Futurama (New York World's Fair)
Futurama was an exhibit and ride at the 1939 New York World's Fair designed by Norman Bel Geddes, which presented a possible model of the world 20 years into the future (1959–1960). The installation was sponsored by the General Motors Corporation and was characterized by automated highways and vast suburbs.[5]
Legacy[edit]
The General Motors pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair included a ride, Futurama II, that was also known as "The New Futurama".[17]
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.[18]
It is the namesake of the show Futurama.[19]