Remnants of the World’s Fair Tour

Remnants of the World's Fair Tour

Tour Highlights

  • Discover the hidden-in-plain-sight remnants of the 1939/40 and 1964/65 inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park
  • Visit the monument to a 5000-year time capsule
  • View the original guidebooks from each of the World’s Fairs
  • Get a comprehensive history of the past, present, and future of Flushing Meadow-Corona Park, with Insider information from our partners involved with the preservation of the New York State Pavilion
  • Receive reproductions of World’s Fair Maps from both 1939 and 1964
  • Complimentary Admission to the Queens Museum, to admire the Panorama of the City of New York
Make this tour private, for your group only. Starts at $312

Guests Love This Tour!

  • 5 star ratingRemnants of the World's Fair We had such a great time on this tour of the Remnants of the World's Fair. Justin was very informative and such a great tour guide. Learned so many new and interesting things. I highly recommend this tour.
    Joycelouise512
    8/07/2022
    5 star ratingRemnants of the World's Fairs - great tour! I took the Remnants of the World's Fairs tour with Justin yesterday. He's a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable, and clearly a huge fan of the World's Fairs site and history. The tour began with an overview of the area history, and touched on some of the political history that led to the Fairs being held in New York. A walk of the grounds led us to many easily-overlooked treasures, and shared trivia tidbits, such as the road-sign plaques, the ancient column gifted by Jordan, and the flagpole eagles. It's not all trivia -- Justin also told us about the major buildings and sculptures, both present and long-gone. He brought along Aaron, who is an expert on the history (and future) of the Pavilion. The tour included entrance into the Queens Museum, where the famous Panorama of the City of New York is.

    This tour content is appropriate for all ages; physically it's for anyone who can walk for ~3 hours. I think most of the tour would be wheelchair accessible, though on my tour everyone was walking, and we did cut across grass / uneven surfaces several times. If you use walking aids, definitely check first.
    Sandy_012345
    6/27/2022
  • 5 star ratingFlushing Meadows/Remnants of the World's Fair Tour -- A Tour of Discovery The Flushing Meadows/Remnants of the World's Fair Tour is an amazing tour and give an excuse to go into that park, if you've never been or only have ventured out to the US Open. One sees how well the park is used today, as well as many obvious and not so obvious remnants of the 1939 and 1964 fairs. It includes a look at the restoration and reuse of iconic park elements and ends with admission to the Queens Museum and the NYC panorama. Really interesting and worthwhile.
    O2496YYpetert
    6/27/2022
    5 star ratingA Great Visit To 2 Worlds Fairs! Walking Tour in Flushing Meadows Corona Park of the sites off the 1939 and 1964 Worlds Fairs.
    This was a great tour! Justin was so knowledgeable about the history of the sight and the stories of both fairs and came so well prepared with photos and maps to share that the whole group was interested and engaged throughout the 2 hour walk. Even with many of 5he landmarks he referenced now gone, his stories brought the site to life for us. I’ve been trying to retell them to my relatives ever since I got home!
    Inspiration155579
    11/16/2020
  • 5 star ratingLoved Remnants of the World's Fair tour This was the remnants of the World's Fairs tour, and my favorite part was the Panorarama. Even though I had actually been at the 64-65 fair twice as a teen, I had never seen this, though I saw it recently on the Mr. Robot TV series. I took a picture (fuzzy because of the 10X zoom) of my Inwood neighborhood, and friends loved it.

    Second favorite was the NY State Pavilion, and I'm glad to see the restoration starting.

    At the time I came to the fair as a youth, I was living in the Philly burbs, but I've been a resident of NYC for 35 years now. But even though I've passed Flushing Meadow Park a number of times over the years, I had never been back there till this tour. Thank you, Untapped Cities and especially Justin, who filled us in on many aspects of the fairs that I hadn't been aware of.
    roberthU8353UR
    10/12/2020
    5 star ratingRemnants of the Worlds Fairs - great tour! The tour was informative, and a great way to connect the history of the park, all the way from the beginning, to the present day. Justin was full of information and very engaging. Highly recommended for World's Fair fans!
    peterbB344YT
    10/12/2020
  • 5 star ratingUntapped Cities World’s Fair Walking Tour Justin was highly knowledgeable and friendly to talk to! Learned so much about this site and I had already been studying its history extensively on my own. The exclusive photos that he brought were just icing on an already delicious cake!
    alyssacevega
    3/09/2020
    5 star ratingRemnants of the World's Fair Justin and Aaron were extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic. They were very prepared and the tour was well organized. We took the tour on a rainy day and they managed to show us all the sights while minimizing our time in the rain. Added bonus was admission to Queens museum & the panorama of NYC (so cool). We learned a lot about the history and current state of the worlds fair sights. I highly recommend this tour.
    Greta L
    10/22/2019
  • 5 star ratingRemnants of the World’s Fair Fabulous! I enjoyed every minute. I’ve wanted to take a tour around the old World’s Fair for quite a while. The information presented was mostly all new to me, although I did have some memories from attending the fair as a child. The tour instructors were clearly interested in the material discussed. Highly recommended!
    JaneE975
    9/26/2019

About This Tour:

Didn’t make it to the 1939/40 or 1964/65 World’s Fairs? Well here’s your chance. This tour will uncover numerous remnants of both fairs, with a focus on the hidden time capsules, the Fountain of the Planets, the Unisphere, and the historic New York State Pavilion. And if you did attend back in the day, revisit the park and add color by telling us your story!
 
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park has lived many lives from marshy tidal wetlands to an early 20th Century ash dump, to the site of not one, but two World’s Fairs. This tour explores the past, present, and future of this 900 acre park which was an obsession of the late “Master Builder,” Robert Moses. Join playwright, author, and Untapped Cities Tour guide, Justin Rivers as he leads you on a journey through Flushing Meadows’ many unnoticed treasures.
 
The tour ends at the Queens Museum where the New York Panorama, a 1964 World’s Fair remnant is on hand for viewing. It’s a must-see for any New Yorker or anyone visiting New York.
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