The New Queens Museum

Here's a general view of the interior of the newly renovated Queens Museum. Notice the "of Art" has been dropped from its name; this is due in large part to the recognition that the museum building and its collections have an historical relevance as well as an artistic one.

The City of New York IV: I Have Seen the Future

It was with a fair amount of trepidation that I walked from the Shea Stadium (as I will forever refer to it) subway stop on the 7 train through Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to see the recently renovated and re-opened Queens Museum, aka The New York City Building.

I needn’t have feared! As far as this Fair enthusiast is concerned, the New York City Building is better than ever!

Gone from the east façade (the “Fair” side of the building) is that hideous silver drum, that darkroom-type revolving door that hadn’t been used as an entrance for years, anyway. (Photo Here) The original open-air colonnade remains mostly enclosed, but the new unobtrusive and unobstructed wall of glass gives visitors and Fair buffs a much better idea of the structure’s original appearance. So much so that I don’t even mind the panels that have transformed the west façade into a fiber optic light show. The west façade, facing as it does Grand Central Parkway, was never really intended to be the main prospect, anyway; it’s a view many museum visitors still will not notice, unless they arrive by car. 

And what’s really kind of amazing is that while the interior has been expanded with what looks like an enormous barrel-vaulted ceiling, you get no hint of this standing on the ground outside; the roofline remains visibly unaltered, further preserving the original 1939 façade as much as possible. 

Kudos must go to Grimshaw (the architectural firm responsible for the renovation and re-design) partner-in-charge Mark Husser, who said recently in an interview with Architectural Record:

“Our goal for the design was to reinforce the mission of the museum within a historic building that has an architectural quality of its own.”

NY Public Library

Then there’s the uncovering of an original building feature, one that I found terribly TERRIBLY exciting (seriously—my heart skipped a beat!). Stopping briefly in the men’s room, I was immediately struck by what I was certain was an original design element: two sections of blue and orange wall tile. I could, of course, be mistaken, but it LOOKED old, and, as it was not carried throughout the entire room, gave the fragmentary impression of a remnant, rather than a new, conscious design decision. A quick stop at the NYPL’s Web site confirmed my hunch: the photographic evidence speaks for itself, I think. Of course, I shall have to confirm this in the interests of accuracy--Grimshaw Architects did not immediately return my phone call--but I feel fairly confident that my hunch is correct.

Next time we’ll take a look inside the museum…

The White Mana Myth

It is an assertion repeated all over the internet. Lent credence by no less than The Gray Lady herself, The New York Times, it appears to be almost universally accepted, and wholly unchallenged. I am speaking of the common belief that the White Mana Diner in Jersey City, New Jersey, made its debut at The Fair as "The Diner of the Future".

Like probably dozens before me, I made the pilgrimage. After a ride on the PATH train, and a short walk through some rather dicey areas on a very hot day, we enjoyed some sliders that were certainly tasty, even if they could hardly lay claim to the title "Burger of the Future"!

I wanted it to be true, I really did. I wanted to believe that I was actually sitting and eating in a restaurant that had been at The Fair. That the burgers I was downing were the direct descendants of that first ground beef served up to hungry Fair-goers in 1939!

But, you know what? I don't believe it. In the three years since my visit to Jersey City, I have not been able to find one shred of documentary or corroborative evidence that the White Mana Diner (or any other diner, for that matter) was ever at The Fair.

It does not appear in any guide book. It does not appear in Crosby Gaige's "Food at the Fair". It does not appear in lists of places to eat distributed at The Fair. Surely, something as important as "The Diner of the Future" would have been advertised and promoted.

Where's the BEEF!?



Then there is the question of time. By all (the accepted) accounts the diner was bought and moved to Jersey City in 1946--a full six years after The Fair closed. While it is certainly possible that the diner operated somewhere else between 1940 and 1946, this begs the question: where was it during the War? The "official" account makes no mention of this period, and with all we know about war-time economy and rationing, I find it nearly impossible to believe that such a heap of metal was allowed to lie about undisturbed and untouched for the duration, when even the Oscars were made of plaster because every ounce of metal was needed for the War effort.

So here's the challenge, and remember, I'd really love it if the White Mana myth were proven to be true. I will give $100 to the first person--any person--able to provide documentary and corroborative proof that the White Mana Diner in Jersey City (or its sister in Hackensack, for that matter) was, in fact, at The Fair in 1939.

Now the fine print: documentary and corroborative proof MUST be in the form of a PHOTOGRAPH of the diner in situ at The Fair, and recognizable as such (i.e., another establishing landmark or landmarks such as the Trylon and/or Perisphere must be visible), and/or a LISTING of the diner in an official Fair publication, one that is generally recognized as authentic by the average Fair enthusiast and/or collector. Good luck!

