What will become of the New York State Pavilion? The hulking structure in Flushing Meadows Corona Park was first built for the 1964 World’s Fair but has sat unused for decades. Recently, the New York City parks department has been trying to figure out what exactly to do with it.
The cheapest option is to simply demolish, which the department figures will cost about $14 million. A partial restoration would cost about $43 million, and bringing the pavilion back to a state in which it can be used for public events again would set the city back $52 million.
Public support for keeping the structure alive is strong. “There’s obviously a strong attachment to the Pavilion,” Queens parks commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski told the Times. “Interestingly, it’s a younger generation that has expressed the most support for preserving it.”
And while past Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall wanted to bring the pavilion down, her successor, Melinda Katz, hopes not to see it go. “We should do whatever it takes to make sure the Pavilion remains standing for future generations to enjoy,” she said.
Matthew Silva, a documentarian, recently funded a film about the pavilion on Kickstarter, which he hopes will rally support for restoration. If you’d like to help fund the documentary, you can do so here.
(Photo: @Wally Gobetz)
