, seeds, writings by Albert Einstein and Thomas Mann, a pack of Camel cigarettes, as well as many other representative articles fit the bill.
A variety of new technologies made their debut at the Exposition. These included air conditioning, color photography, nylon, and fluorescent lighting.
The Transportation Zone housed General Motor's famous Futurama ride, which, “carried fair visitors past tiny, realistic landscapes while a narrator described the world of tomorrow,” Chris Baker of Wired Magazine explained. “The effect was like catching a glimpse of the future from the window of an airplane.” Like Democracity, it was optimistic in its portrayal of the future, only Futurama portrayed the year 1960. General Motors promoted the idea of a highway system by displaying a well-organized, traffic-free America. According to The New York Times, “These optimistic and forward-looking visions reflected in the 1939 World's Fair are telling. They suggest that Americans were aware that their lifestyles were going to change profoundly in the coming years.”
One of the World’s Fair Corporation’s goals was to "to demonstrate the interdependence of all states and countries in the twentieth-century world." To achieve this, 60 nations and international organizations as well as 33 states and territories of the Union were represented. Even the Soviet Union had its own pavilion, though Germany did not participate.
With the European Powers in the throws of World War II, the Exposition took on a new theme, “For Peace and Freedom,” in 1940. This time the “American Common” replaced the Soviet Pavilion. The Polish, French and Czechoslovakian exhibits emphasized nationalism, as their countries were suppressed by the Axis powers. France fell to Germany that year, and attendance to the Fair slowed. The nation was preoccupied with the possibility of war, not the wonders of transportation in 1960.
The Fair closed on October 27, 1940. It made 48 million dollars in entrance fees, but the Fair Corporation itself had invested 67 million dollars, making the Exposition an economic failure. The Corporation eventually declared bankruptcy. The futuristic vision of America disappeared as the War progressed and American involvement became more likely. Even the 4,000 tons of steel used to construct the Trylon and Perisphere were transferred to military factories to become scrap metal for weapons as the U.S. prepared for its next hardship.
In 1935 the New York World’s Fair Corporation was formed with Grover Whalen, who had served previously as New York’s Commissioner of Police and headed President Roosevelt’s New Recovery Administration. The Fair’s economic purpose was demonstrated by the presence of corporate giants on the Executive Committee, which included Percy S. Straus (president of Macy’s), Floyd Carlisle (chairman of the board of the Consolidated Edison Company), and Mortimer Buckner (chairman of the board of the New York Trust Company.) Despite this corporate angle, the mayor of the New York City, Fiorello La Guardia, who also sat on the committee, asserted “this world’s fair is not a private undertaking. It is as official as government can make anything official . . . a fair dedicated to the future of the American people and the glory of our country."
In the spirit of innovation and improvement, Robert Moses, the head of the New York Parks Commission, decided that the fair would not take place in an already existing park. Instead they would clean out and utilize the ash dump popularized by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in the Flushing Meadows area of Queens. New York would then inherit the park after the fair was over.
After over three years of planning, clearing away trash, and building, the Exposition opened, marking the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s presidential inauguration. The Fair covered 1216 ½ acres, was divided into seven zones-- Communications and Business Systems, Community Interests, Food, Production and Distribution, Transportation, Government, and the Amusements Area--and was the second largest exposition the United States had ever hosted. 206,000 people attended the first day alone, with notable guests such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Albert Einstein giving speeches.
Every exhibit the exposition offered underscored its emphasis on the future. The central symbols of “The World of Tomorrow” were the Trylon and Perisphere, designed by architects Wallace Harrison and J. Andre Fouilhoux. The Trylon was spire-shaped and the Perisphere was a huge sphere, 180 feet in diameter. Not only were these structures daring and modernistic in their design, but the Perisphere housed Democracity, a diorama of a utopian city set in the year 2039. Fairgoers stood on rotating balconies that overlooked the model city.
Another popular exhibit geared toward the idea of tomorrow was the Westinghouse Time Capsule. The capsule is to be unearthed and opened in the year 6939 and contains objects, according to The New York Times, “selected based upon how well they captured American life as it was in 1939.” A Gillette Safety Razor, a dollar in change, a kewpie doll, copies of Life magazine, seeds, writings by Albert Einstein and Thomas Mann, a pack of Camel cigarettes, as well as many other representative articles fit the bill.
A variety of new technologies made their debut at the Exposition. These included air conditioning, color photography, nylon, and fluorescent lighting.
The Transportation Zone housed General Motor's famous Futurama ride, which, “carried fair visitors past tiny, realistic landscapes while a narrator described the world of tomorrow,” Chris Baker of Wired Magazine explained. “The effect was like catching a glimpse of the future from the window of an airplane.” Like Democracity, it was optimistic in its portrayal of the future, only Futurama portrayed the year 1960. General Motors promoted the idea of a highway system by displaying a well-organized, traffic-free America. According to The New York Times, “These optimistic and forward-looking visions reflected in the 1939 World's Fair are telling. They suggest that Americans were aware that their lifestyles were going to change profoundly in the coming years.”
One of the World’s Fair Corporation’s goals was to "to demonstrate the interdependence of all states and countries in the twentieth-century world." To achieve this, 60 nations and international organizations as well as 33 states and territories of the Union were represented. Even the Soviet Union had its own pavilion, though Germany did not participate.
With the European Powers in the throws of World War II, the Exposition took on a new theme, “For Peace and Freedom,” in 1940. This time the “American Common” replaced the Soviet Pavilion. The Polish, French and Czechoslovakian exhibits emphasized nationalism, as their countries were suppressed by the Axis powers. France fell to Germany that year, and attendance to the Fair slowed. The nation was preoccupied with the possibility of war, not the wonders of transportation in 1960.
The Fair closed on October 27, 1940. It made 48 million dollars in entrance fees, but the Fair Corporation itself had invested 67 million dollars, making the Exposition an economic failure. The Corporation eventually declared bankruptcy. The futuristic vision of America disappeared as the War progressed and American involvement became more likely. Even the 4,000 tons of steel used to construct the Trylon and Perisphere were transferred to military factories to become scrap metal for weapons as the U.S. prepared for its next hardship.
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Aerial view of the Trylon and Perisphere
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The Futurama was the fair's most popular attraction
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Fairgoers observe the world of 1960