New York City’s abandoned fairgrounds could be turned into a gorgeous suspended park
Aidan Doyle/Sarah Wan/National Trust for Historic Preservation/People for the Pavilion
“Hanging Meadows,” the first place winner of the New York State Pavilion design competition.
For the 1964 World’s Fair, over 51 million people came to the massive New York State Pavilion in Queens, New York. The structure was custom-built for the Fair, where companies from all over the world showcased their budding advances in technology and transportation.
In the decades that followed, the Pavilion was abandoned and vandalized. Now the city hopes to restore it to its former glory.
To imagine what a revitalized Pavilion might look like, the nonprofits National Trust for Historic Preservation and People for the Pavilion launched a competition, asking designers from all over the world for ideas.
Out of more than 250 submissions, Washington-based designers Aidan Doyle and Sarah Wan’s “Hanging Meadow” won first place. It imagines the Pavilion as a lush, suspended garden. Inside, there would be a public park and pathways for people to explore.
Aidan Doyle/Sarah Wan/National Trust for Historic Preservation/People for the Pavilion
The concrete columns would support the giant, enclosed garden, which would prioritize native plants. Looking out from the pathways, visitors would have a view of the city while standing amongst the plants, Doyle and Wan write.
The goal of the competition is to both raise interest and funds for the Pavilion’s restoration, Stephanie Meeks, CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, tells Business Insider.
A complete restoration would cost NYC an estimated $53 million, according to a Parks Department report from 2013. Queens Borough President Melinda Katz has already raised over $10 million for the restoration project, though there is no exact timeline for its construction. There’s no word yet if the Hanging Meadows design will be used even if the city raises enough money.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The New York State Pavilion today.
Whether the design is realized or not, those fighting for the renovation hope that the ’64 World Fair’s sense of optimistic wonder is preserved.
The Fair and Pavilion “represent a hopeful era in America when people looked to the moon landing, the potential of computers, and the arrival of the Ford Mustang as thrilling … moments,” Meeks says. “It is a symbol of hope and the potential for creativity in civic life for future generations.”
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