This 1960 cover depicts a huge nylon bag lifting a 384-ft-dia steel geodesic dome, the largest such pneumatic erection operation up to that time. The dome, which consisted of 893 hexagonal, welded-steel panels, structurally supported on the outside by a lattice of 6-in.-dia pipe struts, weighed over 500 tons. The nylon diaphragm, which was 1⁄33-in.-thick, was attached to the underside of the lid in a 175-ft-dia circle, and air was forced into the diaphragm through an underground tunnel. Designed by architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller, the dome was fabricated and erected by Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. for its parent company, Union Tank Car Co to serve as a railroad tank car repair and maintenance shop in Wood River, Ill., until 2019. During erection, pressure was maintained at 1.45 ounces per sq in., only slightly above atmospheric pressure.…