Friday, December 19, 2014

Roadways of the [1950s] Future

This is a new addition to my collection of images that depict the City of Tomorrow. This one is from a book called The Wonderful World: The Adventure of the Earth We Live On (James Fisher, 1954). The artists are Kimpster and Evans (no first names provided).


Here's an excerpt: "Man finds it hard to manage his fast machines. His roads are too small, and cause accidents and jams. He can fly in less time from Boston to New York than it may take him to get from the airport to his office. [In contrast, this] city of the future ... is quiet, clean and easy to get about in. But it will not be easy to pull down the old cities and build new ones" (p. 47).

I wonder how many kids stared at this picture while the teacher was marching through some lesson about social studies, civics, or something equally bland to a young mind. It's not too hard to imagine a boy or girl, attention drifting in middle afternoon, looking at the window at the bland scene beyond and thinking, "I can't wait for the future!"

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