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Is The Underground Home From The World's Fair Still Beneath Flushing Meadows-Corona Park?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 18, 2012
Modified Oct 18, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 18, 2012
Modified Oct 18, 2012
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While it's well known that there are time capsules still buried below Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, did you know that there may also be a much larger relic down there? The 1964-65 World's Fair had an exhibit called Underground World Home, which some people believe never got taken out of the ground (including someone behind CSI, who included it in an episode).
A new article, written by Nicholas Hirshon, documents the effort to unearth the subterranean dwelling, which was designed in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Turns out a few people—namely Dr. Lori Walters—have been lobbying to dig and see if it's still there. Walters, a history professor, "plans to rely again on her university. She hopes her archeologist colleagues will guide the search, perhaps with financial backing from the university, grants and private foundations." Currently she's preparing an excavation proposal for the Parks Department.
Hirshon details the "sub-urban" home's beginnings in Queens, where a plot (Block 50, Lot 5 ) was scored "on the fairgrounds between the Hall of Science and the Port Authority Heliport, and they began to dig fifteen feet into the Flushing Meadows marsh. Within a few months they had created a concrete shell of about 12,000 square feet and installed the home’s gypsum board ceilings. Candelabras sat on the Steinway & Sons piano in the living room. A simulated garden featured a bed of plastic flowers, artificial wisteria and an organ." Here's a PDF of the pamphlet for the exhibit, and a sample underground home from that time, which included "views that span a continent with San Francisco's Golden Gate to the West and New York's skyline to the East":
While the furnishings were taken out at the Fair's end, some believe that the home's designer, Jay Swayze, wanted to avoid demo costs and abandoned the home, leaving it underground. Years ago a World's Fair Community member claimed there were documents at the New York Public Library that would debunk the myth that the home is still preserved underground—we've contacted the NYPL to see if we could get a hold of some evidence, and will update with any new information.
[via Reddit]
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flushing meadows corona park
underground home
underground world home
world's fair
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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