Unisphere
The Unisphere is a spherical stainless steel representation of the Earth, located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the borough of Queens, New York City. The sphere, which measures high and in diameter, was designed by Gilmore D. Clarke as part of his plan for the 1964 New York World's Fair.
The Unisphere is located atop a base with over 500 steel pieces representing the continents, as well as three steel rings representing the first artificial satellites orbiting Earth. Around the Unisphere is a reflecting pool measuring in diameter and surrounded by 48 pairs of fountain heads.
Commissioned to celebrate the beginning of the space age, the Unisphere was conceived and constructed as the theme symbol of the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair. The theme of the World's Fair was "Peace Through Understanding" and the Unisphere represented the theme of global interdependence, being dedicated to "Man's Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe". The Unisphere was restored after the conclusion of the World's Fair, but fell into disrepair in the 1970s, and was restored in the early 1990s. The Unisphere was made a New York City designated landmark in 1995.
History
Construction
, a former ash dump in the borough of Queens, was used for the 1939/1940 New York World's Fair. At the conclusion of the fair, it was used as a park. The Flushing Meadows site was selected in 1959 for the 1964 New York World's Fair. Gilmore David Clarke and Michael Rapuano, designers of the original World's Fair layout, were retained to tailor the original 1939 park layout for the new fair. New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses was president of the World's Fair Corporation, which leased the park from the city until 1967, after the fair's completion.The Unisphere was announced by Moses in February 1961, and a model of the proposed work was unveiled the following year. The Unisphere was initially conceptually designed by Clarke in aluminum with metallic mesh continents. It underwent a further refined industrial design in stainless steel by industrial designers at Peter Muller-Munk Associates. The final design was similar to the original, except for the inclusion of fountains surrounding the Unisphere.
The Unisphere was constructed by American Bridge Company, a division of US Steel. The sphere was built within 110 days. The last landmass was installed on August 13, 1963.
World's Fair
During the 1964 fair, dramatic lighting at night gave the effect of sunrise moving over the surface of the globe. Additionally, the capitals of nations were marked by lights. One of these lights is placed at the location of the Kahnawake Indian Reservation, which the Mohawk ironworkers requested to be placed there to honor their labor.In 1966, after the conclusion of the fair, US Steel donated $100,000 to make the Unisphere a permanent attraction at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The park was reopened the next year following a major renovation, and the Unisphere was permanently retained as a park feature. In subsequent years, the Unisphere fell into disrepair, being covered in grime by the 1970s, while the pools were shut off and tagged with graffiti.
Rehabilitation
In 1989, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced a multimillion-dollar rehabilitation of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Among the projects was a complete restoration of the Unisphere. The project, which began in 1993, included numerous structural repairs and removal of years' worth of grime accumulation on the steel. The fountains, shut off since the 1970s, were replaced, and new floodlighting installed. Furthermore, two of the surrounding lawns were planted with rose gardens. The restoration was completed in May 1994. That year, the Annual Building Awards in Queens gave the Unisphere an award for best rehabilitation. In May 1995, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Unisphere an official city landmark.The Unisphere's fountain reopened on August 12, 2010, after a $2 million restoration of its pumps, valves, and paintwork. In addition, other sites say the globe and its surroundings, including its reflecting pool and fountains, were renovated at a cost of $3 million. In the September 2010 Brooklyn/Queens tornadoes, the landmass representing Sri Lanka was blown off the Unisphere; the piece was reinstalled the following year.
Design
Globe
The Unisphere is the world's largest globe. It measures in diameter, rises, and weighsPool and fountains
The Unisphere is centered in a circular reflecting pool, with a floor of poured concrete surrounded by a bulkhead of granite and concrete. Forty-eight pairs of fountainheads, on the outer edge of the pool, are designed to obscure its tripod pedestal. The effect is meant to make the Unisphere appear as if it is floating in space. There are plaques facing the four major paths that extend north, northeast, southeast, and south from the Unishphere. From the perimeter of the reflecting pool, the Unisphere is meant to depict the Earth as seen from away.Structural foundation
The Unisphere is built on a concrete foundation, which includes the piling ring that supported the Perisphere of the 1939 World's Fair. The marshy soil of Flushing Meadows needed special consideration during the original 1937 Perisphere construction. The Perisphere, and subsequently the Unisphere, which used the same platform, employed a foundation of 528 pressure-creosoted Douglas fir piles of in length. Before construction of the Unisphere, three piles were tested for structural integrity and all were found to be sound throughout their entire length.Climbs on the Unisphere
The Unisphere was climbed in 1976 by George Willig, and Jerry Hewitt as part of a short film called The Third StoneDirected by Paul Hornstein. The Unisphere was not again scaled until September 6, 2019, when Glen Schleyer, a member of the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion, climbed the Unisphere to hang up a banner protesting the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires. He chose the Unisphere because it celebrates the World's Fair theme of "peace through understanding".