About the Exhibit The Leelanau Historical Museum will host Yesterday's Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future from November 4, 2001 until January 1, 2002. Yesterday's Tomorrows (YT) is a traveling exhibition that explores the history of the future--our expectations and beliefs about things to come. From ray guns to robots, to nuclear powered cars, to the Atom-Bomb house, to predictions and inventions that went awry, YT helps us understand the values and hopes Americans hold and have held about the years to come. Click here for exhibit photos! The exhibit explores three themes... Transportation of Tomorrow Futuristic vehicles are uniquely American ways of imagining tomorrow, reflecting our faith in progress and technology. Before the 1920s, mass transit systems dominated Americans' visualizations of future transportation. But the automobile quickly became the dominant mode of transportation and so was the focus of designers' and planners' futuristic visions. Learn about our transportation of tomorrow contest! Home of Tomorrow During the nineteenth century, Americans thought that proper housing was essential to the future social and moral health of their families. But ideas about the home evolved; the home became a "machine for living," and modern architecture, mass production, and increased automation within the home took precedence over real human and societal needs. Home designs continued to reflect contemporary beliefs about family life, gender roles, and social relations. Today, many home designs show exteriors that harken back to the past while their interiors are replete with the latest gadgets. Community of Tomorrow "Ideal" American communities envisioned in the early 20th century reflected hopes, excitement, and fears about the reality of an increasingly urban society. Strategies for future communities were marked by a series of contradictions: communitarianism v. individualism, image v. social reality, utopia v. urban chaos. Today, planned communities where work, leisure, and domestic life can be harmoniously integrated echo the communitarian utopias of the 19th century.