Unisphere
Coordinates: 40°44′47″N 73°50′41″W / 40.746426°N 73.844819°W
The Unisphere, with a diameter of 120 ft (37 m), is a spherical stainless steel representation of the Earth, located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park (fourth-largest park in NYC, an area of 1255 acres) in the borough of Queens, New York City. There were two World's Fairs at the site (1939–40, 1964– 65), both largely the inspiration of Robert Moses. Because of the fairs, there were additions of new landscape and one of them is the Unisphere. The Unisphere is one of the borough's most iconic and enduring symbols.
Commissioned to celebrate the beginning of the space age, the Unisphere was conceived and constructed as the theme symbol of the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair. The theme of the World's Fair was "Peace Through Understanding" and the Unisphere represented the theme of global interdependence. It was dedicated to "Man's Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe".
After World War II, Flushing Meadow Park did open after being closed for a long time, maintaining landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke's site plan, as did the 1964– 65 World’s Fair, “Peace through Understanding.” Robert Moses was president of the World’s Fair Corporation, which leased the park from the city and issued $29.8 million in bonds. Unisphere was initially conceptually designed by the landscape architect in aluminum with metallic mesh continents; Unisphere underwent a further refined industrial design in stainless steel by industrial designers at Peter Muller-Munk Associates, and with engineering and fabrication by American Bridge Company, a division of US Steel. It is the world's largest global structure, rising 140 ft (43 m) and weighing 700,000 lb (320,000 kg). Some sources say the Unisphere weighs 900,000 lb (410,000 kg), a figure that includes the additional weight of its 100-ton inverted tripod base. The diameter of the sphere is 120 ft (37 m). It is constructed of Type 304L stainless steel.The continents on the sphere are fabricated with a special texture-pattern by Rigidized Metals Corporation, based in Buffalo, New York. Developed for this architectural project, the pattern's name, “1 UN” stands for: 1 Unisphere.
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