The Future is NowThe drama of the space race becomes a focal point for Americans during the 1960s. There are frequent headline events involving rocket tests and astronaut training programs, although neither side has a major breakthrough. Meanwhile, images of space travel, and visions of an amazing futuristic world, are suddenly showing up everywhere. It's almost as if man has already landed on the moon, and returned with shiny objects. The Disneyland exhibit called 'Tomorrowland' is a major tourist attraction, with its futuristic monorail, and 'Astrojet' ride. The exhibit's 'Moonliner' space rocket actually stands taller than the towers of Sleeping Beauty's castle. American cars are sporting ever-larger 'tailfins,' while chrome-plated accents grow more prominent each year. Men clearly lust after these new road rockets, sometimes offered as sporty convertibles. |
| ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||
It's Real At home, American children eagerly await Walt Disney's weekly TV show, which opens with a sparkling animated fairyland castle, complete with Tinkerbell. But the castle actually exists, at Disneyland, which seems to perfectly capture the exciting mood of the times. There, you can peer into a fantastic undersea world through portholes of the weirdly exotic Nautilus submarine. You can also experience the present and past, in the somewhat less-magical Frontierland, where you can still be surprised by hippos rising from the water on a jungle cruise, or ride through a recreation of America's wild west. On the whole, however, it seems that Americans prefer the futuristic rides. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Tailfins and Chrome Americans seem to find these fantastic expressions of dynamism both manly and sexy. Under the hood, massive V8 engines deliver equally exciting, gas-guzzling performance. The tailfin phase is already peaking, but the preference for 'muscle cars' and big engines will continue until the price of a gallon of gasoline triples, by 1980. While it lasts, however, it's an intoxicating period for America, which is at the top of its game. As a popular song has it, She'll have fun, fun, fun, 'till her daddy takes the T-Bird away. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
See the USA Just as Americans are getting their hands on the new breed of road machines, a spanking-new, high-speed road system is unfolding in front of their very eyes. Construction of this expansive network is still in the early stages, but soon there will be few places you can't visit, in your hot new wheels. Traffic congestion, the bane of city travel, barely exists outside the beltways that conveniently skirt urban centers. The top is down, and the radio on. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Convenient Parking The first Holiday Inn 'hotel court' appears on the scene just in time to welcome America's first class of road warriors, in 1952. Soon, Ramada Inns, Travelodges and Howard Johnsons are nearly everywhere you need them, when you're on the road. They're handy, low-cost, and road-ready. There's usually a place to grab an inexpensive meal right next door, or across the road, while gas stations seem to be conveniently located near every entrance and exit ramp. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Remember Where you Parked The shopping mall seems like an obvious solution to the problem of how to accommodate large masses of consumers, but it takes a while to develop. The first recognizable mall is built outside Detroit in the mid-1950s, but doesn't yet have a food court, or even a fully-enclosed entrance area for the shops ringing the exterior. These will come soon enough, but the real mall-building frenzy won't begin until about 1970. | |||||||||