The Trylon and Perisphere were two monumental modernistic structures designed by architects Wallace Harrison and J. Andre Fouilhoux that were together known as the Theme Center of the 1939 New York World's Fair. The Perisphere was a tremendous sphere, 180 feet (55 m) in diameter, connected to the 610-foot (190 m) spire-shaped Trylon by what was at the time the world's longest escalator. The Perisphere housed a diorama by Henry Dreyfuss called Democracity which, in keeping with the fair's theme "The World of Tomorrow", depicted a utopian city-of-the-future. The interior display was viewed from above on a moving sidewalk, while a multi-image slide presentation was projected on the dome 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.
Perisphere photo by Leo Husick
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".[1]
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.[2] 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 cultureedit
In 1939, all three of New York City's major league baseball teams wore a patch on their uniform sleeve depicting the Trylon and Perisphere.
Composer (and Rhapsody in Blue orchestrator) Ferde Grofé was commissioned by the World's Fair to compose a piece of symphonic music dedicated to the sculptured edifices.
The New Yorker published a George Price cartoon in which two men dressed as the Trylon and Perisphere approach the World's Fair office, one saying, "If this doesn't get us in, nothing will."
The Trylon Theatre, located on Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, Queens, operated from December 1939 through December 1999. The theatre's decor included several references to the 1939–40 World's Fair.
In the 1941 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith the characters go to the fair. The actual structures are showcased with long camera shot, and are clearly visible while the characters are stuck on an amusement ride.
In the DC Comicscomic book series All-Star Squadron (debuting in 1981 but set during World War II), the Squadron used the Perisphere as their headquarters.
In the DC Comics comic book series Young All-Stars (debuting in 1987 but also set in World War II), used the Trylon and Perisphere as their headquarters.
Howard Waldrop's 1985 short story "Heirs of the Perisphere" describes the excavation of the time capsule which was buried at the 1939 World's Fair.
Singer/songwriter Aimee Mann created a song called "Fifty Years After the Fair" for her 1993 album Whatever, the subject of which is the 1939 World's Fair. The song references the Trylon and Perisphere while suggesting how little of the Fair's bright vision of the future had actually been realized in the "decades ahead" now passed.
In the 1995 episode "Aubrey" of the TV series The X-Files, the protagonist has visions of Trylon and Perisphere leading the detectives to an important clue.
In author E. L. Doctorow's semi-autobiographical novel World's Fair, Doctorow tells the story of a boy named Edgar in the late 1930s who lives in the Bronx, which culminates with the 1939 World's Fair. The Trylon and Perisphere are referenced throughout the story.
In Kenneth Robeson's 1939 Doc Savage novel World's Fair Goblin, the Trylon and Perisphere are depicted on the cover and integral to the story.
In Rex Stout's 1940 Nero Wolfe novel Where There's a Will, one character says she had "an inferiority complex about the size of the Perisphere" (chapter 8); Archie Goodwin later suggests to a police officer that he "go sit on a trylon" (chapter 13).
The 2015 utopian/dystopian film Tomorrowland contains futuristic versions of the Trylon, Perisphere, and Helicline. The Perisphere, in contrast to the 1939 World of Tomorrow exhibit, contains a device that can see into the past; the past is viewed on the sphere's inner surface. Also, unlike the 1939 Perisphere, the future Perisphere floats in mid-air. In the opening of the film, the Disneyland image is altered to include the trio. They also appear in the closing animation.
The 2017 short story "The Past is Important to Us" by Tom Hanks in his collection Uncommon Type is predominately set in New York City during the 1939 World's Fair and mentions the Trylon and Perisphere among other sights.
The Batman movie Mask of the Phantasm depicts Bruce Wayne and his girlfriend Andrea Beaumont visiting the Gotham World's Fair. Although not set in 1939, it hearkens back to that World's Fair because this is Batman's origin story and he first appeared in 1939. Thus, the Gotham World's Fair also has structures similar to the Perisphere and Trylon and displays depicting the future.
