The Unisphere, leftover from the 1964 New York World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Flushing, Queens (that’s a mouthful), is a stainless steal model of the earth that extends twelve stories high!
The fountain below the sphere, like many others in the park, is now empty, and is often filled with a handful of skateboarders or rollerbladers. The empty fountain also means you can stand right under the Unisphere to take pictures or just admire its massiveness.
The Unisphere is the highlight of the Flushing Park and is arguably the most prominent symbol of Queens itself. The Queens Museum of Art (with its awesome panorama of NYC) is located directly behind the Unisphere, and its little gift shop contains lots of specially collected old World’s Fair memorabilia, like the Unisphere salt and pepper shakers (for some reason, these just really crack me up).
Side Note: The Unisphere, along with other Flushing hot spots, like Shea Stadium and the Observatory Towers (right), are featured in the movie Men in Black.
(Two more pictures after the jump.)
