Fanciful Future Predictions from the Past
September 19th, 2018
In the September 1912 issue of American Homes & Gardens, futurist Harold D. Eberlein presented his predictions of the impact of air travel on American cities.
Eberlein foresaw a proliferation of roof gardens on top of large hotels to provide pleasing views for guests. He also predicted that travelers could expect to find:
“clerks and bellboys posted on the top floor ready to attend to the immediate wants of tourists who have just arrived by airplane. Aerial taxicabs will circle like vultures over the hotel waiting for a doorman to signal one of them to alight and pick up a departing guest.”
The creation of drones and self-driven vehicles shows just how close we are to fulfilling Eberlein’s fanciful prediction of the future. Google’s efforts to build delivery drones and internet-beaming balloons are no longer just science projects.
Stanley Turkel is a Virginia-based hotel consultant specializing in hotel-related expert witness cases and asset management. He was designated as the 2014 and 2015 Historian of the Year by Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. To order his books go to www.stanleyturkel.com and click on “books”:
-“Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry”
-“Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels in New York”
-“Built To Last: 100+ Year-Old Hotels East of the Mississippi”
-“Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt, Oscar of the Waldorf”
-“Great American Hoteliers Volume 2: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry”
-“Built To Last: 100+ Year Old Hotels West of the Mississippi”
-“Hotel Mavens Volume 2: Henry Morrison Flagler, Henry Bradley Plant, Carl Graham Fisher"
- Log in to post comments