The Farmboyz and I did one of our outer borough explorations today, venturing out into the wilds of far Queens. We usually take our bikes on the subway, but Farmboy C (above) blew a tire so we spent the afternoon hoofing around Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (site of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs), which today was hosting the 18th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival.ABOVE: We got a look at the soon-to-be demolished Shea Stadium and the almost-finished Citi Field. BELOW: We came across Andy Warhol’s 1964 tile mosaic tribute to reviled urban planner Robert Moses, the man who successfully rammed expressways through many of Gothams’s neighborhoods.ABOVE AND BELOW: We were among the very few in the crowded park who were not speaking Cantonese or carrying a parasol. Tons of companies were on hand to give out branded trinkets, which people gladly waited in long lines to receive.
ABOVE: Many of the 7 trains spend their weekends sleeping in the shadow of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, host of the U.S. Open. BELOW: On the west side of the park, we walked under this train station to stroll around Forest Hills, the mostly-fancy, mostly-Jewish neighbood whose tennis club was genesis of the U.S. Open. Forest Hills, with its lovely Tudor homes, looks much like an English village. Trivia: the world’s first radio commerical advertised homes in Forest Hills.
ABOVE: The ’64 World’s Fair Sky Streak lifts are rotting away. One has already been torn down and the plan is to demolish the remaining two, pending a $500,000 study into their stability. I can vividly recall riding to the top of the tallest tower during the fair, even though I was only five years old at the time. Preservationists want to keep the towers of course, but hey, you can always see them in Men In Black.
Tags Afternoon View Flushing Forest Hills Queens