This is my first visit to the Queens Museum of Art Panorama of New York City. The Queens Museum of Art is located in flushing meadows, Corona Park in Queens. The museum itself was founded in 1972, however the pavilion was designed by architect Aymar Embury II for the 1939 World’s Fair. It was then renovated in 1964 by architect Daniel Chait, and used again for the 1964 World’s Fair. The museum itself screams contemporary and featured “technological” aesthetics and colors. The major color of white is shown throughout the exterior and interior of the museum with large “bay windows” for you to see from the inside out and vice versa. It reminds me of a millionaire’s private mansion. The location itself also had a very calm environment to it, as it was located inside a huge park, and next to the Queens Zoo, New York Hall of Science, and the Queen’s theater. I lingered around after our visit to explored the nearby attractions as well.
Now the focus of the trip was the exhibition “Panorama of the City of New York”. When you think of panorama, you quickly associate this with a photograph or picture, however this panorama was a model of New York City. The size of the model was SHOCKING! My mind was not prepared on how big and detailed the model was. The model itself took up a whole room for its exhibition. It also showed a view of the whole city from day to night via an airplane departing and arriving from LaGuardia Airport. I like how the exhibition relates to Robert Moses and the book that we are currently reading. Robert Moses commissioned this exhibition for the 1964 World’s Fair and it really opens up your eyes on his perception of city planning. They say seeing is believing, and this exhibition helped me put his words into a visual presentation. I personally have never been on a helicopter tour around New York City, so an aerial view of the WHOLE city in detailed model form was an eye opener. In the spring of 2009, the Museum launched its Adopt-a-Building program. It was aimed to help improve the future of the model while simultaneously bringing it up to date. For as little as $100, real estate on the Panorama can be “purchased,” with property owners receiving a deed in exchange for their donation. Hundreds have commemorated first date locations, elementary schools, first homes, and parents’ businesses by adopting a building. Its like playing real life Monopoly with the model. The “donations” also helped on a larger scale by having installations of new buildings on the Panorama, which includes: Citi Field, Yankee Stadium, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, and 27 buildings in Battery Park City.
In my personal views, this visit was both a cultural & architectural landscape. It helps a lot that we visit the Museum of the City of New York and viewed the film “Timescapes” before this field trip. It reflects on how and why certain parts of the city is constructed the way it is now. Its architectural on how the city grid is constructed the way it was, how Robert Moses favored expressways over public transit, and how the major bridges connected the cultures of the “working class” into certain parts of the city for work. The museum itself and the panorama of the city of New York serves the interest of the public. Its an educational piece for all, and does not benefit any particular or elite groups.






