Image via Matthew Silva
Filmmaker Matthew Silva is a middle/high school video production teacher hoping to make a documentary the abandoned ruins of the 1964 World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. This eloquent trailer was created as a part of a fundraiser for the film, “Modern Ruin: A World’s Fair Pavilion,” which can be supported on Kickstarter and GoFundMe. His initial fundraising surpassed the $10,000 goal within 10 days, so he’s going for his full $30,000 budget now.
This film tells the story of the Pavilion during the glory days of the Fair, and chronicles its demise over the past 50 years, from a 1960s concert venue and 1970s roller rink, through the years of neglect and the growing advocacy efforts to save and re-purpose the structure
The Tent of Tomorrow and the New York Pavilion stand as iconic yet mysterious landmarks in Queens, and Matthew is spurred by a disbelief that such a building, designed by the famous architect Philip Johnson could become a ruin. Says Silva, the structure, “sits as a haunting reminder of what became of the age of optimism of the 1960s.”The film is also supported by Mainspring Pictures, producers of Emmy Award winning documentary “Farmboy.” Stay tuned for the Kickstarter campaign on January 25th.
Get in touch with the author @untappedmich. See more photos of the abandoned 1964 World’s Fair from Abandoned NYC.,
