Unisphere

The Unisphere is a 140-foot-tall, 700,000-pound stainless steel globe at the center of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, built as the centerpiece of the 1964-65 World's Fair. The structure is the largest globe in the world and has become the unofficial symbol of Queens and one of the most recognized landmarks in New York City.

The Unisphere was designed by landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke and fabricated by the U.S. Steel Corporation. Its three orbit rings represent the trajectories of Yuri Gagarin (the first human in space), John Glenn (the first American to orbit Earth), and the Telstar communications satellite, reflecting the Space Age optimism of the early 1960s.

The surrounding fountains, which shoot jets of water around the globe's base, create a spectacular display when operating. The plaza around the Unisphere serves as a gathering place for visitors to the park and is a popular location for photography, particularly at sunset when the stainless steel catches the golden light.

The Unisphere has appeared in numerous films, most memorably in Men in Black, and has become a symbol of Queens' identity as the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world. The globe's representation of all the world's continents resonates with a borough that is home to residents from virtually every nation on Earth.

The Unisphere endures as a monument to mid-century American ambition and technological optimism, standing as a reminder of the World's Fairs that transformed Flushing Meadows from an ash dump into a world stage. For the people of Queens, it is simply and powerfully their symbol: a globe for a global borough.