Results tagged “modernmechanix”

          

Modern Mechanix has an old National Geographic from 1965 with a huge spread on the World's Fair in New York. Step back to the atomic era and see the now-endangered Tent of Tomorrow in its glory days. Not many of these structures and rides exist today, at least not in New York; the giant tire is alive and well in Detroit, and of course, the Walt Disney-created ride, "It's a Small World" is still going -- check out some video of it here.

Forget about leaving doors open to attract customers with air conditioning and heat, back in 1934 there was a vision of having air-conditioned sidewalks! In another article from the past, the idea is explored.

In yet another gem from Modern Mechanix, folks from 1932 ponder "How Much Longer Will Our Big Cities Last?" Photos of subway tunnels collapsing and apartment fires in New York set the apocalyptic tone for the piece which claims "scientific prophets" see the mammoth cities becoming obsolete. We're to pictured a cobweb-enshrouded Empire State Building and dandelions overtaking Wall Street after "exhaustive studies" concluded that we're pretty much, well, screwed.

According to such writers as Stuart Chase, when man built the city he built a Frankenstein monster which would eventually turn and try to destroy its creator. The city, Mr. Chase believes, has grown so intricate and unwieldy that it now dominates its helpless inhabitants, rather than being dominated by them.

Continue reading "Big Cities "Doomed" According to 1932"

Thanks to Modern Mechanix we can now see what New York was supposed to look like by the year 2000, as seen from 1927. In that article "streets on five levels have been prophesied," but by 1931, two-level streets (pictured) seemed more realistic.

A definite step towards the relief of traffic congestion on much traveled city thoroughfares by the construction of streets under streets is soon to be taken by the city of New York. When this stupendous project has been brought to completion the metropolis will have an underground lane for fast through traffic, a tunnel for local and express trains, all built underneath the surface street, which will be left for local traffic.

Continue reading "The 2nd Avenue Sub-Street"

The other day we visited the past's future by looking at the aero-tropolis, now let's see what how the future of mass transit was envisioned back in the day. The future, straphangers, is all about endless belt trains! Modern Mechanix takes a look at the November 1932 debut of the vision:

Transporation of city inhabitants through subway or overhead tubes on endlessly moving belts, providing more speed and comfort than our present systems of passenger service, loom as a possibility, according to Norman W. Storer, engineer of the Westinghouse Electrical Co., who has developed the idea.

Continue reading "Train of the Future, As Seen in 1932"