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Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (“Flushing Meadows”), located in Queens, New York, is an 897-acre city park – the fourth-largest park in New York City. Site of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs, the area was officially designated parkland in 1967, becoming a recreational center for the borough. In addition to open space and playgrounds, the park is home to The Queens Zoo, the Hall of Science, the Queens Wildlife Conservation Center, Louis Armstrong Stadium and the Theater in the Park, a carousel, and the Queens Museum.[2] Flushing Meadows is both a community and regional park; it directly serves five community boards and a very diverse population, in many ways serving as the community’s backyard.[3]
Flushing Meadows was originally swampland in the plain of Flushing Creek. The creek was used to transport goods to the markets of New York, but as coal use increased during the nineteenth century the wetlands and creek flowing from Flushing Bay were filled, and the site was used as a dump. In 1913, the State of New York authorized the dredging of Flushing Creek and Flushing Bay; by 1915, 600 acres had been filled in with soil from the dredging. When plans for industrial development on the site were halted, the area continued to be used as a dump.[4]
In the 1930s, when plans were beginning for the 1939 World’s Fair, Robert Moses – then the City Parks Commissioner – saw the potential to rehabilitate the “Corona Dump” and create Flushing Meadows Park once the Fair ended. Once the site was approved, the City purchased the land and installed infrastructure for both the fair and the future park, leveling terrain, planting trees, and installing utility lines. A new drainage system placed a branch of Flushing Creek into a conduit and formed Meadow and Willow lakes in the park.[5]
Although the Fair received good reviews, attendance did not meet expectations and the funds Moses was relying on to create the park did not materialize. Despite this, the partially landscaped site remaining from the Fair was enough to support a scaled-down Flushing Meadows Park, which opened in 1941.[6] Few features remain from the 1939 Fair; the major elements from this time are Meadow Lake, Willow Lake, the New York City Building, and the geometric Beaux Arts pathways designed by Gilmore Clarke.
The New York City Building, one of the only structures from the 1939 Fair designed to be permanent, became a recreation center once the Fair was over. This building was also the temporary headquarters of the United Nations from 1946 to 1950. In 1972, the north side of the
building was given to the Queens Museum, and then known as the Queens Center for Art and Culture.[8]
For the 1964 Fair, Moses was once again motivated to make enough money to construct his park. Gilmore Clarke adapted the 1939 landscape to the new Fair, with the Unisphere as its centerpiece—placed where the park’s four major walkways converge. The Unisphere remains there today, restored by the Parks Department in the early 1990s. The Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated the structure, along with its surrounding pool and fountains, as a Landmark.[9] Another distinct structure from 1964 is the New York State Pavilion, designed by Philip Johnson. The largest structure of the Fair, the Pavilion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.[10] In addition to buildings and structures, the park is still home to eleven major monuments from the 1964 Fair, including Forms in Transit, The Rocket Thrower, and Freedom of the Human Spirit.[11]
The structures of the Fairs are a major part of the park’s character, but its environmental features also play a large role. The two lakes on site, Willow and Meadow lakes are collectively the largest freshwater bodies in Queens, and among the largest in the City. Both were created with water from the Flushing River for the 1939 Fair; Meadow Lake was intended for recreation, Willow Lake was designed as a natural refuge. In 1976, the New York State Department of Environment Conservation designated Willow Lake a freshwater wetland – it is now one of the last freshwater wetlands in New York City.[12]
History is part and parcel of this park. Not many structures remain from the 1939 Fair; however, much of the imprint of 1964 is still present on the site. Although Flushing Meadows has not traditionally been considered an historic park, that thinking is beginning to change.[13] This presents a great opportunity for Flushing Meadows to preserve and celebrate its history, while continuing its current role as a park for the people.
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Footnotes
[1] Melnick, Janice, email message to Jennifer Minner, December 2, 2014.
[2] “Flushing Meadows Corona Park,” New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, accessed November 2, 2014, http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/flushing-meadows-corona-park/history
[3] Melnick, Janice, phone interview by authors, October 31, 2014.
[4] The Unisphere. New York Landmarks Preservation Commission. ://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/unisphere.pdf
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] “Building History,” Queens Museum, accessed November 2, 2014, http://www.queensmuseum.org/building-history/
[8] “Building History,” Queens Museum, accessed November 2, 2014, http://www.queensmuseum.org/building-history/
[9] Landmarks Preservation Commission, http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/unisphere.pdf
[10] “National Register of Historic Places,” http://www.nps.gov/nr/listings/20100625.htm
[11] “Flushing Meadows Corona Park,” New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, accessed November 2, 2014, http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/flushing-meadows-corona-park/history
[12] “Willow Lake Trail,” New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, accessed November 2, 2014, http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/flushing-meadows-corona-park/highlights/12907
[13] Krawchuk, John, phone interview by authors, November 14, 2014.