Vanished New York City Art Deco: The Trylon and Perisphere – Part Two 1939 – 1941

Opening day, looking down Constitution Mall toward the Trylon and Perisphere.

April 30, 1939, Opening Day. Looking down Constitution Mall toward the George Washington Statue and the Trylon and Perisphere from the Court of Peace. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

The Theme Center

Diagram showing the different parts of the “Theme Center”. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

The above diagram details all the parts that comprise the Theme Center.

1. The Perisphere; 2. The Trylon; 3. Entrance; 4. The escalators; 5. The two revolving platforms; 6. Democracity; 7. Bridge connecting the Perisphere to the Trylon; 8. The Helicline.

Entrance

Each day the Theme Center stayed open for 12 hours, 10:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. A door at the base of the Trylon lead to the Perisphere. Tickets could be purchased at booths near by. From there one passed through turnstiles into a very modern, aluminum lined lobby. Straight ahead the two largest escalators in the world (in 1939) carried visitors up to the Perisphere. When reaching the top one stepped onto the rotating platform that transported them around the Perisphere.

Seen in the background is the ticket booth and entrance to the Theme Center. Samuel H. Gottscho photograph from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection.

Guard collecting tickets at the Theme Center turnstiles. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

Theme Center lobby and escalators. The escalator on the left is for the upper platform of the Perisphere. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

Democracity

Opening day and the Theme Center was ready to receive visitors. Once inside the Perisphere fair goers gazed down at Democracity as if floating in space.

Two fashion models look down at Democracity from the upper platform. Image from Vogue Magazine, May 1, 1939.

The souvenir program for the Theme Center, Your World of Tomorrow, describes Democracity like this:

This isn’t “the city of the future.” It isn’t a blue print of a dictated city . . . It’s a symbol of a way of living – not meant to be followed in detail.

Yet you can start to build this city tomorrow morning . . . There are no trick materials, no imaginary machines.

“Here,” said the designer, Henry Dreyfuss, “is a center built in greenery, with a perfect traffic system – and surrounding it, separated by a green belt, are industrial and residential towns – and all these towns, with the businesses and social section at the center, together constitute Democracity.”

It’s hard to get used to the idea, because we think of cities stopping abruptly where the country begins. But Democracity only makes sense if you remember that it covers about 11,000 square miles – about 8 million acres – and is inhabited by a million and half people who live in 70 different towns. The farms, the residential towns, the industrial towns and the social and business center, each depending on all the others, all of them together are Democracity.

Your World of Tomorrow, Copyright, 1939, by Rogers-Kellogg-Stillson, Inc.

The front cover of the souvenir program Your World of Tomorrow, 1939. From the collection of the author.

One of the most memorable parts of the exhibit were the”living murals” projected on the dome inside the Perisphere. The Fair’s Special Project Director, Fred Waller, conceived the plan for these images. Multiple, synchronized Eastman Kodak projectors provided the seamless effect. A decade later Waller invented the widescreen movie system Cinerama. R.C.A. provided the sound system. Famed radio newscaster, H. V. Kaltenborn read narration for the exhibit. The stirring music was composed by William Grant Still.

Artists drawing of the inside the Perisphere

Artist conception inside the Perisphere, showing Democracity and the projected visions and stars on the dome. Image from mcny.org

Wurts Bros. photo of the interior of the Perisphere.

The interior of the Perisphere. Photograph details of Democracity and the two rotating platforms. Wurts Bros. photo from mcny.org

The Fair Board of Directors anticipated that the Theme Center exhibit would be one of the most popular attractions. Each rotating platform inside the Perisphere had a maximum capacity of 4,000 people per hour. With this in mind their attention turned to crowd control. In an effort to stem the crowds they decided to charge an admission fee. Ten cents seemed too little to really keep the crowds away. So twenty-five cents became the price. Even with an admission fee, Democracity still proved a very popular attraction.

Exit & Helicline

Erecting barriers at the entrance / exit points of the platforms forced visitors to exit after one rotation. Upper platform visitors descended a staircase down to the connecting bridge. The lower platform exited directly onto it. Because this was one of the highest visitor vantage points at the fair, it provided great photo opportunities. Often the bridge and the Helicline were crowded with visitors.

Visitors exiting from the Perisphere to the connecting bridge.

Patrons exiting from the upper and lower platforms of the Perisphere to the connecting bridge. Image from RIBApix.

Lower platform exit to the connecting bridge.

