Futurama was an exhibit and ride at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

Norman Bel Geddes Norman Bel Geddes (born Norman Melancton Geddes; April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer, described in 2012 by the New York Times as "a brilliant craftsman and draftsman, a master of style, the 20t ...

, which presented a possible model of the world 20 years into the future (1959–1960). The installation was sponsored by the

General Motors Corporation General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing four automobile brands: Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, ...

and was characterized by automated highways and vast suburbs.

Background

Geddes had built a model city for a Shell Oil advertising campaign in 1937 that was described as the Shell Oil City of Tomorrow and was effectively a prototype for the much larger and more ambitious Futurama."Automated Driving in its Social, Historical and Cultural Contexts" by Fabian Kröger in

Overview

Geddes' "vision of the future" was rather achievable; the most advanced technology posited was the automated highway system of which General Motors built a working prototype by 1960. Futurama is widely held to have first introduced the general American public to the concept of a network of expressways connecting the nation. It provided a direct connection between the streamlined style which was popular in America at the time, and the concept of steady-flow which appeared in street and highway design in the same period. Geddes expounds upon his design in his book ''Magic Motorways'': The modeled highway construction emphasized hope for the future as it served as a proposed solution to

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...

of the day, and demonstrated the probable development of traffic in proportion to the automotive growth of the next 20 years. Bel Geddes assumed that the automobile would be the same type of carrier and still the most common means of transportation in 1960, albeit with increased vehicle use and traffic lanes also capable of much higher speeds. Four general ideas for improvement were incorporated into the exhibition showcase to meet these assumptions. First, each section of road was designed to receive greater capacity of traffic. Second, traffic moving in one direction could be isolated from traffic moving in any other. Third, segregating traffic by subdividing towns and cities into certain units restricted traffic and allowed pedestrians to predominate. And fourth, traffic control included maximum and minimum speeds. Through this, the exhibition was designed to inspire greater public enthusiasm and support for the constructive work and planning of streets and highways. The popularity of the Futurama exhibit fit closely with the fair's overall theme of "The World of Tomorrow" in its emphasis on the future and its redesign of the American landscape. The highway system was supported within a animated model of a projected America containing more than 500,000 individually designed buildings, a million trees of 13 different species, and approximately 50,000 cars, 10,000 of which traveled along a 14-lane multi-speed interstate highway. It prophesied an American

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

regulated by an assortment of cutting-edge technologies: multi-lane highways with remote-controlled semi-automated vehicles (according to Geddes' ''Magic Motorways'', these vehicles are supposed to be equipped with

lane centering In road-transport terminology, lane centering, also known as lane centering assist, lane assist, auto steer or autosteer, is an advanced driver-assistance system that keeps a road vehicle centered in the lane, relieving the driver of the task of ...

and lane change/ blind spot assist systems), power plants, farms for artificially produced crops, rooftop platforms for individual flying machines, and various gadgets, all intended to make an ideal built environment and ultimately to reform society. Geddes' "future" was synonymous with technological progress in its simulated low-flying airplane journey through the exhibit. The aerial journey was simulated by an 18-minute ride on a

conveyor system A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...

, carrying 552 seated spectators at a time, covering a ⅓-mile winding path through the model, along with light, sound, and color effects. The ride moved at a rate of approximately per minute or , allowing spectators to look down through a continuous curved pane of glass towards the model. The virtue of this elevated position allowed spectators to see multiple scales simultaneously, viewing city blocks in proportion to a highway system, as well as artificially controlled trees in glass domes. This scale was modeled off 408 topographical sections based on aerial photographs of different regions of the U.S. provided by

Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. was an aircraft manufacturer active at Longueuil, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada in the period 1920–50. It served as a subsidiary of the Fairchild Aircraft company of the United States. History Origin Fairchild Aircraft ...

Reception

Before General Motors invited Bel Geddes to submit a proposal for the exhibit, they had planned to put in another

production line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward ...

as was featured at their exhibit in the

Century of Progress Exposition A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Exposit ...

of 1933 in Chicago. However, after they heard Bel Geddes outline his project all other plans were scrapped as they favored his design for its appeal to a broader audience. The Futurama exhibition was subsequently presented as one of the 1939 New York World Fair's main attractions, as it was the "number-one hit show". It was considered highly interesting by the public and critics alike, with journalists competing to find adequate words to convey Bel Geddes' "ingenuity", "daring", "showmanship" and "genius". One neutral survey of 1000 departing fairgoers awarded the General Motors exhibit 39.4 points to only 8.5 points for second place Ford as the most interesting exhibit. ''

Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'' described the scene: His ideas of the future were considered to have a remarkable degree of realism and immediacy, especially for an American audience slowly recovering from the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and that was longing for prosperity. Futurama's imaginary landscape of 1960 was, at the time, seen not just as a novel physical space, but as a glimpse of the future.

Legacy

Multiple

Federal-Aid Highway Act The following bills in the United States have been known as the Federal-Aid Highway Act or similar names since their initial adoption in 1916. The initial adoption established Congress to authorize and provide federal funding for constructing roa ...

bills of legislation, which led to the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

, were influenced by massive attendance at Futurama that helped to popularize the concept of modern interstate highways. The General Motors pavilion at the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activ ...

included a ride, Futurama II, that was also known as "The New Futurama". The 1964 version had a 110 foot tall front facade which was tilted toward the viewer as they approached the front of the building. Inside, moving theater seats took visitors on a multi-media ride into the future around the world, narrated by a description of all the future scenarios. After the 15 minute ride, visitors exited into a showroom of futuristic models and current General Motors products. The October 1965 attendance statistics beat the old record from 1939 for the two-year period by about five million visitors, the largest ever attendance of any exhibit at any fair in the world. It is the namesake of the show ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

''.

References

External links

* : A video document recording the display at the 1939/40 World's Fair (from

Prelinger Archives The Prelinger Archives is a collection of films relating to U.S. cultural history, the evolution of the American landscape, everyday life, and social history. Originally based in New York City from 1982 through 2002, it is now based in San Franci ...