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The Flushing Meadows Corona Park World’s Fair Association was founded in 1967 to preserve the unique history of the site of two World’s Fairs, its environment, and structures.
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We maintain an active and dynamic presence in the park, and document conditions which detract from this park's glorious history, and attempt to vault projects which will enhance its legacy as a place where the world can continue to gather for events of global proportion.
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There are certain places on earth that seem to have meaning beyond just their geography or time and space.
We believe that the 1,258 acres of Flushing Meadow-Corona Park in Queens, New York, is one of those special places. And we have created this website to convey the sweeping, almost magesterial message about this site’s past, present and future to both protect, nurture, and preserve its unique legacy.
Located in New York City, the capitol of the world, it is the largest land- area park in the metropolis - situated in its geographic and population center. It today is a great urban oasis in a borough that is the most internationally diverse of any place on planet earth.
But, it is in the spirit and the earth of these meadows that speaks through the ages. In the 1600’s, the brave citizens of Flushing took a stand for the freedom of religion and free expression by signing the Flushing Remonstrance. In the 1930’s, the site had become a great wasteland, immortalized by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel The Great Gatsby as “a valley of ashes.” In a miracle of transformation, it became The World of Tomorrow of the great World’s Fair of 1939-40, which on its very opening day launched the first television broadcast, and 25 years later the space age exposition of 1964-65. Kings, Queens, Popes, Presidents, Heads of State and over 100 million people came to these meadows to experience the arts, architecture, science, cultures, and entertainment’s of the Earth. In between these two seminal events, the world chose this park as the first home of the United Nations and it was there that the international community came together to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Albert Einstein himself wrote the Message to the Future for the time capsule which is buried 50 feet below the grounds of Flushing Meadows preserving the record our civilization for 5000 years in the future. Today this park belongs to the people. It is our belief that this special place must be protected and preserved with the dignity it deserves and also for the possibilities it presents for the future of a growing region and community. Our organization has worked for certain proposals to continue the park’s unique legacy: a possible third World’s Fair in 2015 and an Olympics in 2016 to complete the park in the Shea Stadium - Willets Point area. While existing leadership chose not to act for these incredible goals, we are not giving up for the potential for these type of world scale events in the future. We seek to return the historic Flushing Remonstrance to the Queens Museum in the park from its current prison in Albany. And we seek to give the public an idea of both the park’s magnificent history and its present treasures. But, most importantly, we will also be a watch dog for the park - ever vigilant of the neglect and indifference that all too often threatens the potential of this special place on Earth. For in the end, we believe that this park is not just a special place - but quite possibly a sacred place. To this goal our website is dedicated. Flushing Meadows - Corona Park World’s Fair Association The Late David Oats Corinne Oats Greg Godfrey
First Chairman Robert Moses (1971-1981)
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