99% Invisible The Moving Walkway Is Ending
45 snips
Nov 18, 2025 
In this engaging discussion, reporter Jasper Davidoff explores the history of moving walkways, revealing their unexpected airport dominance, while architectural historian Lee Gray shares insights on their origins and failed city implementations. They delve into 19th-century transit ideas, the public's fascination at world's fairs, and the cultural impact of iconic installations like O'Hare's Tunnel of Light. The conversation also touches on the decline of walkways today and speculates on their potential revival in urban settings, blending efficiency with joy.
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Moving Walkways Were Meant For Cities
- Moving walkways were originally envisioned as urban mass transit, not just airport conveniences.
- Alfred Speer's 1870s 'endless traveling sidewalk' proposed elevated, continuous platforms along Broadway to solve congestion.
Paris World's Fair Built A Massive Walkway
- The 1900 Paris World's Fair built Le Trottoir Roulant, a large moving walkway that ran above ground and stretched through the fairgrounds.
- It served both practical transit across the fair and as a thrilling attraction captured in early film footage.
Walkways Pivoted From Transit To Niche Uses
- The moving walkway's broad city ambitions faded as trains and subways became dominant urban transit.
- Freed from that expectation, walkways found success in niche settings like stations, stadiums, and later airports.
