2. Column of Jerash
The second oldest man-made object in New York City, after Cleopatra’s needle in Central Park, is a remnant of the 1964 World’s Fair. That object is the Column of Jerash, a 30-foot-tall Roman column dating back to the year 120 AD. The column was presented to the New York World’s Fair Corporation and the City of New York by King Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It was originally erected by Romans in the Jordanian city of Jerash, or Gerasa, as it was known then.
At the fair, the column stood as part of the Jordanian exhibit, which was described as a “multi-peaked-and domed structure with an undulating roof, and surfaced in gold mosaic and shimmering blue glass.” Inside there were religious and historical artifacts, including the Dome of the Rock, statues of the Three Kings, and a Dead Sea Scroll displayed in a replica of a cave. Today, the marble Column of Jerash can be found east of the Unisphere.
