Never Was Magazine

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Tomorrowland concept art, probably by Herb Ryman

1954 Herb Ryman concept art for Tomorrowland’s entrance with a painting by Collin Campbell

1953 Tomorrowland concept art by Dale Hennesy

Every Disney theme park has its Tomorrowland. The one in Paris has Jules Verne-style attractions. Disneyland Hong Kong this year launched an Iron Man attraction.

The original Tomorrowland opened in California in 1955. It was meant to show visitors what America would look like in the year 1986. Above are some of the original artworks produced for the park.

1965 concept art for Tomorrowland’s Space Mountain, by John Hench

1965 concept art for Tomorrowland’s Space Mountain, by John Hench

Disney redesigned Tomorrowland in the 1960s. One of the new attractions was to be an indoor rollercoaster called “Space Port”. John Hench, a prolific Disney designer, created several concept drawings for the iconic dome of what would later be named “Space Mountain”.

#UnbuiltLA: Disney’s Tomorrowland Concept Art Every Disney theme park has its Tomorrowland. The one in Paris has Jules Verne-style attractions. Disneyland Hong Kong this year launched an…

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Illustration of a future city by Günter Radtke for Ulrich Schippke’s Zukunft: Das Bild der Welt von Morgen (1974)

Illustration of a future highway by Günter Radtke for Ulrich Schippke’s Zukunft: Das Bild der Welt von Morgen (1974)

Illustration of a future railway by Günter Radtke for Ulrich Schippke’s Zukunft: Das Bild der Welt von Morgen (1974)

Illustration of future Los Angeles by Günter Radtke for Ulrich Schippke’s Zukunft: Das Bild der Welt von Morgen (1974)

Illustration of a future railway by Günter Radtke for Ulrich Schippke’s Zukunft: Das Bild der Welt von Morgen (1974)

Illustration of a future city by Günter Radtke for Ulrich Schippke’s Zukunft: Das Bild der Welt von Morgen (1974)

Illustration of a future solar energy system by Günter Radtke for Ulrich Schippke’s Zukunft: Das Bild der Welt von Morgen (1974)

Günter Radtke was a German illustrator who mostly did work for Stern magazine.

He also illustrated various science-fiction stories, including Ulrich Schippke’s Zukunft: Das Bild der Welt von Morgen (“The Future: An Image of the World of Tomorrow”) (1974), which shows self-driving cars, skyscrapers in the sea and various imagined forms of public transportation.

All images courtesy of Retro-Futurismus.

Günter Radtke’s World of Tomorrow Günter Radtke was a German illustrator who mostly did work for Stern magazine. He also illustrated various science-fiction stories, including Ulrich Schippke's…

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Rooftop Airports Revisited: An Even Scarier Proposal

Rooftop Airports Revisited: An Even Scarier Proposal – but great #dieselpunk inspiration!

Proposed rooftop airport for major cities, from Modern Mechanix, July 1938 Remember those skyscraper-based runways we highlighted here a few years ago? Turns out it can always get worse. From the same magazine — Modern Mechanix — comes this idea by “a French engineer”: Proposed as a solution to the problem of locating an airport in the heart of any big city, a design for a long orientable runway,…

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The Soviet Plan to Thaw the Arctic

Depiction of a Soviet plan to dam the Arctic, from Popular Mechanics, June 1956 Nowadays we worry the Arctic is getting too hot. Half a century ago, the Soviets wished it was warmer — and they thought of a way to thaw the frigid North. Popular Mechanics reported in June 1956 that Soviet authorities were considering building a 55-mile dam between Alaska and Siberia. The barrier would keep icebergs…

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Artwork by Alexander Leydenfrost

Artwork by Alexander Leydenfrost

Artwork by Alexander Leydenfrost

Alexander Leydenfrost was born Sandor Leidenfrost in Debrecen in 1888, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was from a noble family and studied at the Royal Academy of Fine and Applied Arts of Budapest.

