Trylon and Perisphere

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1939 New York World's Fair structures

title: "Trylon and Perisphere" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["world's-fair-architecture-in-new-york-city", "1939-new-york-world's-fair", "modernist-architecture-in-new-york-city", "demolished-buildings-and-structures-in-queens,-new-york", "domes"] description: "1939 New York World's Fair structures" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trylon_and_Perisphere" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1939 New York World's Fair structures ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Perisphere_leo.jpg" caption="''Perisphere'' photo by Leo Husick"] ::

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 at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The Perisphere was a tremendous sphere, 180 ft in diameter, connected to the 610 ft 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 ft 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

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/1939fairhelicline.jpg" caption="''Trylon, Perisphere and Helicline'' photo by [[Sam Gottscho"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Model,Theme_Center-New_York_World's_Fare-_1939,_c._1938,Harrison&_Fouilhoux.JPG" caption="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.

Legacy

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/US_853.jpg" caption="Trylon and Perisphere on US stamp from 1939."] ::

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. The United States Postal Service issued a postage stamp in 1939 depicting the Trylon and Perisphere. 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. Both structures are featured on the cover art of the Deltron 3030 album “3030”.

References

(22 June 2015). "1939-40 NY World's Fair found in Seattle".
(October 1995). "Stuart Davis's 'World of Tomorrow'". [[American Art (journal).
(January 1, 1970). "AD Classics: Trylon and Perisphere / Harrison and Fouilhoux".
(Mar 1961). "Plus Ça Change". Progressive Architecture.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::