Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is the third largest park in New York, encompassing a massive 1,255 acres of space. As one would expect because of its size, this park contains many important structures, and is used not only for relaxation, but recreation and entertainment as well.
Within the grounds of the park lie both Citi Field, home of the New York Mets of the MLB, and the Billie Jean Memorial Tennis Complex, which plays host to the U.S. Open. Other important buildings include the New York Hall of Science, the Queens Zoo, The Queens Art Museum, The Queens Theatre in the Park, and the Queens Botanical Garden. |
If one is looking for recreation, this park also contains many attractive features. The central portion of the park is littered with soccer fields which are free to the public, although it may be necessary to reserve field time. Also in this area is the Pitch and Putt Golf Course (admission fee required). If neither of those sound good, one can also rent a bike at one of the parks two bike rental locations, and simply cruise around the area and enjoy the many features the park has to offer. And in the north central area of the park there is an Aquatic Center and Ice Skating Rink that is open seasonally.
Despite all these awesome things the park has to offer, one must not forget that this site played host to two Worlds Fairs in 1939-40 and 1964-65 respectively. Remnants of the past fairs can still be seen in the park including the massive 700,000 pound Unisphere, a monument to world peace and unity. The building close in proximity to the Unisphere is the New York State Pavilion, built originally in 1939 stands as one of the two remaining buildings from the 1939-40 World’s Fair. It now stands idle, and shows many signs of deterioration. It was most recently used to film the final scene of the movie Men in Black. Below is a link to the commencement speech for the 1939 World’s Fair, given by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. http://flushingmeadowscoronapark.com/info/fdr1939dedicate56k.html |
Cover Photo by Ezra Zeitler