By the time I got there, it was gone.
The World's Fair, you ask? Nope. I am referring to something far more unbelievable...
That'sright: Queens once had an honest-to-God Parks Department-approvedfountain named "Fountain of the Planet of the Apes." And if that's notodd enough, an identical fountain on the opposite side of the QueensZoo was named "Fountain of the Planet of the Grapes of Wrath." You cansee them labeled on this park map, courtesy Flickr user Joshua:
Sadly, whenI arrived, the signs were gone, and the fountains now appear to benameless (below is the former "Fountain of the Planet of the Apes").Originally called "Fountain of the Planets" for the World's Fair,former Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern added the "of the Apes" to thename in the mid-90's because, according to his quote in this NY Times article, "'It's a great movie which is also a treatise on the dangers of war."
Why"Fountain of the Planet of the Grapes of Wrath?" According to Stern,"We thought since we were paying tribute to a motion picture with ananimal title, we should pay tribute to a motion picture with avegetable title." Makes sense to me. Very disappointed to see theirsigns removed - here's hoping they return.
While in the area, I figured it'd be a good time to explore a little-known section of Queens known as Flushing Meadows Park.
Kidding, ofcourse! I don't know why it's taken me so long to visit the site of twoWorld's Fairs. Originally, I wasn't even going to put up a post aboutit - how could I even begin to find an original way to present materialmost New Yorkers are familiar with, a post people have done countlesstimes in the past. Heck, there are World's Fair aficionados who runsites chock full of every tidbit of World's Fair info you could everpossibly hope to learn! Why add to the mix?
I decided todo a post anyway, for three reasons. One, if you haven't been, maybethis will finally convince you to go. Two, if you have been, maybe thiswill bring to mind the park's beauty.
Three, lastFriday marked the anniversary of Queens Borough President HelenMarshall advocating the demolition of the iconic PhilipJohnson-designed Tent of Tomorrow, seen below. According to Marshall:"It should be demolished. We have great artists. He's not the onlyartist in the world." Wow.
Well, sincethen, the Tent of Tomorrow site has gained Landmark status, protectingit from narrow-minded politicians. I present this post as a latecelebration of an important victory.
Though a shell of its former glory, the Tent of Tomorrow is still an incredible structure, the future as envisioned in 1964:
How it looked during the 1964 World's Fair:
Measuringin at 350 ft x 250 ft, the surrounding 100-foot columns originallysupported a 50,000 sq-ft roof made up of orange and blue panels.
The Tentfeatured numerous New York-themed arts and sciences exhibits. Mostincredibly, an enormous map of New York covered the floor, rendered inin 567 mosaic panels weighing 400 pounds each and described by the NYTimes as "an exuberantly overstated mix of small-town parochialism,space-age optimism and Pop Art irony."
Followingthe end of the fair, the tent became a roller rink, and then aperforming arts space. When the roof was removed in 1976 over fears ofits impending collapse, the map was largely destroyed by the elements,and vandals took care of much of the rest.
Abutting the Tent of Tomorrow are three towers, which once held cafeterias and an observatory.
The towerswere accessed by "Sky Streak" capsule elevators. The elevators wereremoved in recent years, one of which had been stuck about 150 feet upfor decades.
Though itcost tax payers $12 million and was supposed to become an arts centerfollowing the fair, the Tent of Tomorrow has basically sat rotting for45 years. Though the structure is still generally sound, roof cablesare apparently in danger of snapping.
As mentioned, the Tent is now a State Landmark, and pro-bono
architects are considering ways of saving it (according to engineering
reports, portions of it would have to be rebuilt to meet safety
standards). In the meantime, the floor map, which was being restored by
a group from U. Penn, will be (or has been?) covered in a layer of sand
and gravel to help it survive the winter.
Meanwhile,two New Yorkers recently took to repainting the walls, though much workneeds to be done. I wish they had been a bit louder in putting the wordout - I for one would love to help!
Next door isa World's Fair structure that's been completely renovated: the formerTheaterama, now the Queens Theatre in the Park.
During thefair, the Theaterama exhibited works by such artists as Andy Warhol andRoy Lichtenstein, as well as showing a 360-degree film about thewonders of New York in the actual Theaterama space. Since the 1970's,the building has been through a number of renovations, beginning withthis (pictures from the Queens Theatre in the Park website)...
Followed by this (which I love):
And finally,the above picture, which, while certainly modern, seem pretty bland.But what do I know? At least they left these great transistor-likeadornments:
I don't think they were around for the fair, but I love the water fountain design right outside:
And now, the Unisphere!
