The Beloved, Eerie “Tent of Tomorrow” Needs $43 Million Worth Of Repairs
Whether you know the New York State Pavilion (née the “Tent of Tomorrow”) as the fun-filled site of the 1964-1965 World’s Fair, a tangential but key plot device in Men in Black, or just a charmingly weird old structure that we’d all like to see stick around, some important news: Gothamist reports that the beloved abandoned site in Flushing Meadows Corona Park is in need of around $43 million worth of repairs. And that’s just to try to preserve it. To actually turn it into something new-ish and usable would cost another $30 million or so, the Parks Department has said.
Which isn’t a huge surprise, per se—these things have been in disrepair for a long, long time—but is still a pretty staggering number. Thankfully, the Pavilion has a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, meaning it won’t necessarily be bulldozed for condos if the money doesn’t immediately present itself. “They are in need of repair but they are not immediately falling down. So we have time to have some really reasonable dialogue,” said Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski. Still, given its status as one of the few old, abandoned places the city hasn’t yet locked the public out of, now seems like a particularly good time to pay the Pavilion a visit. Or donate the $43 million you happen to have kicking around? While you’re at it, the Plaza’s for sale for around $1.6 billion. Just a friendly investment tip.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.