Trylon and Perisphere, New York World's Fair, 1939. These modernistic structures, designed by Wallace Harrison and J. Andre Fouilhoux, were constructed for the 1939 World's Fair. Plans for construction were changed multiple times due to limited resources due to the Great Depression. They were originally intended to be much larger than their final size of a 180-foot diameter sphere (the Perisphere) and a 610-foot spire (the Trylon). The Trylon was a high spike that visitors were able to ride up on an escalator for a panoramic view. The Perisphere was a giant sphere had an elaborate display on the inside called "Democracity." It presented an image of an ideal future in which people were not forced to live in crowded cities—in this vision, factory workers could live in big houses with gardens and open space, and commute to work. Unfortunately, the Trylon and the Perisphere did not survive World War II, and were destroyed to make ammunition and supplies shortly after the end of the Fair.

By Katie Uva Since their inception in the mid-19th century, world’s fairs have been major cultural touchstones. While fairs have typically had malleable themes and many different types of activities and displays on offer, one of the signature features of world’s fairs has been their role as industrial showcases. Fairs present new technology and inventions and promote the goals of their funders. In the mid-20th century, many of those goals centered on reshaping America’s cities. At the 1939 World’s Fair, several exhibits sought to awe visitors with a picture of prosperous regions anchored by cities, sculpted by highways, and based in suburban family living. By 1964, these ideas and the public-private cooperation they demanded had remade American life. The 1964 World’s Fair aimed to celebrate and perpetuate an already powerful mode of thinking about America’s cities, but in doing so also became a major target for criticism. Read this in its original format here.

Roosevelt Avenue between Peartree & Morris Avenues, 1923. The landscape between what is now 114th Street and 120th Street was desolate in 1923, just before construction of the Willets Point Station. The area is named for Robert Willets, whose Elm Wood farm was nearby. The Willets Point Station, opened May 7, 1927, started life as a small local stop located at the convergence of Roosevelt Avenue, Willets Point Boulevard, and 126th Street. This area is now the entrance to the Corona Yard, “Home of the 7 Train.” When it was announced that the 1939 World’s Fair was going to be in Flushing Meadows, plans were made to expand the station in anticipation of Fair crowds, and move it to its current location.

My Archive Summer 2019 “My great aunt Mary saved all the family photos that eventually got passed down to me. Her brother, my grandfather, John, was drafted during WWII.” —Paul Demonte

Heinz Dome, 1939. Unfortunately long gone, the Heinz Building at the New York World's Fair was an extremely popular exhibition at the Fair. During the 1939 season, the 100-tall domed building was decorated with a relief mural by Domenico Mortellito, depicting scenes of harvest in the eastern and western hemispheres. The interior presentation included an animated stage show that dramatized "the story of strained baby food." A figure, the "Aristocrat Tomato Man," sang and nodded his tomato head. The 'Goddess of Perfection,' a 16-foot statue (who held a sphere in her hands, though it was more of a disco ball then tomato) moved from inside the dome to its roof for the 1940 season, making the building even more visible.

Aerial view of the 1964 World’s Fair grounds, including the Unisphere and pavilions, 1964.

The area of Queens comprising Corona-East Elmhurst was called “Mespat” by the Native Americans and “Middleburgh” by the English colonists. It became part of the Town of Newtown, when it was incorporated in 1683 as one of the three original municipalities (along with Jamaica and Flushing) comprising what is now Queens. It remained largely rural until transportation improvements led to suburban development. In 1854 the Flushing Railroad began service through what is now 44th and 45th Avenues (now part of the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road). Anticipating commuter service, a group of real estate speculators formed the West Flushing Land Company and purchased an extensive tract that they subdivided into house lots, naming the new neighborhood West Flushing. Just north (above what is now 37th Avenue) stood the National Race Course, also established in 1854. A massive complex and tourist attraction, it was soon renamed Fashion Race Course and notably hosted the first-ever ticketed baseball game, a best of three series between New York and Brooklyn. In spite of this enthusiasm, actual building activity remained slow through the 1850s and was curtailed during the Civil War. By 1868, however, Benjamin W. Hitchcock, who also developed much of Woodside, acquired more than a thousand building lots in West Flushing, and most were sold by the early 1870s. Another local developer, Thomas Waite Howard, felt the name West Flushing was too easily confused with Flushing and petitioned the U.S. Postal Service for a more poetic moniker: Corona, the crown (or crown jewel) of Queens. Transit lines continued to expand, including the 1876 introduction of horse car lines to Brooklyn, providing connections to ferries to Manhattan, and trolleys running along Corona Avenue began in the 1890s. In 1898 Queens County was subsumed into Greater New York, and Corona, previously part of Newtown, became its own neighborhood with 2,500 residents. In 1904 the Bankers’ Land and Mortgage Corporation launched a new residential development in north Corona called East Elmhurst, comprising 2,000 building lots along the western edge of Flushing and Bowery Bays. Growth accelerated with the opening of the Queensborough Bridge in 1908 and the East River tunnels to Pennsylvania Station in 1911. Perhaps most significantly, the subway system arrived in 1917 with the opening of the Alburtis Avenue (now 103rd Street-Corona Plaza) station. In the 1930s the neighborhood’s eastern boundary, the dumping ground that was once Flushing Creek, was transformed into “The World of Tomorrow” as the site of the 1939 World’s Fair; it later reprised that role for the 1964 World’s Fair and eventually became Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. From the beginning, Corona-East Elmhurst was a diverse neighborhood. Several of its oldest institutions attest to the 19th century German influence, while many 20th century sites are associated with its Italian-American and Jewish communities. The northern section of this tour boasts a remarkable collection of culturally significant African-American sites. The first recorded residents of African descent arrived in the 17th century and settled along what is now Corona Avenue, a section of which (at 90th Street in Elmhurst) is named for the Rev. James Pennington (1807-1870), an enslaved fugitive from Maryland who became an influential Evangelical Abolitionist on the world stage. In the 1920s, Corona saw an influx of African-Americans, many following the Great Migration from the South, and Afro-Caribbean immigrants from the West Indies. After World War II, the area attracted prominent African-American cultural figures and civil rights activists, many of whom are celebrated on this tour.

