Neglected Unisphere Sprouts Grass in Queens

Photo via Mr. Geneko's Flickr

The Unisphere, the once shining centerpiece of the World's Fair, has been so neglected that it's begun to sprout grass through its cracks. The Daily News pointed it out to the Parks Department, who "suspect that bird droppings and leaves collected in the base of the 12-story landmark, providing the perfect conditions for germination when seeds blew in and feasted on rain water."

While one local joked it could be a Chia Unisphere, others were not so lighthearted about the neglect, saying, "If this was in Manhattan, the Unisphere would be pristine and it'd be polished every year. It's really sad." Well, it does have a sort of post-apocalyptic charm.

The sphere was restored and cleaned thoroughly in 1994, but has since been vandalized and built up more grime. The paper notes, however, that "After the U.S. Open ends next month, the city will fence off the Unisphere fountains and fix the pumping system" (which currently leaks into a nearby museum). In the meantime, here are a few images from the glory days.

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By Jen Carlson in News on August 21, 2009 1:55 PM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

Just park a trailer behind it and presto! Al Sharpton World Headquarters.

hotstepper

the globe is beautiful, but everything else, especially those ugly jedi-looking "tent of tomorrow" towers, should be tossed.

grizzzly

My bigger complaint about this park is the absurd amount of littering, a lot of which seems to be water/gatorade bottles around the soccer fields.

endoubleu

Does that mean the fountain will be restored to a working condition? Last time I visited the park the fountain area had been taken over by skateboarders, and the nearby NYPD didn't seem to mind one bit.

It seems to make a nice skateboarding area, but I think I'd like it better as a fountain.

rachelblue

I think they turn the fountain on during the U.S. Open -- actually, everything in that park mysteriously becomes much better looking during the U.S. Open.

That whole park is so neglected, which is a shame because there are easily thousands of people who are there on nice days, and yet the park is such a dump that I always feel kind of sleazy when I'm there.

pandarelated

hey that makes sense. take away a free skate zone, spend who knows how much on pumping water, and you might go see it once. sounds like an awesome plan.

JenChungsBaby

It's actually pretty incredible how well-maintained the unisphere has been over the years, considering that everything else from the World's Fair is gone or still disintegrating in place.