The Trylon and Perisphere were two modernistic structures, together known as the "Theme Center", at the center of the New York World's Fair of 1939-1940. Connected to the 700 foot spire-shaped Trylon by what was at the time the world's longest escalator, the Perisphere was a tremendous sphere, 180 feet in diameter. The sphere housed a diorama called "Democracity" which, in keeping with the fair's theme "The World of Tomorrow", depicted a utopian city-of-the-future. Democracity was viewed from above on a moving sidewalk, under movies displayed on the sides 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 spiral ramp that partially encircled the Perisphere.
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I'm rapt by the vision of Trylon and Perisphere. The impulses of Man -
- Trylon: extending upward, closer to God, higher and higher, a vision of reaching the stars, or maybe becoming a God, centering everything that surrounds. Trylon is endless, a structure that can never be completed, ceaseless striving and motion.
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Timeline Of The World's Tallest Freestanding Structures 1939 -
Empire State Building / New York / 448 Metres / 1931-1967
Ostankino Tower / Moscow / 540 Metres / 1967-1976
CN Tower / Toronto / 553 Metres / 1976 - 2007
Burj Khalifa / Dubai / 828 Metres / 2007 -
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- Perisphere: to contain the world, sealed, a symbol of a space for living that Trylon creates.
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Bill Gates House
The Upside-Down House, Poland
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- The elevator: connecting two worlds, building horizontally and living in the sky.
- The aftermath: the future held in check by the necessities of the present - Both buildings were subsequently razed and scrapped after the closing of the fair, their materials to be used in World War II armaments.
- The future: the fear that as Trylon becomes more powerful it will one day puncture Perisphere,
or collapse.
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