Flushing Meadows - Corona Park, 2013
1964 World's Fairgrounds / Unisphere, Queens, NY
I
was thinking of areas I’ve been wanting to see, but have yet to visit,
and the old World’s Fairground in Queens came to mind.
The park area, now called Flushing Meadows - Corona Park, contains a national
tennis center, and venue for the U.S. Open tennis tournament, the home of the
New York Mets baseball team (Citi Field), New York Hall of Science, Queens Museum
of Art, Queens Theatre, Queens Wildlife Center, and the remains of the New York
State Pavilion. Until demolished, Shea Stadium was also located in Flushing
Meadows.
I, of course, went to see the old pavilions from the 1964 World’s Fair.
The pavilion was designed by modernist architect Philip Johnson in 1960, and work began in 1962. It was finished in time for the ‘64 World’s fair, and parts still remain in use, though much is abandoned. The pavilion was finally listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
After walking the remains of NY State Pavilion, I headed to the rear of the Queens Museum to shoot the Unisphere, a 12-story, stainless steel model of our planet.
Designed by landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke, it was to represent “man’s achievements on a shrinking globe in an expanding Universe”.
Afterward, I walked much of the park, and stumbled upon this beautiful Roman column, given to the park as a gift in 1964 by King Hussein of Jordan, which is dated from 120 CE.
I
did not traverse the entire park, so I missed works and sculptures by Jose De
Rivera, Donald De Lue, Eric Fischl and others, not to mention I did not come
across the infamous Fountain of the Planet of the Apes.
This way, I have a reason to return.