The Henry Ford Blog

Every month, we feature a video from Film Source, The Henry Ford’s online collection of historic motion picture film shorts. The films were originally produced by Henry Ford’s motion picture department at Ford Motor Company, which began in 1914. These clips illustrate the impact of the automobile, industrial manufacturing and design, and many other aspects of American culture and everyday life, as well as glimpses of Henry Ford and his family and activities and scenes from Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum. Staff at the Benson Ford Research Center continue to digitize, catalog, and upload more of these clips to our online catalog and to YouTube in order to make them accessible to a wider audience.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY (as so many old newsreels began), the eyes of the world were turned towards the future. The 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair opened April 30, 1939, and ran for two seasons. Its theme was the “World of Tomorrow.” On the heels of the Great Depression and the eve of world war, the fair’s exhibits looked with optimism to the future: What would be in store in technology, commerce, politics, culture—indeed, in all spheres of life and society? And how could technology and design be applied to build a better future? The many exhibits, grouped by themed zones (Transportation, Communication, Food, etc.), showcased existing streamlined and futurist styles and ideas and in turn influenced their continuation and development. Along with the dreaming and high concepts, though, there was a lot of good old-fashioned fun—located in the popular Amusements Area.

The Ford Motor Company pavilion was designed by two powerhouses of industrial design and architecture, Walter Dorwin Teague and Albert Kahn. Ford’s contribution to the fair included as its centerpieces the Road of Tomorrow and the Ford Cycle of Production, both seen here.

But this film offers a wider view of the fair, not just a peek at Ford’s offerings. It opens with footage of Manhattan, the George Washington Bridge, and aerial views of New York City and the New York World’s Fair grounds at Flushing Meadows, Queens. Then it moves on to views of the U.S. Government Building and various state buildings and pavilions representing industry and trade including AT&T, U.S. Steel, Westinghouse, Goodrich, Chrysler, and General Motors (which, with its Futurama exhibit designed by Norman Bel Geddes, is generally considered to have outshone Ford’s exposition that season). Next we see the Ford Exposition Building, including the large mobile mural by Henry Billings, the “Ford Cycle of Production,” the theater, gardens, fountains, and exhibits and demonstrations including the processing of soybeans and the casting of molten iron. People get into Ford automobiles for the “Road of Tomorrow” ride on spiral ramps in and around the building. Views of the amusement section of the fair include dancing, ice-skating, a parachute jump, souvenir stand, and food venues. The film closes showing the fair at night, the effects of lighting (the first practical fluorescent light debuted at this fair), and fireworks.

For more about the 1939 New York World’s Fair, you could start with an article and photo gallery at Wired, and then, for even more information on all the World’s Fairs, head over to the “World’s Fair Community” forum (which will take you to the 1939 NY pages) and “Welcome to Tomorrow” maintained by the University of Virginia’s American Studies department.