Trylon and Perisphere

For the Homeland episode, see Trylon and Perisphere (Homeland). For the Minneapolis movie theater, see Trylon Microcinema.


Trylon, Perisphere and Helicline photo by Sam Gottscho
Perisphere photo by Leo Husick

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 610-foot (190 m) 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, while a multi-image slide presentation was projected on the interior surface 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 (290 m) spiral ramp that partially encircled the Perisphere.

The name "Perisphere" was coined using the Greek prefix peri-, meaning "all around", "about", or "enclosing". The name "Trylon" was coined from the phrase "triangular pylon".

Construction

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 and were intended as temporary with steel framing and plaster board facades. Both buildings were subsequently razed and scrapped after the closing of the fair, their materials to be used in World War II armaments.

Legacy

The Trylon and Perisphere became the central symbol of the 1939 World's Fair, its image reproduced by the millions 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). Neither structure survives; however, the Unisphere, the symbol of the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, is now located where the Perisphere once stood.

Trylon and Perisphere on US stamp from 1939.

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. Harrison, Helen. "Stuart Davis' 'World of Tomorrow.' American Art, Vol. 9, No. 3. (Autumn, 1995), pp. 96-100.
  2. The Odyssey of Flight 33

Further reading

External links

Coordinates: 40°44′47″N 73°50′42″W / 40.7463°N 73.8451°W / 40.7463; -73.8451

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