Trylon And Perisphere / Harrison And Fouilhoux | Classics On Architecture Lab

Architects: Harrison and Fouilhoux
Year: 1939
Photographs: Harrison and Fouilhoux, Samuel Gottscho via MetMuseum.org, Wmpearl, Sam Gottscho, Leo Husick, hg.hu, NYPL Digital Collections
City: New York
Country: United States

The Trylon and Perisphere, centerpiece structures of the 1939 New York World’s Fair designed by Wallace Harrison and J. André Fouilhoux, symbolized hope and progress amid the Great Depression and rising global tensions. Originally planned to honor George Washington’s presidency, the fair adopted the theme “Building the World of Tomorrow,” emphasizing consumerism and technological optimism. The Trylon, a 610-foot obelisk, and the Perisphere, a 180-foot sphere, connected by a 950-foot ramp called the Helicline, represented geometric simplicity and symbolic duality—finite and infinite. Inside the Perisphere, visitors encountered “Democracity,” a diorama of a futuristic suburban utopia inspired by the Garden Cities model, featuring industrial zones, residential areas, and parks interconnected by modern highways. Despite budget constraints reducing the structures’ size and substituting concrete with gypsum board and stucco, their abstract modernist forms captivated the public and contrasted with the fair’s eclectic layout. The structures were widely celebrated, appearing on memorabilia and transforming into projection surfaces at night. However, as the fair coincided with the outbreak of World War II, its optimistic vision waned, and the structures were dismantled for wartime use. Their influence endured, inspiring suburban development post-war and becoming lasting symbols of an envisioned “World of Tomorrow.”

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the grand World’s Fairs that had flourished worldwide since the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition experienced a significant decline in momentum. As the decade progressed and the threat of another global conflict loomed ominously, the outlook for the future grew increasingly bleak. Amid this atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, the 1939 New York World’s Fair introduced the gleaming white Trylon and Perisphere, serving as the centerpiece of an exhibition that offered a hopeful vision of the future.

Trylon and Perisphere / Harrison and Fouilhoux | Classics on Architecture Lab

The 1939 Fair was originally envisioned in 1934 as a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration as the first U.S. president and the ratification of the Constitution. However, the planning committee soon shifted focus, and by 1936, the fair adopted a new theme largely disconnected from American history: “Building the World of Tomorrow.” Under pressure from sponsors, this idealistic theme became increasingly commercialized, with much of the fairgrounds allocated to showcasing consumer goods produced by its corporate backers. Although the vision of a hopeful future persisted, it became rooted in abundant consumerism, unbounded by the economic struggles of the 1930s.[1]

The fairgrounds at Flushing Meadows, transformed from a former dump, hosted a variety of exhibition halls and pavilions that adhered to the event’s optimistic vision. However, this ideal was most prominently embodied in the fair’s monumental centerpiece structures: the Trylon and Perisphere. These consisted of a three-sided obelisk and a sphere mounted on five steel columns, respectively. A 950-foot ramp known as the Helicline encircled and connected the two buildings. Towering over the site, the Trylon reached a height of 610 feet (186 meters), while the Perisphere measured 180 feet (55 meters) in diameter. Their immense size made them visible from miles away, a visual impact heightened by their stark white finish.[2,3]

The geometric simplicity of the 1939 Fair’s theme structures, which later became iconic, belied the complexity of their design process. According to Hugh Ferriss, the fair’s delineator, the architects produced such an extensive range of studies on geometric forms and materials that every wall in their drafting room was filled with them. Given the symbolic and visual importance of the project, it is no surprise that architects Wallace Harrison and J. André Fouilhoux meticulously explored all formal possibilities. The resulting “spike and sphere” design symbolized the finite and the infinite, aligning with the fair’s overarching vision of a promising future built on existing technologies. The structures’ names were rooted in Greek: “tri” in Trylon referenced its three sides, while “peri” in Perisphere referred to the comprehensive, “all-around” perspective offered by its unadorned white surface.[5]