Detail of the bridge connecting the Perisphere to the Trylon from the lower platform exit. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

Crowds looking at the fair grounds from the "Theme Center's" connecting bridge.

Crowds gathered on the Trylon and Perisphere’s connecting bridge. Image from Getty Images Gendreau Collection.

Fairgoers looking up Constitution Mall from the Theme Center bridge. Visible in the background is the Washington statute and the Federal Building. Image from Library of Congress prints and photographs division.

After crossing the bridge, visitors passed through the Trylon to the Helicline. The Helicline’s gently curve and slope provided a pleasant stroll back to the ground.

Very dramatic photograph taken underneath the Helicline.

Dramatic photograph from under the highest point of the Helicline. Wurts Bros. photograph from the collection of mcny.org

Fair goers exiting the “Theme Center” on the Helicline. Photo by ¬© Peter Campbell/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

Visitors leaving the "Theme Center" via the Heilicline.

Another view of the Helicline and visitors leaving the Trylon and Perisphere. Photo by © Peter Campbell/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

Once back on the ground and if needing a guide book or a map, a futuristic information booth was conveniently located under the Helicline.

The information booth beneath the Helicline.

The futuristic information booth beneath the Helicline. Image from the DVD 1939 New York World’s Fair, Volume 2, from the Historical Archive Corporation.

Day Time

Because the Theme Center was painted pure white, the Trylon and Perisphere stood out in stark contrast against all the buildings on the fairgrounds. And because of their enormous size the Trylon and Perisphere could be seen for miles around.

The Trylon and Perisphere as seen from Manhattan.

The Trylon and Perisphere seen in the distance from Manhattan. (Photo by ¬© Photo Collection Alexander Alland, Sr./CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

On bright sunny days the gleaming structures provided a visual guide post for fairgoers. Heading towards the Trylon and Perisphere, would lead one back to the center of the fairgrounds.

The morning sun shines on the Trylon and Perisphere.

Looking south down Constitution Mall toward the Trylon and Perisphere, gleaming in the morning sun. Image from mcny.org

Perylon Hall lower right with the Trylon and Perisphere in the background.

Late morning light on the Trylon and Perisphere. The curved wall with the mural of Perylon Hall is in the lower right of the photo. Image from mcny.org

North Corona gate with the Trylon and Perisphere in the background.

The Trylon and Perisphere looming over the transportation zone. In the foreground is the North Corona entrance gate. George B. Bader photograph from the collection of mcny.org

The Trylon and Perisphere from the Court of Communications.

Looking east from the Court of Communications to the Trylon and Perisphere in mid-afternoon. Image from mcny.org

The Court of Power with the Trylon and Perisphere.

Looking west from the Court of Power. Modern florescent light stands in the foreground. Entrance at the base of the Trylon can be scene in the background. Image from mcny.org.

Looking at the Theme Center from the Plaza of Light.

Sunset at the Plaza of Light. The Perisphere will soon be flood lighted for nighttime. Image from mcny.org.

Night Time

If the Trylon and Perisphere were spectacular in daytime, at night they became magical. The Trylon’s only illumination came from a series of small, red airplane warning lights. Banks of floodlights carefully aimed at the Perisphere transformed it into a huge, blue “planet”. Onto the blue lights, swirling clouds patterns were projected, this gave the illusion that the Perisphere was slowly rotating.

A view of the sculpture ‘Speed’ by Joseph Reiner and the Trylon and Perisphere lit up at night. Photo by Sherman Oaks Antique Mall/Getty Images)

Paul Manship's "Time and Fates of Man" silhouetted against the Perisphere.

A view of the Perisphere lit up at night with the sculpture ‘Time and Fates of Man’ by Paul Manship in the foreground at the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, New York. (Photo by Sherman Oaks Antique Mall/Getty Images)

For special occasions the lighting scheme matched the event.

July the 4th and the Perisphere is turned into a giant red, white and blue ball. Photo by Sherman Oaks Antique Mall/Getty Images)

Closing day of the 1939 coincided with Halloween and the Perisphere became the world’s largest jack-o-lantern.

: Perisphere-o-lantern. Closing day of the 1939 season. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

: A large sphere with a pumpkin face being displayed at the New York World’s Fair. (Photo by Ralph Morse/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)

The Perisphere greeted visitors on opening night of the second season.

Perisphere greets visitors on the opening day of the second season.

