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Four years went into
the creation of the General Motors
Futurama. Actually, it comprises three spectacular attractions.
First, the adventure-laden Futurama Ride. Second, the informative
Avenue of Progress with its many demonstrations of science and
technology serving mankind. Third, the complete display of General
Motors products in the Upper and Lower Product Plazas.
The Upper Product
Plaza features General Motors cars in U.S. and international
travel settings. In the center of the Lower Product Plaza is
the Frigidaire display: "Profiles of Frigidaire Kitchens
Around the World." Surrounding it are exhibits by AC Spark
Plug, Allison, Euclid, Detroit Diesel, Electro-Motive, Delco
Appliance, and United Delco Divisions. Here, too, you will see
suggestions for future answers to our ever-growing highway and
traffic problems. In an adjacent Outdoor Product Plaza are displays
by General Motors Truck and Coach, Chevrolet Truck, and Overseas
Truck.
Perhaps the most popular of all three Futurama attractions is the Ride.
On an average day, about 70,000 people will take this intriguing
quarter-hour trip into tomorrow. The Ride moves continuously
and can accommodate 5,500 people an hour. Once aboard, you relax
in your individual lounge chairs, and, as you are transported
on the fifteen-minute tour into the future, you hear a running
description of its wonders over your own special stereo sound
system.
An interesting sidelight
is that
every bit of the spectacular Ride was built and assembled in
Detroit -- then disassembled, shipped, and reassembled at the
Fair site. More than 1,500 shipping crates were required to hold
this Ride material. Had it all been shipped at one time a freight
train more than half a mile long would have been needed to transport
it.
Speaking of "spectacular,"
the GM
Futurama building certainly merits that adjective. It is longer
than two football fields, measuring 680 feet from Main Entrance
to Outdoor Product Plaza. Over 200 feet wide, it is broad enough
to accomodate a fleet of 6 average-sized cars driven side by
side. The foundation system is 670 steel-encased concrete pilings
driven an average of 55 feet into the earth. Approximately 4,000
tons of structural steel form the framework of the building,
and 10,500 cubic yards of concrete were poured to complete its
superstructure. Most dramatic exterior feature is the distinctive
canopy soaring ten stories over the Main Entrance and visible
for miles.
The entire building
-- as well as the Futurama Ride and all other Futurama exhibits
-- was conceived and designed by the General Motors Styling Staff.
In creating the Futurama, General Motors people worked closely
with consultants from all over the world to make sure that backgrounds
and special scenic effects would be authentic, and that scientific
predictions would be valid.
Inside or outside, the Futurama is spectacular.
The photo murals in the giant Reception Hall, for example, were
taken "on location" around the world under special
assignment from General Motors. The ocean floor you will see
during the Futurama Ride is composed largely of coral removed
by divers from deep beneath the Caribbean Sea. And the "Moon
Rover" found on the Avenue of Progress is a scale model
of the actual apparatus that someday may be exploring the surface
of the moon. As a mater of fact, every scientific development
on the Avenue of Progress came from a long list of GM Research
and Engineering accomplishments.
We hope this
behind-the-scenes peek will heighten your enjoyment of Futurama.
General Motors -- Many minds and many hands serving
the needs of mankind.
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