Rising from the heart of central Queens, the three futuristic towers and dilapidated tent that make up the New York State pavilion from the 1964 World's Fair have been steadily deteriorating for the past thirty years, as the city has long neglected one of the few remaining landmarks of Flushing Meadows World's Fair Past. But a new round of discussions have begun to get the pavilion back into usable condition—or at least stop it from falling down.
On Sunday, the Parks Department hosted one of three meetings to discuss with the public options for the pavilion, which they estimate will cost $52 million to restore, or $14 million to demolish.
Demolishment was far from the minds of People for the Pavilion, an organization which is looking to revitalize the pavilion. On Saturday, they hosted a brainstorming session to gather ideas about what can be done with the pavilion, which has been used as a movie set, a roller rink, and a concert venue since the World's Fair concluded in 1965.
Here's a pretty groovy video from Saturday's event, made by filmmaker Matthew Silva, who is currently working on a documentary about the pavilion:
The Parks Department will hold another round of listening sessions tomorrow at Queens Theatre in The Park, adjacent to the pavilion.