City of New York III: The Fountains Mystery

Although the wonderfully detailed architect's model of the New York City Building in the collection of The Queens Museum of Art and photographs from 1939 show working fountains on either side of the building's main entrance, I have never seen any pictures from The Fair during operation that show the fountains actually turned on. Why is that?

Two views of the northwest corner of the building.
Photo above from the New York Public Library.

Also missing in 1939 are the flagpoles. Does anyone know when these were added? My guess is '64, though they could be from the building's days as headquarters to the UN.

What's Left of The Aquacade

The New York State Amphitheatre (aka Billy Rose's Aquacade) survived 2 Fairs, only to be demolished in 1995. Though preservationists lost the battle to save the Aquacade, a few relics were salvaged and incorporated into the sad, sorry little snack bar that now squats on its former site.

I believe these gates are original
from the Acquacade.

I have never seen this snack bar open for business!

No comment.

Meet Me at the Belgian Pavilion

We arrived in Richmond at about noon, right on schedule. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, as you can see from the photos. To finally get to see the Belgium building...what a kick! The building shows its age, for sure; there's noticeable erosion of the brick, and damage and deterioration to the reliefs. But, wow, what a kick!  I even got to go inside!

A view from inside

(There are more to come...)

If It's Tuesday This Must Be Belgium

So right now we're packing up the car and getting ready to leave for a week's vacation: Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens (we're history buffs, and coaster enthusiasts--it's perfect).

We're going to stop en route in Richmond to see the Belgian Pavilion from The Fair. The pavilion, as many of you probably already know, was dismantled after The Fair and re-assembled on the campus of Virginia Union University. The original plan was to send it all back to Belgium, but the War interfered with that!

Left: the current configuration of the Belgium Building; Right: the original layout (model photo from the New York Public Library

I can't tell you how excited I am to be finally able to see the pavilion! Some time ago I actually met the architect that was heading up a renovation of the building. He offered to give me a private hard-hat tour, but, alas, I was not able to take him up on that.

While we're down there, we're also planning to zip on over to Newport News to see the Alexander Stirling Calder statue of Leif Erikson that stood outside the Iceland exhibit at The Fair. It's a genuine Fair survivor, a larger copy of an original (1930) still standing in Reykjavik.

Of course, I'll be sure to post new photos as soon as I can!

City of New York II: The Blob That Ate Queens!

This UNSPEAKABLE HORROR was actually (ACTUALLY!) the winning design for the renovation of the Queens Museum of Art (formerly The City of New York building) a decade ago! 

Someone somewhere said it looked like the building had been bombed during the London Blitz. I think it looks rather more like a giant oozing slime has overtaken the building and dissolved everything it its path! 

Amazingly, the architect still lists this as a "project" at his site. I don't want to name names or besmirch anyone's reputation, but you can read about this "project" here. (WARNING: graphic image.)

THANK GOD the museum had the good sense (to say nothing of taste!) to scrap this plan and start afresh!   

How Original Is Original?

The Boathouse during its 2011 "restoration"

At the far southern end of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, along the edge of Fountain Lake in what was formerly the Amusement Section of The Fair, sits the Boat House, frequently cited as the second of only two original Fair structures still standing in their original locations. This status seems to be universal in its acceptance by historians and Fair enthusiasts alike.

But I'm not so sure about this. Compare today's Boathouse with photographs taken in 1939: the differences are striking. Most notably what looks like a limestone facade with classical elements has been replaced with brick. Anyone looking at two photographs side by side doesn't need me to elaborate on the differences. But this begs the question: how much of the original structure is actually still standing? How original does original have to be to actually be original? Let me know what you think.

1939 photos from the
New York Public Library

City of New York

Most everyone who knows anything at all about the 1939-40 New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows knows that only two buildings from The Fair remain in situ.

The first and most important of these is the New York City Building, the only building from The Fair intended to be permanent. Designed by Aymar Embury II, it served as home to the UN from 1946-50 and more recently housed an ice skating rink, now departed, in order to allow expansion by the building's other tenant, The Queens Museum of Art.

This 1939 View of the New York City Building Remains Largely Unchanged Today

This expansion will be completed by the end of next year. In the meantime visitors can view a model of the renovations. The building's future once looked rather precarious, but the current project seems to be a reasonable compromise between the Museum's present needs and a healthy respect for the past. 

We shall see. At least the Museum had the good sense to scrap the bizarrely Solomonic proposal of splitting the building in two down the center!

The New York City Building's Cornerstone