Discover the various ways visitors could travel about the fairgrounds.




At the center of the fairgrounds, dominated by the futuristic Trylon and Perisphere, the Theme Center is where many people began their adventure in the World of Tomorrow.




Powered by dozens of gears and electrical relays, Elektro the Westinghouse Moto-Man fascinated thousands of fair-goers with his witty remarks and state of the art antics.




The central feature of the General Motors Highways and Horizons pavilion, Futurama provided a glimpse of what a modern city might look like in 1960.




Many Americans were introduced to the idea of television at the fair. One feature was a closed circuit studio where visitors could be televised and friends and family could view their performance on a receiver in an adjacent room.




The Transportation Zone included exhibits related to the automotive industry, railroads, marine travel and much more. The most popular attraction was the lavish Railroads on Parade pageant.




Literature, historical documents, consumer goods and scientific information was among the many items crammed into the torpedo shaped Westinghouse Time Capsule. The Capsule was buried fifty feet below the Westinghouse exhibit, to remain undisturbed for five thousand years.




Assembling the time capsule.

A MESSAGE TO THE FUTURE

Buried fifty feet beneath the Westinghouse building, the time capsule provides not only a lasting legacy of the Fair, but also a way to preserve and protect modern human arts and culture so that our far distant descendants may gain an understanding of who we are and what we have accomplished.

Constructed of a copper alloy dubbed Cupaloy, it is believed that the capsule and its contents will survive until it is opened in the year 6939. The long, slender tube contains not only samples of consumer goods and cultural icons of the early 20th century, but also microfilm versions of world literature, scientific treatises and papers, works of art and much more.

To ensure that future archaeologists would be able to read the material, a tiny microscope, instructions for building a microfilm reader and documents explaining the English language were included. In addition, books containing a list of included items were deposited at hundreds of sites around the world with instructions to translate and copy the material as language and media continue to evolve.


The contents of the Time Capsule.
An appeal from the founder of the Susan B Anthony forum to include the contribution of a woman in the contents of the Time Capsule.

THE TIME CAPSULE EXPLAINED

In yet another clip from The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair, Jim Treadway explained the capsule to the Middletons.

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The Time Capsule as it is lowered into the ground.
The monument marking the location of the Time Capsule as it existed in 1958.