Cathy Henderson, Associate Director for Exhibitions, and Helen Baer, Associate Curator of Performing Arts, lead a tour of the exhibition I Have Seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America on Thursday, October 4, at 7 p.m. at the Harry Ransom Center.

Norman Bel Geddes (1893–1958) was an innovative stage and industrial designer, futurist, and urban planner who, more than any designer of his era, created and promoted a dynamic vision of the future—streamlined, technocratic, and optimistic. Bel Geddes popularized this vision through drawings, models, and photographs of spectacular vehicles, buildings, and products featured in his books Horizons and Magic Motorways. His most notable effort was his Futurama display for the General Motors' Highways and Horizons exhibit at the 1939–1940 New York World Fair, which adopted the motto "I Have Seen the Future." Futurama's giant model of a 1960 future American city gave Depression-era Americans genuine hope for a better future within their lifetimes.

The exhibition explores the career of this complex and influential man through more than 60 projects from the Ransom Center's Norman Bel Geddes collection. The exhibition brings together never-before-exhibited drawings, models, photographs, and films.

The event is free, but donations are welcome. Attendees at the event may enter to win a Bel Geddes-inspired package.