Visitors accessed the Perisphere by ascending the world’s largest escalator at the time, originating from the Trylon. Inside, the exhibition space—approximately twice the size of the Radio City Music Hall auditorium—featured a diorama representing an idealized city of the future. This conceptual design, called “Democracity,” spanned around 11,000 square miles (28,500 square kilometers) and envisioned a population of 1.5 million people. It depicted a suburban utopia inspired by Ebenezer Howard’s Garden Cities model, with a central business district named Centerton, surrounded by industrial Millvilles, residential Pleasantvilles, parklands, and agricultural zones, all linked by a network of modern expressways. Visitors viewed this elaborate tableau from moving platforms, while an overhead light show illustrated workers from diverse trades collaborating to construct the “World of Tomorrow.”[7,8]

The utopian vision represented by the Trylon and Perisphere faced practical constraints during construction. Budget limitations required reducing the original dimensions of the Trylon from 700 feet (213 meters) in height and the Perisphere from a 200-foot (61-meter) diameter, altering their intended proportions. A more significant compromise involved the choice of materials. While Harrison had planned for concrete exteriors to achieve a seamless finish, financial restrictions necessitated the use of gypsum board coated with stucco. This substitution resulted in a façade that lacked the smoothness concrete would have provided, diminishing the impact of the structures’ otherwise pristine geometric forms.[9]

Despite the compromises in their construction, public admiration for the Trylon and Perisphere remained undiminished. While contemporary critics criticized the classical layout and “confused” aesthetics of much of the fair, the abstract modernism of these centerpiece structures received consistent acclaim. Comparable in symbolic significance to the Eiffel Tower at the Exposition Universelle fifty years earlier, the Trylon and Perisphere became ubiquitous in fair advertising and memorabilia throughout its two-year duration. The Perisphere’s unadorned white exterior served as a canvas for nightly projections, displaying images of cloudy skies, intricate designs, and even a giant Jack-o-Lantern on Halloween in 1939. By both day and night, the “ball and bat,” as they were humorously nicknamed, stood as the undeniable highlight of the fair.[11]

The optimistic vision of the 1939-40 World’s Fair, symbolizing a brighter future, began to fade even before the event concluded. The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War caused the closure of the Spanish Pavilion, and as Nazi Germany advanced across Europe, countries including Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France were forced to withdraw. The dismantling of the Trylon and Perisphere for repurposing in the war effort seemed to mark the end of the fair’s dream for a better tomorrow. Yet, their influence endured in the post-war era, as a surge in suburban development across the United States echoed the ideals presented in Democracity. Although no longer physically present, the Trylon and Perisphere remain enduring symbols of hope during a time of despair, representing an unforgettable vision of the “World of Tomorrow.”[14]

References

[1] Sennott, Stephen. Encyclopedia of 20th Century Architecture. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2004. p929.
[2] Wurts, Richard, and Stanley Appelbaum. The New York World’s Fair, 1939/1940 in 155 Photographs. New York: Dover Publications, 1977. p3.
[3] Yu, James. “Trylon and Perisphere.” University of Maryland Digital Libraries. Accessed November 15, 2016.
[4] Ferriss, Hugh. The Power of Buildings: 1920-1950; a Master Draftsman’s Record. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2008. p64.
[5] Wood, Andrew F. New York’s 1939-40 World’s Fair. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2004. p21.
[6] Wurts, p3.
[7] Klein, Maury. The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Invented Modern America. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2008.
[8] Wood, p23-25.
[9] Yu.
[10] Sennott, p929.
[11] Wood, p21-22.
[12] Goucher, Candice Lee., and Linda A. Walton. World History: Journeys from Past to Present. Vol. 2. New York: Routledge, 2008.
[13] Burgess, Helen J. Highways of the Mind. University Of Pennsylvania Pr, 2014.
[14] Findling, John. “World’s Fair.” Encyclopedia Britannica. September 30, 2011.