Unisphere, Flushing Meadows
0 Comments Published by Cedric Benetti on Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 4/18/2010 02:08:00 AM.
The Unisphere symbolized the beginning of the space age. It was conceived and constructed as 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."
It is the world's largest global structure, rising 140 feet and weighing 700,000 pounds. Some sources say the Unisphere weighs 900,000 pounds, a figure which includes the additional weight of its 100-ton inverted tripod base. The diameter of the sphere itself is 120 feet, or 36.57 meters.
Three large orbit rings of stainless steel encircle Unisphere at various angles. These orbit rings are believed to represent the tracks of Yuri Gagarin, first man in space, John Glenn, first American to orbit Earth, and Telstar, first active communications satellite. In fact, the early design was to have a ring for each of a dozen satellites in place at the time of the Fair. This proved unpractical not only in the number of satellites, but also in the height of their orbits and some had no orbit path. As a result a symbolic number of 3 was chosen for aesthetic reasons.
Labels: gardens, New York street stuff, photography, Science Fiction Architecture
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