Drawing of a design for a monorail track viewed from below, depicting a large pylon track, with two sets of two cone shaped steel girders in a triangular formation holding up a thin, straight, silver path. Along the track an oblong shaped, futuristic red, blue and silver vehicle moves, heading towards our right. The track is set in a mid blue ground against a backdrop of deep blue, rectangular cliffs and a pale blue sky.

See more objects with the tag , transportation, mobility, fiction, passenger, concept drawing.

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Object Timeline

1968	Work on this object began.
1988	We acquired this object.
1991	We exhibited this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2018	We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

Drawing, Design for Monorail, MacArthur Airport, Long Island, NY, 1968

This is a Drawing. It was from the office of Donald Deskey Associates and made for (as the client) MacArthur Airport. It is dated 1968 and we acquired it in 1988. Its medium is zip-a-tone on photostat. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

Since the dominance of streets by cars at the beginning of the 20th century, American designers have persistently envisioned a future of better-designed cities navigated by futuristic vehicles.

Donald Deskey’s designs for a monorail at MacArthur Airport proposed a freight and passenger network that better integrated the utility airport with existing Long Island traffic and facilities. Transporting passengers by day, the monorail concept would move freight at night, which would be efficiently delivered to terminals and dispersed from there.

This object was donated by Donald Deskey. It is credited Gift of Donald Deskey.

Drawing of an asymmetrical, teal utility truck, with one large wheel at the front center and a smaller one at the back. The truck is divided into two rectangular boxy sections, a raised enclosed section for the driver with a grey seat and black steering wheel, and a larger enclosed, windowed space for storage, which is attached to a thin rectangular section containing the automobile's silver grille. Two headlights are found on the front of the truck. On the left of the vehicle is the grey outline of a figure holding a rectangular brown box. Just under the truck on the bottom right is the artist's signature. In the lower right of the drawing is a graphite inscription which states [ONE PIECE FIBERGLASS BODY] in capital letters.

Drawing, Design for Utility Vehicle with One-Piece Fiberglass Body, August 1963
cello-tak, black and gray magic marker, black color pencil, graphite on....
Gift of Donald Deskey.
1988-101-1605

A futuristic white, multi-level curved pathway with dark red accents. There are two blue and white train-like vehicles blurred as if moving at high speed, projecting from the top platform, a wide triangular tunnel with vertical silver columns in its interior that is visible through the cutaway view. A label marks this level as the 'energy transfer rail.' The center platform features a smaller tunnel on the left side, with a line of identical white, pod-like structures along horizontal tracks. This section is labeled the 'last mile public car.' To the far right of the center platform is another small tunnel set further back, from which a futuristic vehicle emerges. The bottom platform features multiple white lanes divided by gray lines which form tracks on which enclosed gray and white vehicles are placed intermittently. The background is a blue-ish gray, with a horizon line dividing the space topped with blue skies.

Shareway 2030 Concept, 2012
Courtesy of Höweler + Yoon.
MOBILITY.006

Hyperloop One, 2014–present
digital prints.
Courtesy of Virgin Hyperloop One.
MOBILITY.004

Our curators have highlighted 4 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

Drawing, Design for a Spot for The New Yorker

Drawing, Design for a Spot for The New Yorker
pen and ink, graphite on paper.
1960-214-57

Drawing, Design for Double-decker Bus, Hub Cities System

Drawing, Design for Double-decker Bus, Hub Cities System
graphite, red color pencil on paper.
Gift of Alexandra and Paul Herzan.
2017-27-5

Drawing, Design for Monorail Station, MacArthur Airport, Long Island, NY

Drawing, Design for Monorail Station, MacArthur Airport, Long Island, NY
graphite, white conte crayon on tracing paper laid down on gray wove paper....
Gift of Donald Deskey.
1988-101-1513

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 24.9 × 32.4 cm (9 13/16 × 12 3/4 in.) Mat: 35.6 × 45.7 cm (14 × 18 in.)

Cite this object as

Drawing, Design for Monorail, MacArthur Airport, Long Island, NY, 1968; Office of Donald Deskey Associates; Client: MacArthur Airport; USA; zip-a-tone on photostat; H x W x D: 24.9 × 32.4 cm (9 13/16 × 12 3/4 in.) Mat: 35.6 × 45.7 cm (14 × 18 in.); Gift of Donald Deskey; 1988-101-1514

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions The Road Ahead: Reimagining Mobility and The Cooper-Hewitt Collections: A Design Resource.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2DsqB/
Accession Number 1988-101-1514
Object ID 18624531