Participating architects, eager for new projects at a time when few new buildings were being financed, populated the fairgrounds with an eclectic modern architecture. Pavilions housed innovative and dynamic exhibitions that paid tribute to factory production, technology, and speed. Exhibits forecasted the houses and cities of tomorrow and presented streamlined trains, modern furnishings, television, and talking robots.

A first-of-its-kind exhibition, coming in Summer 2009, Designing the World of Tomorrow will feature nearly 200 never-before-assembled artifacts including building models, architectural remnants, drawings, paintings, prints, furniture, an original RCA TRK-12 television, Elektro the Moto- Man robot, and period film footage.

The artifacts are drawn from the featured expositions: Chicago, IL—Century of Progress (1933–34); San Diego, CA—California-Pacific International Exposition (1935-1936); Dallas, TX—Texas Centennial Exposition (1936); Cleveland, OH—Great Lakes International Exposition (1936-1937); San Francisco, CA—Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940); and New York, NY—New York World's Fair (1939-1940). -- www.nbm.org