NYC H2O Director Matt Malina will host a slide show telling the colorful story of a major Queens Museum treasure, “The Watershed Relief Map.” Built in 1939 for display at the World’s Fair, it measures 32 feet by 20 feet. Because of implicit security threats presented by the looming of World War II, authorities decided not to show it and instead had it stored in an obscure warehouse where it was forgotten about for decades. A Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) architect, working on a Bronx water facility was pleasantly surprised when he re-discovered it in 1991, and in 2008 the DEP restored it to its former glorious state.

A question and answer session led by two civil engineers who have worked on the water system will follow the slide show.

This event will take place in the Watershed exhibition on the Museum’s first floor and is free and open to the public with regular museum admission.

For more information about the Museum’s permanent Watershed exhibition please visit our exhibitions page.