Trylon and Perisphere
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The Trylon and Perisphere were two modernistic structures, together known as the "Theme Center", at the center of the New York World's Fair of 1939-1940. Connected to the 700 foot spire-shaped Trylon by what was at the time the world's longest escalator, the Perisphere was a tremendous sphere, 180 feet in diameter. The sphere housed a diorama called "Democracity" which, in keeping with the fair's theme "The World of Tomorrow", depicted a utopian city-of-the-future. Democracity was viewed from above on a moving sidewalk, under movies displayed on the sides of the sphere. After exiting the Perisphere, visitors descended to ground level on the third element of the Theme Center, the Helicline, a 950-foot long spiral ramp that partially encircled the Perisphere.
The Trylon and Perisphere became the central symbol of the 1939 World's Fair, its image reproduced by the million on a wide range of promotional materials and serving as the fairground's focal point. [1] The United States issued a postage stamp in 1939 depicting the Trylon and Perisphere (pictured).
The Theme Center was designed by architects Wallace Harrison and J. Andre Fouilhoux, with the interior exhibit by Henry Dreyfuss. The structures were built in Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, New York. Both buildings were subsequently razed and scrapped after the closing of the fair, their materials to be used in World War II armaments.
The concept of the Perisphere was revisited in the later 1964/1965 New York World's Fair with the Unisphere, built on the exact site where the Trylon and Perisphere stood (the old foundation of the Perisphere supports the Unisphere), as well as with Spaceship Earth at Epcot in Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida.
The word Perisphere was coined using the Greek prefix peri-, meaning all around, about, or enclosing, surrounding. The word Trylon was coined from the phrase "triangular pylon".[citation needed]
In the DC Comics comic book series All-Star Squadron, the Squadron used the Perisphere as their headquarters.
In the 2004 movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the two structures are briefly seen in an arctic region.
A photo of visitors on the walkway between the two structures is used as the cover art of the Deltron 3030 album.
The Trylon is mentioned in the Yip Harburg song made famous by Groucho Marx "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" and the Aimee Mann song "Fifty Years After the Fair".
In the 1942 WB cartoon, Crazy Cruise, the Trylon and Perisphere are jokingly presented as being part of the pyramids of Egypt.
[edit] References
- ^ Harrison, Helen. "Stuart Davis' 'World of Tomorrow.' American Art, Vol. 9, No. 3. (Autumn, 1995), pp. 96-100.
[edit] Further reading
- Cohen, Barbara. Trylon and Perisphere. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, New York, 1989.
- Gelernter, David. 1939: The Lost World of the Fair. The Free Press, New York, 1995.
- Newhouse, Victoria. Wallace K. Harrision, Architect. Rezzoli International Publications Inc. New York, 1989.
- "New York World's Fair, 1939." Architectural Forum, June 1939. vol. 70, pp. 393-462.
- "The World's Fair will put on a 6-minute show inside its perisphere." Life, Aug. 1938. pp. 55-58.
- "Aerodynamics of the Perisphere and Trylon at World's Fair." American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 65 Issue 5, 1938. pp.887-906.