May 11, 1940. The fair opens for the second season and the Perisphere welcomes visitors. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

Attendance did not meet expectations in 1939. So the fair board decided to drop the admission price from 75 cents to 50 cents. And with Europe at war, the theme changed from “Building the World of Tomorrow” to “For Peace and Freedom”. To make the fair more popular to the average person, attractions were added to the amusement zone and highbrow themes were downplayed. This made the Theme Center feel somewhat out of step with the fair’s new outlook.

The Perisphere, Trylon and the Westinghouse building are illuminated at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. (Photo by © Peter Campbell/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Demolition

October 27, 1940 the New York World’s Fair closed for good. Despite all the efforts to entice more visitors to the fair, because of the huge cost to build and run the exposition the fair ended in bankruptcy. While demolition started the next day, the Trylon and Perisphere remained intact until December. The razing of the Theme Center began on December 10, 1940. Since these were never intended to be permanent, even before closing day, the gypsum covered tiles were falling off. Workmen began removing the outer covering exposing the red steelwork for the first time in two and half years.

December, 1940. The Helicline is being dismantled. The gypsum covering on the Perisphere is just starting to be removed. Photo from Getty Images.

January, 1941

: January 3, 1941. Photo from the Associated Press.

: January 23, 1941 and most of the famework is exposed. Photo from the Associated Press.

: Looking towards the vanishing Trylon and Perisphere across the ruins of the Fairgrounds. February, 1941. William A. Dobak photograph from the collection of mcny.org

: February, 1941. All the covering has been removed from the Perisphere. Some of the steelwork is already gone. William A. Dobak photo from the collection of mcny.org.

The scrap steel of the Theme Center went to the defense effort as the United States prepared for the possibility of war. By the end of April, 1941 nothing remained of the Trylon and Perisphere. The Fairgrounds became Flushing Meadows Park and the home of the United Nations just after the Second World War. The U.N. moved to their permanent Manhattan location in 1950.

April 4, 1946. One of the only remaining buildings of the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair is the New York City Building in the Foreground. This building housed the United Nations from 1946 – 1950. The circular area to the center right is where the Trylon and Perisphere stood. Image from the Associated Press.

The park never reached its potential and became a bit shabby. A second World’s Fair in 1964 – 1965 turned the tide for Flushing Meadow – Corona Park.

The Unisphere on the site of the Trylon and Perisphere.

Symbol of the 1964 New York World’s Fair, the Unisphere. Built on the site of the Trylon and Perisphere. (Photo by James P. Blair/National Geographic/Getty Images)

After the closing of the second world’s fair in 1965, Flushing Meadow became the park Robert Moses envisioned back in 1935. Today the New York City Building is the only remaining structure of the 1939 World’s Fair. Housed inside of it is the Queens Museum which displays souvenirs and artifacts from the fair. And that is the only way we can experience the 1939 New York World’s Fair and the Trylon and Perisphere.

Anthony & Chris.

Vanished New York City Art Deco: The Trylon and Perisphere – Part One Construction

April 30th marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the New York World’s Fair. Driving for Deco could not let that milestone pass without a post about it. Of course the entire fair fits the category of “vanished New York City Art Deco”. But this two-part post will look at the fair’s “theme center”, the Trylon and Perisphere.

The news of a proposed New York World’s Fair hit the newspapers on September 23, 1935. The recent success of The Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago made planners in New York feel that a fair in the city would reap huge economic benefits. After a short search, the site chosen for the fair was a large ash dump in Queens near Flushing Bay. Reclaiming the over 1,000 acres and the construction of the fair took less than four years.

Mark Washington Inaugural

According to the committee’s plans, the fair would be opened on April 30, 1939, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States in New York City on April 30, 1789. The entire exposition, which has yet to be named, would celebrate not only that single event but the establishment in that same year of the government of the United States.

New York Herald-Tribune, September 23, 1935, Pg. 1

James Earle Fraser’s enormous statue of George Washington on Constitution Mall at the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair. Photograph by William A. Dobak from the collection of The Museum of the City of New York.

The large statue of the Washington near the center of the fair grounds would try to remind visitors of the initial reason for the exposition. But the committee’s vision of the fair changed considerably before the opening day. Instead of looking back, the theme of the fair looked forward.

October 9, 1936 New York Times Headline. Image from Proquest Historical Newspapers.

At an October 8, 1936 press conference, the board of directors of the New York World’s Fair of 1939 formally announced their plans. The New York Times reported the next day:

The exhibits and amusements covering an area of 1,216 1/2 acres, keyed to the theme of “Building the World of Tomorrow,” are being planned with a view to a total investment of $125,000,000, and are expected to attract 50,000,000 visitors in a year’s time, with a daily maximum capacity of 800,000.

