Queens Museum + Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
On Saturday my friend Trent and I went to the Queens Museum of Art. Neither of us had been before, but we'd been talking about going for a while. We both love New York history, and the museum is located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, site of the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs. Almost all of the fair structures are gone now, but a few are still standing, including the Unisphere, observation towers and the New York Pavilion.
The Unisphere is absolutely amazing and one of the coolest things I think I've ever seen. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it is enormous. For some reason I had it in my head that it was like, 10 feet tall, but it's actually 12 stories high. It had fallen into disrepair, but was fully restored in the 90s and given landmark status in '95.
Saturday was cold but sunny and beautiful — the park was mostly deserted and Trent and I are already making plans to return in the spring or summer, especially to see the fountains (restored in 2010, but turned off for the winter). We walked through most of it, searching for remnants of the fair but there isn't much left.
The observation towers and the New York Pavilion are basically ruins, but I love exploring old, forgotten places. I felt like I suddenly understood how creatures might feel in the future, coming to Earth and wondering what purpose different things served — Trent and I were speculating on what was inside the Pavilion, until we discovered that it was basically just an empty yard.
The whole area feels like it hasn't really changed since 1964, which I love. We went into the museum to warm up, and see the New York Panorama, another relic from the World's Fair. The museum is under construction right now (and from what we saw contains basically no art), so it's pretty much the only exhibit that is open — but more than worth the $4 student price of admission.
The Panorama takes up an entire room and took 100 people three years to create. It's a model of all five boroughs, done at 1:1,200 scale — the Empire State building is just 15 inches tall. Again, I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but I was absolutely blown away. It's so incredibly detailed, totally frivolous and just really, really awesome.
I loved everything about Saturday and the park was one of my favorite things I've ever seen in the city. I'll definitely be back in the summer, but I'm so glad we went when we did. The park was beautiful in the snow and we basically had the whole place to ourselves. I get the sense that it isn't a super-touristy thing to do, probably because it's "all the way" in Queens, but it's relatively easy to get to, super cheap, and an all-around awesome day trip.
Now, of course, all I want to do is read about the World's Fair and collect the souvenirs. I'm sad I can't go back to 1964 (or 1939) and eat a "Bel-Gem Brussels Waffle" at the Belgian Village — maybe I'll bring one with me next time and eat it under the Unisphere.