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For the Homeland episode see Trylon and Perisphere Homeland For the Minneapolis movie theater see Trylon Cinema The Trylon and Perisphere were two monumental modernistic structures designed by architects Wallace Harrison and J Andre Fouilhoux that were together known as the Theme Center of the 1939 New York World s Fair The Perisphere was a tremendous sphere 180 feet 55 m in diameter connected to the 610 foot 190 m spire shaped Trylon by what was at the time the world s longest escalator The Perisphere housed a diorama by Henry Dreyfuss called Democracity which in keeping with the fair s theme The World of Tomorrow depicted a utopian city of the future The interior display was viewed from above on a moving sidewalk while a multi image slide presentation was projected on the dome 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 Perisphere photo by Leo Husick 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 1 Contents 1 Construction 2 Legacy 3 In culture 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksConstruction edit nbsp Trylon Perisphere and Helicline photo by Sam Gottscho nbsp Model for Trylon and Perisphere 1938 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 citation needed Legacy editThe 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 2 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 nbsp Trylon and Perisphere on US stamp from 1939 In culture editIn 1939 all three of New York City s major league baseball teams wore a patch on their uniform sleeve depicting the Trylon and Perisphere Composer and Rhapsody in Blue orchestrator Ferde Grofe was commissioned by the World s Fair to compose a piece of symphonic music dedicated to the sculptured edifices The New Yorker published a George Price cartoon in which two men dressed as the Trylon and Perisphere approach the World s Fair office one saying If this doesn t get us in nothing will The Trylon is mentioned in the 1939 Yip Harburg song Lydia the Tattooed Lady made famous by Groucho Marx in At The Circus The Trylon Theatre located on Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills Queens operated from December 1939 through December 1999 The theatre s decor included several references to the 1939 40 World s Fair In the 1941 movie Mr amp Mrs Smith the characters go to the fair The actual structures are showcased with long camera shot and are clearly visible while the characters are stuck on an amusement ride The episode The Odyssey of Flight 33 of The Twilight Zone featured a view of these structures from the air to indicate that a Boeing 707 had time traveled and had arrived in the year 1939 or 1940 3 In the DC Comics comic book series All Star Squadron debuting in 1981 but set during World War II the Squadron used the Perisphere as their headquarters In the DC Comics comic book series Young All Stars debuting in 1987 but also set in World War II used the Trylon and Perisphere as their headquarters Howard Waldrop s 1985 short story Heirs of the Perisphere describes the excavation of the time capsule which was buried at the 1939 World s Fair Singer songwriter Aimee Mann created a song called Fifty Years After the Fair for her 1993 album Whatever the subject of which is the 1939 World s Fair The song references the Trylon and Perisphere while suggesting how little of the Fair s bright vision of the future had actually been realized in the decades ahead now passed In the 1995 episode Aubrey of the TV series The X Files the protagonist has visions of Trylon and Perisphere leading the detectives to an important clue The second episode of the fourth season of the Showtime series Homeland is titled Trylon and Perisphere The 2000 self titled album Deltron 3030 featured an image of the Perisphere on its cover A chapter in Michael Chabon s 2000 novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier amp Clay set in 1942 takes place inside the recently abandoned Perisphere In author E L Doctorow s semi autobiographical novel World s Fair Doctorow tells the story of a boy named Edgar in the late 1930s who lives in the Bronx which culminates with the 1939 World s Fair The Trylon and Perisphere are referenced throughout the story In Kenneth Robeson s 1939 Doc Savage novel World s Fair Goblin the Trylon and Perisphere are depicted on the cover and integral to the story In Rex Stout s 1940 Nero Wolfe novel Where There s a Will one character says she had an inferiority complex about the size of the Perisphere chapter 8 Archie Goodwin later suggests to a police officer that he go sit on a trylon chapter 13 The 2015 utopian dystopian film Tomorrowland contains futuristic versions of the Trylon Perisphere and Helicline The Perisphere in contrast to the 1939 World of Tomorrow exhibit contains a device that can see into the past the past is viewed on the sphere s inner surface Also unlike the 1939 Perisphere the future Perisphere floats in mid air In the opening of the film the Disneyland image is altered to include the trio They also appear in the closing animation The 2017 short story The Past is Important to Us by Tom Hanks in his collection Uncommon Type is predominately set in New York City during the 1939 World s Fair and mentions the Trylon and Perisphere among other sights The Batman movie Mask of the Phantasm depicts Bruce Wayne and his girlfriend Andrea Beaumont visiting the Gotham World s Fair Although not set in 1939 it hearkens back to that World s Fair because this is Batman s origin story and he first appeared in 1939 Thus the Gotham World s Fair also has structures similar to the Perisphere and Trylon and displays depicting the future The Trylon and Perisphere are referred to in the Shirley Jackson short story Paranoia See also editSkylon tower at the 1951 Festival of Britain Unisphere at the 1964 New York World s FairReferences edit 1939 40 NY World s Fair found in Seattle whenworldwasfair wordpress com 22 June 2015 Retrieved 11 January 2022 Harrison Helen A October 1995 Stuart Davis s World of Tomorrow American Art 9 3 96 100 doi 10 1086 424253 S2CID 161257447 The Odyssey of Flight 33Further reading editCohen 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 Harrison Architect Rizzoli 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 August 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 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trylon and Perisphere 1939 40 World s Fair Democracity Recreation New York Public Library Site offering a tour of the entire fairgrounds Archived 2009 02 25 at the Wayback Machine 40 44 47 N 73 50 42 W 40 7463 N 73 8451 W 40 7463 73 8451 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Trylon and Perisphere amp oldid 1182939646, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