New York Times, October 9, 1936, Pg. 1

At the same conference, President of the Fair, Grover Whalen told the press “The theme, is the creation of a better world and fuller life – the advancement of human welfare. This would be on display in the ‘theme building’. At 250 feet the theme building would tower over the rest of the fair, whose buildings would not be much higher than two stories. Inside the “Theme Building” a panorama visualizing the “theme” shows how tools of today’s civilization have been developed in the 150 years since the inauguration of George Washington.”

Sketch of the proposed “Theme Building” of the New York World’s Fair. Showing one of the 250 foot tall towers. Image from MCNY.org

Five months after announcing theme “the world of tomorrow”, the “theme building” underwent a radical redesign. Instead of a traditional building in a modern style, the design became futuristic and abstract.

March 16, 1937 headline from the New York Herald-Tribune, Pg. 23A. Image from Proquest Historical Newspapers

A sphere and an obelisk of fantastic proportions will compose the dominant architectural theme of the New York World’s Fair of 1939. The sphere will house the “theme exhibit” – a portrayal of “the basic structure of the world of tomorrow” – and will appear to be suspended above a circular pool. Actually the huge white globe will be supported by eight steel columns encased in glass and hidden from sight by clusters of fountains.

The sphere will be 200 feet in diameter, or about equal to an eighteen-story building. Its interior will be a single vast auditorium, more than twice the size of Radio City Music Hall. A single entrance fifty feet above the pool will be reached by glass enclosed escalators.

A bridge will link the sphere to the obelisk. The obelisk will rise 700 feet. From the connecting bridge, a wide ramp 900 feet long, will slope to the ground in a three-quarter circle around the pool. The highest vantage point on the exposition grounds will be the bridge and the top of the ramp.

Upon entering the sphere, visitors will descend a short ramp and emerge on a moving platform which will rim the circular exhibition space. An amplified voice, accompanied by soft music, will describe the floor exhibits and the planets and constellations which probably will decorate the dome.

The moving platform will be suspended far above the exhibition floor and hung twelve feet from the wall, so that a view may be had from the railing on either side. Moving at the rate of thirty feet a minute, it will take fifteen minutes to carry a visitor from the entrance to the adjacent exit.

Mr. Whalen said that the architectural motif of the “theme center” was so new that technicians had to coin several new words to describe the structures. The obelisk, he said, will be known as a “trylon” – a combination of “tri”, referring to its three sides, and “pylon.” Indicating its use as a monumental gateway to the theme building, which he called a “perisphere.”

Plans for the two structures were prepared by the architectural firm of Harrison & Fouilhoux. The structures will be built at an estimated cost of $1,200.000.

The sphere will be floodlighted at night. Batteries of projectors mounted on distant buildings will spot the globe in color, while other projectors will superimpose moving patterns of light which may take the form of clouds, geometric patterns or moving panoramas. This will create the optical illusion that the sphere itself is slowly rotating.

The obelisk will not be illuminated. “Its sloping sides will fade into the night,” according to the plans, “giving the effect of a tower reaching to infinity.”

New York Herald-Tribune, March 16, 1937, Pg. 23A

Patent drawing of the Trylon and Perisphere.

Harrison and Fouilhoux 1937 patent drawing for the Trylon and Perisphere. Image from thepatentroom.com.

Model of the proposed “Theme Center”, 1937. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

Construction

1936 – 1937

The formal dedication of the fair occurred on June 3, 1936. At the Flushing site, Grover Whalen led the directors over a 90 foot ash mound and discarded tires to a tower erected for the ceremony. With a vantage of 150 feet above the dump, Whalen broke a bottle of 1923 champagne, christening the fair. Shortly thereafter the herculean task of grading the site began. Accompanied by the 65 piece Department of Sanitation Band, Grover Whalen, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Park Commissioner Robert Moses broke ground on June 29th.

Grover Whalen breaks ground for the World's Fair.

New York City Mayor, Fiorello LaGuardia watches with amusement while Grover Whalen breaks ground for the 1939 New York World’ Fair, June 29, 1936. Image from

With the groundbreaking at the Corona Ash Dump, grading the site began. Full grading of the future park took about a year. The driving of wooden piles into the marshy land, to support the future fair building, began in 1937. With less than two years to go construction crews worked in three shifts around the clock.

Surveying the fair site in 1938, showing the piles driven into the marshland. Image from mcny.org.

With the pilings in place, construction of the fair buildings began in earnest during 1938. Soon the Trylon and Perisphere would rise and dominate the skyline of the borough of Queens.

