New York 1939-1940 - Trylon and Perisphere As the 1939 New York World's Fair was divided into many different thematic zones, its planners wanted a central symbol for this event. The original idea was to have a theme center, with twin 250 feet towers and a semicircular hall to display dioramas. Wallace K. Harrison, a prominent New York architect of the Harrison Fouilhoux firm, was selected to design the theme center in November 1936. Harrison wanted a design that would represent a new architecture