| Are
you thinking, "What? Another Art museum?" The Queens Museum of
Art is very, very different. True, it is very much an art museum but it is
so much more. But, first, something about the building which houses the
museum: the New York City Building.
New York City was the site of
two World's Fairs: the 1939 and the 1964. Both of these fairs were cited
in Corona Park (Flushing Meadows) in the Queens. The New York City
Building was originally built for the 1939 World's Fair. A permanent
structure (many were razed after the Fair), it was 'revitalized' and
re-outfitted for the 1964 World's Fair. One of the displays on exhibit in
the building was the Panorama of the City of New York, a 9,335 square foot
scale model of New York City which included replicas of every building in
the five boroughs. This is the largest scale model of any city in the
world.
(view: Panorama
of the City of New York)
The Panorama of the City of
New York is still there for all to view. It has been refurbished and
brought up to date with the addition of the hundreds of new buildings
built since 1964: now over 800,000 of them! If there were nothing else of
interest in the Museum, this is something you do not want to miss.
But there's more. The New York
City Building not only survived two World's Fairs, it was the temporary
home of the United Nations from its organization in 1946 to 1952 when they
moved to the newly finished U.N. complex in Manhattan. A permanent
exhibit, "A Panoramic View: The History of the New York City Building
and its Site," has been constructed. This exhibit also includes an
archive of World's Fair memorabilia. |
There
is a permanent art collection but there also have been many traveling
exhibits. These are frequently supplemented by film programs, workshops,
lectures and narrated tours. Recent exhibits include:
- "Across the Pacific:
Contemporary Korean Art"
- "Ante America" -
a look at America)
- "Common
Ground/Uncommon Visions" - American Folk Art
- "Louis Armstrong: A
Cultural Legacy"
Hours:
Tue - Fri 10a - 5p; Sat & Sun 12p - 5p.
Note: the first Thursday of every month they hold an after-hours, open
house gala called 'Free Thursday'. Yes, admission, then, is FREE.
The Museum is closed in
observance of the following holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King
Day, President's Day , Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Columbus
Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Directions:
By Subway, take # 7 to 111th Street Station. Walk south on 111th Street to
the Park entrance at 49th Avenue. Follow the yellow signs to the Museum
(next to the Unisphere).
By Bus, take Q48 to Roosevelt Avenue & 111 Street. Walk south on 111th
Street to the Park entrance at 49th Avenue. Follow the yellow signs to the
Museum (next to the Unisphere).
You can also take the Q23 or Q58 to Corona Avenue & 51 Avenue. Then
walk east to the Park entrance and follow the yellow signs to the Museum.
By Car: Drive out on the Grand Central Parkway and exit at Shea Stadium.
Follow the signs to the Museum. Parking is FREE! |