Site of the future and futuristic “Theme Center”, May 28, 1937. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

1938 – 1939

During the winter of 1938 construction begins on the “Theme Center”. There is less than 14 months until the opening day of the fair.

March 21, 1938. The first steel is laid for the Perisphere. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

March 22, 1938, the Trylon starts rising.

March 22, 1938. The Trylon is already rising from its base as work begins on the Perisphere. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

: The drum girder. This is the base that the Perisphere will rest on.

: The drum girder in place, soon the frame work for the cranes to construct the Perisphere will be built on it. Image fron NYPL Digital Collections.

: April 21, 1938. Little more than one year until opening day. The frame for the cranes to construct the Perisphere is in place. And the Trylon grows higher. Image from the NYPL Digital Collections.

: The Perisphere starts to take shape in the early spring of 1938. Richard Wurts photograph from MCNY.org

By late spring 1938, the Perisphere’s outer steel work neared two-thirds completion. And already finsihed was the frame-work for the bridge connecting it to the Trylon. Inside that bridge the world’s longest (at the time) escalator would carry visitors up inside the Perisphere.

June 13, 1938. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

By July the construction of the Trylon topped off. World’s Fair publicity listed the Trylon’s height at 700 feet. The actual height came to 610 feet, even so it became the tallest structure on Long Island. The Perisphere also had the same size embellishing, claiming a diameter of 200 feet. Its size at 180 feet or eighteen stories was still impressive. As the Perisphere’s framework neared completion, the construction workers playfully dubbed it “the big apple”, due to the red rust proofing paint use on the steel.

: Looking up the frame work of the Trylon, summer, 1938. Wurts Bros. photo from the collection of mcny.org

: Summer, 1938 showing the topped off Trylon. Wurts Bros. photo from mcny.org

: The steel framework of the Perisphere nears completion, summer, 1938. Richard Wurts photo from mcny.org.

: Richard Wurts photo looking down from the top of the Trylon on the nearly complete framework of the Perisphere. Construction of the Helicline is underway. Summer of 1938. Image from mcny.org

By August and the “Theme Center’s” steel work complete, it was time to dedicate the Trylon and Perisphere. Grover Whalen and Mayor LaGuardia hosted the ceremony with Ferde Grofé and his orchestra providing the music. After the first musical number, Mayor LaGuardia drove the last rivet into the Perisphere.

Dedication day of the Trylon and Perisphere.

Friday August 12, 1938, grounds set up for the dedication of the Trylon and Perisphere. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

Now the time had come to encase the Trylon and Perisphere in scaffolding and to cover them in plywood and gypsum . The entire structure then received coatings of pure white paint. The only pure white buildings at the World’s Fair were the Trylon and Perisphere.

Scaffolding covering the "Theme Center", September, 1938.

Scaffolding starts to cover the “Theme Center”, September 23, 1938. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

Autumn, 1938 and scaffolding almost completely encases the Trylon and Perisphere. Wurts Bros. photograph from mcny.org.

Workmen applying the outer covering to the Trylon.

Workmen nailing the plywood covering of the Trylon. Winter, 1939. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

: The gypsum covered top of the Perisphere in the winter of 1939. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

: Early winter of 1939 and the Trylon and Perisphere is still shrouded in scaffolding. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

Industrial designer, Henry Dreyfuss, won the commission for creating the “Theme Center” exhibit. Entitled Democracity it provided visitors a look at a utopian city in the year 2039. While on the inside of the dome visions of workers and the constellations would be projected. CBS newscaster H. V. Kaltenborn provided narration explaining to the visitors what they were seeing. Two platforms, moving in opposite directions, transported people around the inside of the Perisphere in six minutes. One revolution equaled a twenty-four hour period.

: Workers prepare the interior of the Perisphere, winter of 1939. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

: Detail of the of the platforms during the construction of the Perisphere. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

The scaffolding is being removed. Winter of 1939.

Winter 1939 and the scaffolding is coming down to reveal the gigantic pure white sphere and obelisk. Photo by Gottscho & Schleisner from the collection of mcny.org

: Almost finished. Late winter, 1939. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

: A dramatic view of the Helicline, Perisphere and Trylon. Less than two months until opening day. Image from NYPL Digital Collections.

April, 1939 and ready for the public. Construction of the massive “Theme Center” took just over a year. It dominated the fair grounds and instantly captured the world’s attention.

April, 1939. Ready to open. (Photo by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images)