Democracity, inside the Perisphere, New York World's Fair, 1939. A view of Henry Dreyfuss' design, a planned urban and exurban complex of the future. The accompanying musical score by William Grant Still was conducted by Andre Kostelanetz, with narration by H. V. Kaltenborn. At the end of the six-minute show, film projections presented several groups of happy farmers and workers.
[Richard Wurts, The New York World's Fair, 1977, p. 2.]
Democracity, New York World's Fair, 1939, Henry Dreyfuss, designer.
[Donald J. Bush, The Streamlined Decade, 1975.]
The finale of the Democracity presentation inside the Perisphere, New York World's Fair, 1939. Democracity was a "symbol of a perfectly integrated, futuristic metropolis pulsing with life and rhythm and music." As the balconies rotated slowly, lights were dimmed to suggest dusk. The room darkened. Symphonic music and a great chorus were heard as men of various occupations approached, projected onto the dome from movie projectors hidden about the balconies. These men, a narrator explained, represented the varied elements of society whose cooperation would provide a better life of leisure in the happiness that would be enjoyed in Democracity. The model city and the production were designed by Henry Dreyfuss.
[Donald J. Bush, The Streamlined Decade, 1975, #155.]