Unisphere

Attractions and Geographical Features of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

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Attractions and geographical features of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park: 1 Citi Field 2 Flushing Meadows Carousel 3 Flushing Meadows Natatorium 4 Flushing River and Creek 5 Meadow Lake 6 Mets–Willets Point (LIRR and subway stations) 7 National Tennis Center 8 New York Hall of Science 9 New York State Pavilion, Queens Theatre and Queens Zoo 10 Queens Botanical Garden 11 Queens Museum 12 Unisphere 13 Willow Lake 14 World's Fair station (demolished)

Unisphere under construction in the 1960s.[2]

A crane eases the last segment of the Unisphere into place to complete the structure

Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, a former ash dump in the borough of Queens, was used for the 1939/1940 New York World's Fair. At the conclusion of the fair, it was used as a park.[3][4] The Flushing Meadows site was selected in 1959 for the 1964 New York World's Fair.[5] Gilmore David Clarke and Michael Rapuano, designers of the original World's Fair layout, were retained to tailor the original 1939 park layout for the new fair.[6][7]^:3 New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses was president of the World's Fair Corporation, which leased the park from the city until 1967, after the fair's completion.[8]

The Unisphere was announced by Moses in February 1961,[9] and a model of the proposed work was unveiled the following year.[10] Initially conceptually designed by the landscape architect in aluminum with metallic mesh continents; it underwent a further refined industrial design in stainless steel by industrial designers at Peter Muller-Munk Associates, and with engineering and fabrication by American Bridge Company, a division of US Steel.

The sphere was built within 110 days.[11] The last landmass was installed on August 13, 1963.[12]

During the 1964 fair, dramatic lighting at night gave the effect of sunrise moving over the surface of the globe. Additionally, the capitals of nations were marked by lights. One of these lights is placed at the location of the Kahnawake Indian Reservation, which the Mohawk ironworkers requested to be placed there to honor their labor.[13]

In 1966, after the conclusion of the fair, US Steel donated $100,000 to make the Unisphere a permanent attraction at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.[14]

In 1989, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced a multimillion-dollar rehabilitation of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Among the projects was a complete restoration of the Unisphere. The project, which began in 1993, included numerous structural repairs and removal of years' worth of grime accumulation on the steel. The fountains, shut off since the 1970s, were replaced, and new floodlighting installed.[15] Furthermore, two of the surrounding lawns were planted with rose gardens.[16] The restoration was completed in May 1994.[15] That year, the Annual Building Awards in Queens gave the Unisphere an award for best rehabilitation.[17]

In May 1995, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission recognized the Unisphere as an official city landmark.[18][1]

The Unisphere's fountain reopened on August 12, 2010, after a $2 million restoration of its pumps, valves, and paintwork.[19] In addition, other sites say the globe and its surroundings, including its reflecting pool and fountains, were renovated at a cost of $3 million.[1] In the 2010 Brooklyn/Queens tornadoes, the landmass representing Sri Lanka was blown off the Unisphere; the piece was reinstalled the following year.[20]

The Unisphere is the world's largest globe. It measures 120 feet (37 m) in diameter, rises 140 feet (43 m), and weighs 700,000 pounds (317,515 kg), though some sources say the Unisphere weighs 900,000 pounds (408,233 kg),[16] including its 100 short tons (91 t) inverted tripod base. The sphere is constructed of Type 304L stainless steel. The continents on the sphere are fabricated with a special texture-pattern by Rigidized Metals Corporation, based in Buffalo, New York.[21] Developed for this architectural project, the pattern's name of "1 UN" stands for "1 Unisphere".

Three large orbit rings of stainless steel encircle the Unisphere at various angles. These orbit rings are believed to represent the tracks of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, and Telstar, the first active communications satellite. In fact, the early design was to have a ring for each of a dozen satellites in place at the time of the Fair. This proved impractical, not only in the number of satellites, but also in the height of their orbits and the fact that geostationary satellites had no orbit path. As a result, a symbolic number of three was chosen for aesthetic reasons.[22]

The Unisphere is centered in a large, circular reflecting pool and is surrounded by a series of water-jet fountains. The 96 fountainheads arranged in pairs are designed to obscure its tripod pedestal. The effect is meant to make the Unisphere appear as if it is floating in space.[7]

The then-newly built Unisphere during the 1964–1965 World's Fair

Close-up of Africa

The Unisphere is built on the structural foundation that supported the Perisphere of the 1939 World's Fair. The marshy soil of Flushing Meadows needed special consideration during the original 1937 Perisphere construction. The Perisphere, and subsequently the Unisphere, which used the same platform, employed a foundation of 528 pressure-creosoted Douglas fir piles of 95 to 100 feet (29 to 30 m) in length. Before construction of the Unisphere, three piles were tested for structural integrity and all were found to be sound throughout their entire length.[23]