Tent of Tomorrow
Back in November, the Parks Department asked for volunteers to help preserve the terrazzo map of New York State embedded in the floor of Philip Johnson's "Tent of Tomorrow" World's Fair Pavilion out in Flushing, Queens.
photo: Daniel Avila
I missed the opportunity to venture inside this gorgeous, crumbling relic of the city's past, but blogger Peter Kaufman over at Ink Lake recently wrote about the preservation. He also passed along to JVNY these great photos of the process, all taken by Parks Department photographer Daniel Avila.
photo: Daniel Avila
Kaufman explains how volunteers first "removed the vegetation that had sprouted (and was cracking the tiles apart). A layer of sand was then placed over the floor, and then a geotextile was placed on top, finally covered by a layer of gravel."
photo: Daniel Avila
The Parks Department describes the map as "the largest-known representation of any area of the earth’s surface." After years of languishing, the Pavilion was finally landmarked in September 2009, making preservation funding possible at last.
And that's a good thing--though it means you will no longer be able to stand on a wobbly pile of bricks and peek in through a slit in the locked doors to see chunks of the map, as I did back in 2008:
my flickr
Maybe, someday, we'll be able to go inside and enjoy walking on the map like they did back in 1964. Until then, it's all tucked in...
photo: Daniel Avila
photo: Daniel Avila
I missed the opportunity to venture inside this gorgeous, crumbling relic of the city's past, but blogger Peter Kaufman over at Ink Lake recently wrote about the preservation. He also passed along to JVNY these great photos of the process, all taken by Parks Department photographer Daniel Avila.
photo: Daniel Avila
Kaufman explains how volunteers first "removed the vegetation that had sprouted (and was cracking the tiles apart). A layer of sand was then placed over the floor, and then a geotextile was placed on top, finally covered by a layer of gravel."
photo: Daniel Avila
The Parks Department describes the map as "the largest-known representation of any area of the earth’s surface." After years of languishing, the Pavilion was finally landmarked in September 2009, making preservation funding possible at last.
And that's a good thing--though it means you will no longer be able to stand on a wobbly pile of bricks and peek in through a slit in the locked doors to see chunks of the map, as I did back in 2008:
my flickr
Maybe, someday, we'll be able to go inside and enjoy walking on the map like they did back in 1964. Until then, it's all tucked in...
photo: Daniel Avila
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