Argy58
Elektro | Westinghouse Electric Corp | NY World's Fair 1939
In 1939, the Westinghouse Electric Corporation's pavilion at New York's World Fair drew thousands upon thousands of fascinated onlookers. The star attraction was the robot Elektro, who was over 7 foot tall and performed 26 different functions including voice command walking, speaking up to 700 words and even smoking cigarettes and blowing up balloons.
Constructed by Westinghouse out of Aluminium on a steel frame Elektro performed one 20 minute show every hour over the 1939 and 1940 seasons. Visitors at the pavilion would have picked up a badge of Elektro (as shown above) as a prized souvenir of the event. The robot's actions gave a snapshot of what future technologies could offer just as America was coming out of the Great Depression. Of course, a brighter future was aborted as the world embarked on a second major war.
Elektro retired after the Fair but reappeared again in 1950 as Westinghouse used the robot for promotional appearances throughout North America. Elektro resided at Pacific Ocean Park in Venice California up until the early 1960s.
Photography, layout and design: Argy58
(This image also exists as a high resolution jpeg and tiff - ideal for a variety of print sizes
e.g. A4, A3, A2 and A1. The current uploaded format is for screen based viewing only: 72pi)
Elektro | Westinghouse Electric Corp | NY World's Fair 1939
In 1939, the Westinghouse Electric Corporation's pavilion at New York's World Fair drew thousands upon thousands of fascinated onlookers. The star attraction was the robot Elektro, who was over 7 foot tall and performed 26 different functions including voice command walking, speaking up to 700 words and even smoking cigarettes and blowing up balloons.
Constructed by Westinghouse out of Aluminium on a steel frame Elektro performed one 20 minute show every hour over the 1939 and 1940 seasons. Visitors at the pavilion would have picked up a badge of Elektro (as shown above) as a prized souvenir of the event. The robot's actions gave a snapshot of what future technologies could offer just as America was coming out of the Great Depression. Of course, a brighter future was aborted as the world embarked on a second major war.
Elektro retired after the Fair but reappeared again in 1950 as Westinghouse used the robot for promotional appearances throughout North America. Elektro resided at Pacific Ocean Park in Venice California up until the early 1960s.
Photography, layout and design: Argy58
(This image also exists as a high resolution jpeg and tiff - ideal for a variety of print sizes
e.g. A4, A3, A2 and A1. The current uploaded format is for screen based viewing only: 72pi)