This modest, wood-framed building is considered the oldest surviving synagogue in Queens. Its congregation was formed in 1906 or ‘07 and formally incorporated in 1911 as the Home Street Synagogue (its original name). Many early members were recent immigrant Ashkenazi from Eastern Europe moving from the overpopulated Lower East Side. One of these was the young Josephine Esther Mentzer, a Corona resident who became the cosmetics entrepreneur Estée Lauder. Architecturally the building is reminiscent of small synagogues of the Lower East Side, which had to conform to narrow lot sizes meant for tenements. Its façade, with Gothic and Moorish elements, was restored in 2011-12. The complex eventually included a mikveh (ritual bath), yeshiva (Talmudic school) and cemetery. The yeshiva, located a block away at 108-44 53rd Avenue, later became famous as the brief home of pop star Madonna. From 1979-80 she lived in this loft/music studio, playing drums and keyboards in the band The Breakfast Club.Congregation Tifereth Israel is an Individual Landmark and listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.

Designed by York & Sawyer, Hurley & Hughes, and Edward Luders. Given Luders background, it is almost certain he was brought in for his ecclesiastical and liturgical expertise, as the other two firms did not specialize in church architecture. The circular pavilion was one of the most popular at the Fair and included Michelango’s Pieta, viewed from a moving sidewalk.

Visitors to the General Motors Highways and Horizons exhibit at the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair proudly wore this “I have seen the future” pin after stepping out of the “Futurama,” a ride-like feature of the exhibit that traversed several levels of the pavilion, and extended for a third of a mile. The Futurama covered 35,000 square feet and was made up of 408 separate sections created by hundreds of skilled artists and craftspeople.

Corona Park Golf Course Clubhouse, 1936. The 18-hole golf course, and its Colonial Revival clubhouse, seen here, was completed in 1931. A joint venture by the Queens Borough President and the Brooklyn Ash Removal Company whose ash dumps surrounded the 127-acre property, the course was successful but short-lived. In 1934 with plans for the newly designed Grand Central Parkway cutting off two fairways, the course was closed. The former clubhouse remained standing until the development of the 1939 World's Fair grounds. According to the photographer of this image, the land once occupied by the clubhouse was later used for the Railroads exhibit building. Today, this parcel is the Corona Golf Playground.

In the 1760s the Willetts, an English family who had settled in this area of Flushing in the 17th century, sold 120 acres to then Lieutenant Governor Cadwallader Colden. Colden named his estate Spring Hill and constructed a mansion (seen here) near the public highway at the northern line of the farm. In the sale of the property, the Willetts required that their family burial ground remain intact and private and that they retained burial rights there in perpetuity. The state confiscated the property from Colden's son who had remained a Loyalist in the 1780s, after which the home passed through a series of owners. Eventually subsumed by the large Durkee family estate, Cedar Grove Cemetery purchased that 250-acre property in 1893. Later much of what had once been Spring Hill was organized into the separate Jewish cemetery, Mount Hebron. Today, the Willett Family Burial Ground remains, though with only a few extant headstones, about 200 feet east of Mount Hebron’s main entrance. The mansion of the Colden Estate was used in the early 20th century as administrative offices for the cemetery but was demolished by the mid-century.

"The 1964 World’s Fair occurred at a moment of significant upheaval in New York. The Fair was a powerful symbol of the establishment, a showpiece for corporate giants and urban leaders alike to bolster their claim to be bringing Americans a better future. Consequently, it held enormous appeal to visitors but was also a focal point for protest. The pictures of mid-century urbanism promoted at the Fair were undeniably popular; out of 51 million total visitors to the Fair in its two seasons, 29 million went to the General Motors Pavilion, 2 million more than went to Michelangelo’s Pieta at the Vatican Pavilion… Futurama II, sponsored by General Motors, echoed the arguments made by its predecessor; its display allowed visitors to see 'a gigantic machine build a superhighway in the jungle, see barren desert become farmland, and hover above a futuristic metropolis of automated highways and moving sidewalks.'" To learn more about the 1964 World's Fair, check out Katie Uva's article in Gotham: A Blog for Scholars of New York City History.

