Visualizing the Past, Present, and Future of New York City’s World’s Fair site

This site highlights research from Visualizing the Past, Present, and Future of New York City’s 1964-5 World’s Fair site using 3D GIS and Procedural Modeling, research funded through the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. Our team explored and documented 3D and 4D GIS techniques. We have been seeking best practices for generating useful […]

3D models of the Fair Landscape – From Physical Models, to Game Environments, to Design Tools

Many people have studied the landscape of Flushing Meadows Corona Park over the years. These studies include multiple 3D modeling efforts that range from the creation of physical models built of wood and plastic to animation that places representations of world’s fair pavilions in a game environment. This makes the park a ripe case study […]

Mapping Historic Trees

Trees may be significant historic resources and are often integral to taking a cultural landscapes approach to preservation and planning. Historic trees dating to the 1939 world’s fair remain a significant part of the contemporary landscape of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. We set out to include trees in our landscape analyses and 3D modeling efforts. This post […]

Risk, Vulnerability and Resilience

Flushing Meadows Corona Park can be examined using the concepts of risk, vulnerability, and resilience. For the following models, we overlaid data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) onto 3D models and an aerial image of existing conditions. Select the images below to view in an interactive web viewer. Research Assistants Xiao Shi and Yanlei Feng took […]

City Engine Research Notes

Geographic information systems (GIS) are increasingly used in preservation practice. Applications range from analytical and predictive techniques to identify cultural resources (Bertron 2013), to web-based GIS tools for heritage inventory (Getty Institute 2013), to rapid survey and online public engagement in Los Angeles’s city-scale comprehensive survey effort (Survey LA 2013), and the development of a […]

Insights from over 1,500 archival boxes

By Jennifer Minner During Spring semester 2015, I visited the archives of the World’s Fair Corporation, Inc. The New York Public Library (NYPL) Manuscripts and Archives Division holds the massive archive of information about the planning, construction, and demolition of the 1964-65 world’s fair. The purpose of my visit was twofold. First, I wanted to […]

Why not visualize the 1939-40 World’s Fair?

This project focuses on the landscape of the 1964-65 World’s Fair. We are only beginning to delve into representation of the 1939-40 World’s Fair landscape. The primary reason is that our research is aimed at testing 3D visualization and analysis tools for historic preservation and urban design purposes. This research is a demonstration focused on […]

A World's Fair Landscape in Time