The First World War and the subsequent collapse of the monarchy convinced Leydenfrost to emigrate to the United States in 1923. He changed his name to Alexander, which was easier to pronounce for Americans, and found employment as an industrial illustrator.

He changed his career from an industrial designer to a professional illustrator-artist in 1939, the same year World War II broke out in Europe. He did artwork for Planet Stories, Popular Science and Life magazine, among others. It’s for his photorealistic illustrations for the latter that he’s best remembered, but retro-futurists will enjoy some of his earlier work, featured here.

Sandor Leidenfrost’s Space Art Alexander Leydenfrost was born Sandor Leidenfrost in Debrecen in 1888, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was from a noble family and studied at the Royal Academy of Fine and Applied Arts of Budapest.

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Trailblazer: America’s Forgotten Monorail

Trailblazer: America’s Forgotten Monorail

America’s first commercially operated monorail was called Trailblazer. Built in Fair Park in Dallas, Texas, this suspended monorail operated from 1956 to 1964. The ride didn’t amount to much. The line ran for just 1,600 feet, which, at a speed of around ten miles per hour, took a couple of minutes. Trailblazer’s purpose was to attract interest in the technology — which, sadly, it didn’t. Few…

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Kurt Röschl (1923-1986) was an Austrian graphic artist and painter who illustrated various science-fiction stories in the 1950s. There’s not much information about him online, but it seems he illustrated quite a lot of books for Erich Dolezal (1902-1990), another Austrian.

All images courtesy of Retro-Futurismus.

Raumflotte I startet

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s short story, “Raumflotte I startet – ein Tatsachenbericht von morgen,” published in Verlag für Jugend und Volk (1952)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s short story, “Raumflotte I startet – ein Tatsachenbericht von morgen,” published in Verlag für Jugend und Volk (1952)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s short story, “Raumflotte I startet – ein Tatsachenbericht von morgen,” published in Verlag für Jugend und Volk (1952)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s short story, “Raumflotte I startet – ein Tatsachenbericht von morgen,” published in Verlag für Jugend und Volk (1952)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s short story, “Raumflotte I startet – ein Tatsachenbericht von morgen,” published in Verlag für Jugend und Volk (1952)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s short story, “Raumflotte I startet – ein Tatsachenbericht von morgen,” published in Verlag für Jugend und Volk (1952)

These illustrations were done for Erich Dolezal’s short story “Raumflotte I startet – ein Tatsachenbericht von morgen,” which translates into, “Space Fleet I starts – a factual report from tomorrow”. It was published in the Verlag für Jugend und Volk, which appeared in Vienna in 1952.

The rocket was apparently inspired by Werner von Braun’s early designs from the 1950s.

Unternehmen Mars

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Unternehmen Mars (1955)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Unternehmen Mars (1955)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Unternehmen Mars (1955)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Unternehmen Mars (1955)

Dinosaurs on Mars! These illustrations were done by Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s 1955 book, Unternehmen Mars (“The Mars Enterprise”).

Alarm aus Atomville

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Alarm aus Atomville (1956)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Alarm aus Atomville (1956)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Alarm aus Atomville (1956)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Alarm aus Atomville (1956)

Illustrations for Erich Dolezal’s 1956 novel, Alarm aus Atomville (“Alarm from the Atomic Village”).

Die Astronauten

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Die Astronauten (1959)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Die Astronauten (1959)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Die Astronauten (1959)

Illustration by Kurt Röschl for Erich Dolezal’s Die Astronauten (1959)

Illustrations for Erich Dolezal’s 1959 story Die Astronauten (“The Astronauts”). It was the first in a two-parter. The second book, Festung Sonnensystem (“Fortress Solar System”) was published in 1962.

Kurt Röschl’s 1950s Austrian Space Art #retro Kurt Röschl (1923-1986) was an Austrian graphic artist and painter who illustrated various science-fiction stories in the 1950s.