April 30, 2019 was the 80th anniversary of the grand opening of the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair, which drew millions of visitors to Flushing Meadows, Queens to experience “The World of Tomorrow.” The Fair was divided into zones, each devoted to an aspect of modern life: Amusement, Communications and Business Systems, Community Interests, Food, Government, Medical and Public Health, Production and Distribution, Science and Education, and Transportation. States and countries exhibited their food and culture in designated areas; 33 U.S. states and Puerto Rico were represented, and all major countries participated except China and Germany. During the Fair’s second season in 1940, an American Common replaced the Soviet Union’s pavilion. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, Fair Corporation President Grover Whalen, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt were involved in planning the Fair, which was meant to lift Americans’ spirits after the economic woes of the Depression. The Fair took nearly three years to construct, and over 200,000 people attended the grand opening – held symbolically on the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration. Let us take a look at some images of the Fair’s attractions.

In response to the movement of interest in cultural landmarks, the Historic Districts Council undertook an initiative to highlight such places as one of its Six to Celebrate in 2018. The culmination of that effort was a conference in October 2018 entitled “Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Rethinking Sites of Cultural History.” The conference convened preservationists, historians, artists, planners, place-makers and more to work together to clarify what cultural significance is and how it can work, how to document and create compelling narratives around cultural sites, and how to identify the specific challenges of cultural sites from a preservationist perspective. This tour provides just a sample of some of the city’s cultural landmarks. The list includes some sites that are legally protected — in some cases by more than one government body — and some that are unfortunately in danger of being lost. Preserving culturally significant sites that may not possess overtly aesthetic value often requires a particularly active and engaged form of advocacy to achieve protection from the wrecking ball. But, as long as there are interesting people making their mark on New York City and crucial events taking place here, that effort will never be in vain, since those stories are the lifeblood of this vibrant place.

My Archive Summer 2019 “My great aunt Mary saved all the family photos that eventually got passed down to me. She, in the World's Fair photo, is the one on the left.” —Paul Demonte

Vatican Pavilion, 1964. Perhaps surprisingly the Vatican Pavilion was the second most popular site at the 1964-1965 World's Fair. 52% of attendees visited the pavilion, including Pope Paul VI, 15 Cardinals, one Patriarch, three Apostolic Delegates, and 127 Archbishops and Bishops. It was five times more popular than any other religious sponsored locale at the fair. The attractions in the popular pavilion included the tiara of Pope Paul VI, a replica of the Tomb of St. Peter, and the Pietà, Michelangelo's stone masterpiece, which was shipped from St. Peter’s Basilica in a waterproof metal container and displayed behind bullet-proof plexiglass. The artwork, which had not left its basilica home since 1499, was dramatically situated by Jo Mielziner, famed Broadway set designer and viewed from a series of multilevel moving walkways. The oval-shaped mid-century building with a golden roof and cross that rose to 100 feet was designed by the firms of York & Sawyer, Hurley & Hughes, and Luders and Associates. The building also featured a glass-enclosed mezzanine that formed a tent-like circular chapel. Following the close of the fair, both interior and exterior architectural elements of the Chapel of the Good Shepard were purchased by St. Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Church in Groton, Connecticut. A new church building (which still stands today) was designed using these features by architect, William F. Herman, Jr.

My Archive Spring 2019

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens In 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center was rededicated as the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in honor of King’s remarkable tennis career and her activism for women’s and LGBTQ rights. Between 1961 and 1979, King won 39 Grand Slam titles, including a record 20 Wimbledon titles. Both during the height of her career and after, King fought for equal prize money for women, who were paid considerably less than their male counterparts. In 1973, she formed the Women’s Tennis Association and was its first president. As a result of her advocacy, the U.S. Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money. In 1981, King was publicly outed as a lesbian in a palimony suit and lost all of her endorsement deals, yet she continued to fight against discrimination, and was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987 and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 for her advocacy work. The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a major attraction in the last weeks of summer, when international crowds flock to Queens for the U.S. Open, one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. Photo by Ajay Suresh.

Lorin Maazel was a Jewish American composer, conductor and musical prodigy. Seen here at age 9 conducting the National Music Camp Orchestra of the Interlochen Bowl Preparatory from the New York World's Fair Friday August 18, 1939.

Shady Lake Farmhouse, 1922. At the turn of the 20th century a small pond in what is now busy Corona was used primarily for ice harvesting. The Shady Lake Farmhouse was purchased in 1837 by farmer John H. Smith who opened up the surrounding land as a picnic area. In the first decade of the 20th century, the private pond was an impediment to the extension of 108th Street and as such was doomed to be lost. By 1907 the pond was filled in and street and some nearby structures had been constructed. Today this spot is known for another kind of ice: the Lemon Ice King of Corona, a beloved local shop opened in 1944!

You submitted, and we rounded up our faves! Here are some spectacular shots of New Yorkers at school over the years.