The Futurama was an exhibit/ride at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair held in the USA, designed by Norman Bel Geddes that showed the world 20 years into the future, including automated highways and vast suburbs. The exhibit was sponsored by General Motors. Compared to other "visions of the future," Bel Geddes' was rather achievable - the most advanced technology posited was the automated highway system, of which GM did indeed build a working prototype by 1960. The 1939 New York Worlds Fair, located on the current site of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (also the location of the 1964 New York Worlds Fair), was one of the largest worlds fairs of all time. ... Bel Geddes flying car with a rear-mounted propeller Norman Bel Geddes (April 27, 1893 - May 8, 1958), born in Adrian, Michigan, was an American theatrical and industrial designer who focused on aerodynamics. ... General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), also known as GM, is an American automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Vauxhall. ... An automated highway system (AHS) or Smart Roads, is an advanced Intelligent transportation system technology designed to provide for driverless cars on specific rights-of-way. ...

The Futurama is widely held to have first introduced the general American public to the concept of a network of superhighways connecting the nation. Bel Geddes expounded upon his design in his book Magic Motorways. A highway is a major road within a city, or linking several cities together. ...

An updated version, Futurama II, appeared at the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair. The 1964 version depicted life in the "near future" with no specific date or decade defined. Scenes showed a lunar base of operation, an Antarctic "Weather Central" climate forecasting center, underseas exploration and "Hotel Atlantis" for underseas vacationing, desert irrigation, and land reclamation, building roads in the jungle and a City of the Future. Visitors rode through the dioramas in 3-abreast chairs on a ride train. The Futurama exhibit was sponsored by General Motors and proved to be the most popular exhibit at the World's Fair with more than 26 million persons attending the show in the two 6-month seasons the Fair was open. Waiting lines were often two hours long and longer. View of the New York Worlds Fair 1964/1965 as seen from the observation towers of the New York State pavilion. ... Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ... Land reclamation is either of two distinct practices. ...

External links

• "To New Horizons" - a video document recording the display at the 1939/40 World's Fair (from the Prelinger archive)
• Website dedicated to the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair