i went to an event at the queens museum last week so of course i had to peek in on the cool, kitschy old panorama. the "show" is silly and the whole thing is poorly lit so it's hard to get good shots, but oh well i tried. first, here is some info about the city panorama from the museum website:

 

"The Panorama of the City of New York is the jewel in the crown of the collection of the Queens Museum of Art. Built by Robert Moses for the 1964 World’s Fair, in part as a celebration of the City’s municipal infrastructure, this 9,335 square foot architectural model includes every single building constructed before 1992 in all five boroughs; that is a total of 895,000 individual structures. It is the thing that everyone who has visited the Museum recalls.

 

The Panorama was built by a team of 100 people working for the great architectural model makers Raymond Lester Associates in the three years before the opening of the 1964 World’s Fair. In planning the model, Lester Associates referred to aerial photographs, insurance maps, and a range of other City material; the Panorama had to be accurate, indeed the initial contract demanded less than one percent margin of error between reality and the model. The Panorama was one of the most successful attractions at the ’64 Fair with a daily average of 1,400 people taking advantage of its 9 minute simulated helicopter ride around the City.

 

After the Fair the Panorama remained open to the public, its originally planned use as an urban planning tool seemingly forgotten. Until 1970 all of the changes in the City were accurately recreated in the model by Lester’s team. After 1970 very few changes were made until 1992, when again Lester Associates changed over 60,000 structures to bring it up-to-date."

 

more info:

http://www.queensmuseum.org/panorama/index.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bonus -- the unisphere is in front of the queens museum. all about it:

 

This is still the World's Largest World, designed as the centerpiece for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. Its diameter of 120 feet far exceeds that of its nearest rival, the 42-ft diameter Eartha in Maine (although Eartha is indoors and rotates). Twelve stories tall, weighing 700,000 pounds, the Unisphere is somehow even more impressive now than it was in 1964. Perhaps that's because it's now surrounded by, well, nothing, rather than by the pavilions of prosperous nations and corporations.

 

It was built in just over five months, and made of stainless steel so that it will never rust. World capitals on the Unisphere used to be lit with little bulbs at night, but not any longer. The three rings encircling it represent the orbits of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (the first Russian), Astronaut John Glenn (the first American), and Telstar (the first active communications satellite). In the summer the Unisphere's reflecting pool is filled and its fountains are turned on; in the off-season its vast, flat expanse is a popular spot for skateboarders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks!

I think this sorta thing is kinda kitschy, but fun nonetheless.

 

The Philip Johnson-designed towers make me sad, though. They've fallen into such disrepair; in fact, I think that the whole plaza has become relatively neglected. I wish someone would restore them and maintain them a bit better.

besides the wtc site changes, i just noticed that the thunderbolt coaster in the coney island section is also still up. that's the one woody allen supposedly grew up under in the movie "annie hall."  :laugh:  it got overrun with weeds and trees and was torn down. the cyclones stadium is near it now.

 

even outside manhattan i imagine going block by block you would find a lot of changes like that today vs. the last update in 1992.

 

Why did they update it?  It would be better to not change it in my opinion.  And this thing is way better than the S-scale 1940's Cincinnati in Union Termnial, which I have major beef with.  On that model they shrunk downtown from 8x8 blocks to about 6x5, putting prominant structures from different streets on the same street.  It's awful. 

why? because there are geeky boys involved and it's too cool to leave it alone! :laugh:

 

supposedly they are going to update it again someday, but i haven't heard anything lately. actually i read 2006, but that came and went.

How they did that without laser cutters is unbelievable in its expansiveness.  There had to be some seriuosly caloused pointer fingers after that.