Exhibitions - World’s Fair Collection

World’s Fair Collection

On Long-Term View

A dome like spherical model with curved lattice work on the roof and a horizontal wave like structure through the middle. Jutting out from the middle of the sphere are two walkways. The base of the sphere has grass, trees and three figurines walking around.

Image: World’s Fair Visible Storage, 2013, photos by Peter Dressel

The Queens Museum used to be the New York City Building, which was the City’s official pavilion during the 1939-40 and 1964-65 World’s Fairs. From 1946 until 1950, the New York City Building was also used as headquarters of the United Nations General Assembly.

 

The 1939-40 World’s Fair was conceived to commemorate the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration, revitalize New York’s economy, and create a major new park. Through the efforts of the New York World’s Fair Corporation, an ash dump in Flushing was transformed into a “World of Tomorrow.” 45 million visitors passed through the fair entrances. Its architectural symbols—the Trylon and Perisphere—appeared on tabletop radios, Tiffany’s collectible plates, jewelry, cosmetic cases, and games. These mementos allowed the Fair’s impression of Utopia to linger long after it was demolished.

 

The 1964-65 Fair coincided both with the 300th anniversary of New York City and the 25th anniversary of the 1939-40 World’s Fair. Robert Moses, New York’s most prolific and recognized builder of public urban renewal projects, was president of the Fair Corporation. Visitors were treated to U.S. Rubber’s 80-foot tire, while U.S. Steel funded and built the Unisphere, still located directly outside the building. Land was available rent-free to religious organizations such as the Vatican, whose pavilion housed Michelangelo’s Pieta. The Panorama of the City of New York, now the centerpiece of the Queens Museum, was built for the Fair and meant for use afterwards as a city planning tool.

 

The Museum owns more than 10,000 objects related to those two iconic expositions. The World’s Fair Visible Storage was inaugurated after the Museum’s renovation in 2013, and features over 900 objects from the larger collection. It provides an opportunity for students, scholars, and the general public to view items formerly off-limits to the public. All of these items have been organized by donor so that the collections within the collection become evident.

 

La Colección de la Feria Mundial presenta más de 900 objetos seleccionados de nuestra colección de recuerdos de las Ferias Mundiales de 1939–40 y 1964–65. El edificio del Museo nació como el Edificio de la Ciudad de Nueva York y fue el pabellón oficial de la ciudad para ambas Ferias Mundiales. Millones de visitantes atravesaron sus puertas para ver exposiciones que promovían los logros de la ciudad.

Supporters

The Queens Museum is housed in the New York City Building, which is owned by the City of New York.

 

The Museum is supported, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with Mayor Eric Adams, the Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and the New York City Council under the leadership of Speaker Adrienne E. Adams.

 

Major funding is generously provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ford Foundation, Hearst Foundations, Jerome Foundation, Lambent Foundation, MacMillan Family Foundation, Mellon Foundation, E.A. Michelson Philanthropy, New York Community Trust, Richmond County Savings Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund.