The famous—and famously neglected—New York State Pavilion in Queens is poised for a major revamp.
The city last week announced it is giving the pavilion, in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, a $14.25 million redesign. Originally conceived by Philip Johnson and Lev Zetlin for the 1964 World’s Fair, the pavilion is a far cry from Johnson’s Glass House but became a New York City icon nonetheless. Now, though, the National Register–listed item is largely abandoned, looming over other World’s Fair infrastructure that has been successfully incorporated into the park.
“The scope of the project includes structural conservation work on the observation towers, waterproofing of the tower bases, improvements to the electrical infrastructure and architectural lighting of the observation towers and the Tent of Tomorrow,” a NYC Parks Department spokesperson told the Queens Chronicle.
This is far from the first time Johnson’s pavilion has made news. An ideas competition last year solicited proposals for a revamp that ranged from the practical to the fanciful, while in 2015, the pavilion’s Tent of Tomorrow was painted American Cheese Yellow to match its original color scheme.
The Parks Department has approved the schematic design, and Queens Community Board 7 signed off on the plans. Now, other city agencies are reviewing the project for approval.
The work, however, depends on a successful bid for the project. If all goes well, construction is scheduled to start next spring and wrap in fall 2019.
