7. Workers Who Installed the Panorama Left Their Names

As you can imagine, building the Panorama was no easy feat. With funding provided by the city of New York, Lester & Associates of West Nyack led the construction effort: it would take over 100 full-time workers, close to three years and $672,662.69 in 1964 U.S. Dollars (the equivalent of $5 million today) to complete the imposing model.

Given the amount of time and dedication it took to bring the Panorama to life, it should come as no surprise that a few workers wanted to leave their mark on the project. According to a Queens Museum statement, two workers actually left their names on the shrubbery. So next time you visit, keep and eye out for Bill and Ed on two islands in Jamaica Bay. Louise Weinberg, the archives manager at the museum, notes that women mostly glued buildings onto the Panorama and painted roads, while men laid out the streets, airports and parks, and constructed bridges.