A concept rendering imagines futuristic 360-degree “Watertown Portals” placed in downtown public spaces, allowing residents across America’s various Watertowns to see and interact with one another live in real time.
WATERTOWN, N.Y. — Somewhere between science fiction, public art, and “why the hell don’t we do cool things anymore?” comes a concept now floating around local discussion circles: giant live-video portals connecting the downtowns of every major Watertown in America.
Imagine walking down Public Square in Watertown and seeing a glowing retro-futuristic cylindrical portal standing in the center plaza — chrome trim, Jetsons-style curves, softly glowing teal lighting, and a 360-degree live video screen wrapped around the structure.
Inside the portal?
People from another Watertown.
Maybe Watertown. Maybe Watertown. Maybe Watertown.
You wave.
They wave back.
Kids press their faces against the glass. Tourists start dancing. Random guys in cargo shorts attempt diplomacy with Wisconsin. Someone in South Dakota asks if we really get that much snow. Someone in New York asks if they have decent pizza.
For a few moments, two completely different American towns become one shared public space.
And honestly? It sounds incredible.
The concept would involve several cylindrical “portal stations” installed throughout participating Watertowns across the country. Unlike flat video screens, these portals would use wraparound transparent LED technology allowing multiple people to gather around them at once from every angle.
Think part sculpture, part communications device, part science-fiction town square.
The structures themselves would intentionally look retro-futuristic — something straight out of a 1962 magazine imagining the year 2000. Stainless steel. Rounded glass. Atomic-age styling. Clean glowing trim. A future imagined by people who thought we’d all have flying Buicks by now.
But the surroundings would remain real.
Not fantasy cities.
Not cartoon environments.
Real downtowns. Real storefronts. Real weather. Real people drinking coffee and complaining about potholes.
In one portal, you might see snow falling in Northern New York while another portal shows palm trees swaying somewhere else in America; Ok on that I don’t think so, there is no Watertown in Florida! But anyways, during festivals, entire crowds could interact live between cities. Local bands could perform for remote audiences. Schools could connect students instantly. Tourism boards would probably lose their minds over the publicity.
And yes, naturally, somebody would eventually hold up a sign saying:
“WE HAVE BETTER PIZZA.”
The idea also taps into something America used to do exceptionally well: build weird, optimistic public projects just because they inspired people.
Not everything has to be a warehouse.
Not every downtown improvement needs to involve gray concrete cubes and a consultant report nobody reads.
Sometimes a city should build something simply because it makes people stop, smile, and say:
“Whoa.”
Public Square already has the bones for something like this. Imagine these portals near the square connecting to other Watertowns nationwide in real time — a living network of sister cities sharing daily life across thousands of miles.
And if nothing else?
It would definitely give people something new to argue about in the comment section.
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