Classic New York Trips, part 2

News that Queens Borough President Helen Marshall is putting her discretionary account towards repairing the Unisphere (regularly working fountains!) reminds Gothamist of another classic, and often forgotten, New York trip: The Queens Museum of Art and the Panorama of the City of New York located within it.

The QMA in Flushing Meadows Park is located within the New York City Building from the 1964 World's Fair. The Museum regularly shows works by local Queens artists and generally has something interesting going on. And it is not hard to get to.

"But Gothamist," we can hear you saying "there are so many other museums closer to me. Why would I want to go to an art museum in Queens?" Good question. The answer, my friend, is for the Panorama.

Conceived by Robert Moses for the '64 Worlds Fair, the Panorama can't be properly comprehended unless you are standing right next to it. We're talking about a complete scale model of all 320-square-miles of New York City as of 1994, that is 900,000 building models over 9,355-square-feet. If you have any interest in seeing just how much New York has physically changed in the past ten years there is no better way than the Panorama. Further if all you really know of New York geography is from the Subway map then the Panorama is going to be an eye-opener for you.

Really, trust us, just go.

The Queens Museum of Art is open from Wednesday - Sunday 12-6. Suggested Admission is $5.