I reallycan't think of anything more iconic in Queens than the Unisphere.Measuring in with a diameter of 120 feet, the Unisphere was designed inaccordance with the theme of the World's Fair: Peace throughunderstanding. The three lines encircling the globe represent the firstman in space, the first American to orbit the Earth, and the firstcommunications satellite. The Unisphere was rehabilitated in the early90's and received Landmark status in 1995.
The globe isbuilt on the former site of the Perisphere, the symbol for the 1939World's Fair. Originally 180 feet in diameter, the interior of thePerisphere depicted a utopian world of the future. It also featured, atthe time, the world's longest escalator.
Currently,the pool surrounding the fountain is undergoing renovations to fixleakage problems. The design of the fountains was intended to obscurethe base of the sphere, so as to make it seem as if it's floating.
How old is this sign?
During the fair, lighting at night would simulate sunrises across the globe.
The capitals were once marked with lights, though this seems to have been removed:
Nearby, a number of tablets have been set to commemorate both World's Fairs, and I wanted to share some of my favorites.
Looks almost like the Diner of Tomorrow, which was allegedly present for the '64 Fair.
The silhouettes:
I love this woman encountering a robot:
What are they looking at? A TV? A jukebox? Record player? All of the above?
So cool:
Great retro-space-age feel:
A satellite:
I'm dreading the day when a iPod and a flat screen TV seem antiquated:
Apparently, this fair-goer has traveled to another planet. Any ideas on this one?
Ah, water sports:
Down pastthe now empty pools leading up to the Unisphere is the Rocket Throwerstatue, yet another space-themed sculpture, depicting a giant throwinga rocket up to the heavens while reaching out to a constellation withhis other hand.
Thesculpture received mixed reviews upon its installation (the NY Timesdescirbed it as "the most lamentable monster, making Walt Disney looklike Leonardo Da Vinci.”). In 2008, donations were being sought after for its restoration.
Closer to the NY Hall of Science is my favorite park sculpture, Forms In Transit, meant to depict all aspects of flight:
While thestatue lost part of a wing to weathering, the visible corrosion isactually part of the original sculpture, perhaps intended to show theeffects of atmospheric re-entry.
Around the corner in front of the NY Hall of Science are Queens' very own rocket ships: a Mercury Atlas and a Gemini Titan:
The tworockets were originally manufactured to carry nuclear warheads, andlater were acquired by NASA. Unused, they were donated to the World'sFair Hall of Science Space Park in 1964. Having deteriorated badlysince then (one of the interior support structures had a termiteinfestation!), they were refurbished in 2001 and now look absolutely stunning.
Next: There's an episode of the Simpsons in which a treasure is reputedly buried beneath a "Big T" (a reference to It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - note the W on the left).
I always think that if Homer lived in Queens, his first stop would be Flushing Meadows Park:
Now acatering hall, the above structure was original built as the PortAuthority Pavilion (the "T" is for Transportation), intended to serveas a landing spot for helicopter transport.
The topfloor featured an 1,100-seat restaurant called the Top of the Fair; thelower floor, a 400-seat cocktail lounge known as "Drinks Around TheWorld," which served drinks from 24 international locales. Note thehelicopter on the roof in the bottom picture:
Though a lot of films shoot here, I've never been up it. It almost looks like a playground on the roof!
Though it has great views, you might want to check out some online reviews before booking your next wedding here. Just sayin...
This is the lower floor - what is all that junk? Does the cocktail lounge still exist?
This random column in the middle of the park, known as the Column of Jerash, was donated to the Fair by the King of Jordan:
Originallyfrom a Roman temple in the Jordanian city of Jerash built in 120 AD, itis known as one of the "Whispering Columns." As Forgotten NY points out, it's probably the oldest man-made outdoor object after Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park, which is 3,500 years old.
Last but not least, the site of both the 1939 and 1964 World's Fair time capsules, buried to endure for 5,000 years.
A picture of this spot in 1964 (ha, that white cylinder reminds me of Doc Brown's DeLorean fusion reactor in Back to the Future II):
Click here to read more about the time capsules, how they were designed to last so long, what they contain, and to see pictures:
From thetablets I wrote about earlier, I believe this one commemorates theinsertion of the 1939 Fair capsule, which was lowered at the exactmoment of the Autumnal Equinox in 1938.
The top of the monument covering the capsules, featuring the now-closed hole through which they were lowered:
Fall has hit Flushing Meadows Park pretty hard:
Finally, asI biked back, I passed by the Pan American Hotel on Queens Boulevard.I'm not sure how old it is, but it feels to me like it goes hand inhand with the world of the 1964 Fair.
Other than a website address, I don't think any changes have been made to the building since it was built:
The two pyramids light up at night. The future is now!
Whew! Thereit is, my trip to Flushing Meadows Park. Again, I realize that what Iwrote about is nothing new, but hopefully, this post has reminded youof the beauty of the Park.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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