Editing Trylon and Perisphere

{{Short description|1939 New York World's Fair structures}}
{{about||the ''Homeland'' episode|Trylon and Perisphere (Homeland){{!}}Trylon and Perisphere (''Homeland'')|the Minneapolis movie theater|Trylon Cinema}}
[[File:Perisphere leo.jpg|right|thumb|upright|''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, {{convert|180|ft}} in diameter, connected to the {{convert|610|ft|adj=on}} 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 {{convert|950|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} 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".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whenworldwasfair.wordpress.com/tag/trylon/|title=1939-40 NY World's Fair found in Seattle|website=whenworldwasfair.wordpress.com|date=22 June 2015|access-date=11 January 2022}}</ref>

==Construction==
[[File:1939fairhelicline.jpg|right|thumb|upright|''Trylon, Perisphere and Helicline'' photo by [[Sam Gottscho]]]]
[[File:Model, Theme Center - New York World's Fare - 1939, c. 1938, Harrison & Fouilhoux.JPG|thumb|upright|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|date=October 2014}}

==Legacy==
[[Image:US 853.jpg|thumb|upright|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.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Harrison|first1=Helen A.|title=Stuart Davis's 'World of Tomorrow'|journal=[[American Art (journal)|American Art]]|date=October 1995|volume=9|issue=3|pages=96–100|doi=10.1086/424253|s2cid=161257447}}</ref> The [[United States Postal Service]] issued a postage stamp in 1939 depicting the Trylon and Perisphere.<ref>{{cite web | title=AD Classics: Trylon and Perisphere / Harrison and Fouilhoux | website=ArchDaily | date=January 1, 1970 | url=https://www.archdaily.com/800746/ad-classics-trylon-and-perisphere-harrison-and-fouilhoux/584271fde58ece8fdb000290-ad-classics-trylon-and-perisphere-harrison-and-fouilhoux-image | access-date=June 23, 2024}}</ref> 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.<ref name="PA 1961-03">{{cite magazine|date=Mar 1961|title=Plus Ça Change|url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1961-03.pdf|journal=Progressive Architecture|volume=42|pages=64|number=3|access-date=July 26, 2021|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=
/web.archive.org/web/20210726185148/https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1961-03.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Both structures are featured on the cover art of the Deltron 3030 album “3030”.

==See also==
* [[1939 New York World's Fair pavilions and attractions]]
* [[Skylon (tower)]] at the 1951 [[Festival of Britain]]
* [[Unisphere]] at the [[1964 New York World's Fair]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Cohen, 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.&nbsp;393–462.
* "The World's Fair will put on a 6-minute show inside its perisphere." ''Life'', August 1938. pp.&nbsp;55–58.
* "Aerodynamics of the Perisphere and Trylon at World's Fair." ''American Society of Civil Engineers'', Vol. 65 Issue 5, 1938. pp.&nbsp;887–906.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Trylon and Perisphere}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kulk7IPTL10 1939–40 World's Fair ''Democracity'' Recreation] (New York Public Library)
* [http://www.pmphoto.to/worlds_fair/wf_tour/theme-1.htm Site offering a tour of the entire fairgrounds] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225074658/http://pmphoto.to/worlds_fair/wf_tour/theme-1.htm |date=2009-02-25 }}

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[[Category:World's fair architecture in New York City]]
[[Category:1939 New York World's Fair]]
[[Category:Modernist architecture in New York City]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Queens, New York]]
[[Category:Domes]]