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The Tent of Tomorrow May Not See Many More Tomorrows
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 7, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 7, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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TONY blog has a report on the most endangered sites in the world. The World Monuments Fund released its 2008 list yesterday, which is packed with far off places.
The U.S. isn't exempt, of course, with a whopping seven endangered structures: the Salk Institute in California, the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Florida Southern University Historic Campus, historic neighborhoods of New Orleans, Route 66, Main Street Modern, Tutuveni Petroglyph Site in Arizona and our very own New York State Pavilion in Queens.
The Flushing monument was created for the 1964 World’s Fair by Phillip Johnson. The WMF descibes it as "an icon to some, an eyesore to others, this remarkable complex, including the ‘Tent of Tomorrow’ is endangered by neglect and indifference as much as by rust.” There have been efforts made to save the pavilion, many asking what to use it for, and the city even put in $24,000 for a partial reconstruction, but to little avail. One person who has tried to save it, describes its current condition as follows:
Today, to the naked eye, the pavilion is a disaster. The lower level of the mezzanine is beginning to separate from the building. Huge cracks run through the cinder-block walls. The elevator towers are rusted. One “Sky-Streak” elevator sits smashed in the service well at the base of the tall tower while the other has been suspended in mid-air for 30 years. The vandals have even managed to scale the tower far enough to smash in its windows and protective bars.
The steel crown at the top of the structure that supports the suspension cables that support the roof is rusting badly. Soon, the tension cables will begin to snap which could result in the catastrophic failure of the entire crown.
Many of the pavilions were relocated after the fair, you can find out where each structure landed, here. The intention was to turn the pavilions left behind in to something usable, given Flushing Meadows Corona Park is the 2nd largest in the city - it would make sense to make use of them. However, aside from a few events, including a Grateful Dead show in 1969, no solid plans panned out. With many saying it's too expensive to tear down, nature is taking its course - which has landed it on the endangered list.
Photo via Frank Lynch's Flickr.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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