Monday, January 28, 2008

Restoring the NYS Pavilion Texaco Map

Click on the photo to go to The Really Big Map, which now has its restoration process on exhibit at the Queens Museum.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

too little, too late.

Anonymous said...

This is BS !!
They pulled up 8 panels to show they "did something".
The rest to the "Tent of Tomorrow" will be torn down (at the states cost)as soon as it becomes an emergency.
It will cost 80-100 million city dollars to restore.
If the project started today, what kind of idiot is going to pay 80 Millons dollars to look at Queens in 2010 and still not own the building.
I spoke to an Engineer at that sight.

The city wants a **tennant** who will pay the restoration cost, rent and pay the useless Corona park maintenence people to run it. (FM Corona Park is a Union House)
The last tennant was almost beaten to death & his dog hung at that sight over "stuff"

Its such a complex web of City Red tape Donald Trump ran like hell after reviewing the issues.
The city does not want the NYSP a Museam or Landmarked, it's only interested in a big $$ tenant

Joe

verdi said...

I think they were playin'
with Phillip's "Johnson" by removing the roof
from the NYS Pavilion
that protected the terrazzo map from the elements.

If some sort of covering isn't provided.....
a restored map will only begin
to deteriorate all over again !

Anonymous said...

I have been in there, below whats left of the map is rotten plywood, below that sand. Most of the map (especially ALL of (Manhatten and Queens no longer exists its filled in with cement by park workers years ago.
It was used as a a "private" truckyard, storage and parking for corona Park workers for decades.
Whats left is is in a trillion pieces, the roof panels bell shaped dome that covered the cable ring was removed over 30 years ago.
Its a shame how NYC throws is best treasures down some landfill.

There is also a fountain 100 Feet SE and underground pump room that could have been save as well.
These characters in charge held a benefit some years ago, raised over 1/2 million dollars.
They all went on a ..CAUGH CAUGH "vacation" to Terrazzo Italy to tell us the map can’t be saved.
(....BURP research)

Then got some free workers and students to photograph and restore a couple panels.
The curruption going on in NYC and Long Island is sickning !!

wwworldclique said...

Re: everyone's frustrations about the NYSP not being restored.

I'm not from Queens but I'm guessing that from my visit to the park the area is mostly working class Hispanic and Asian-- am I right?

So I have no doubt in my mind that this is part of the reason why this structure isn't getting restored. Nothing seems to be worth saving or restoring unless it's in the "right" neighborhood with the "right" people.

We're seeing this phenomenon in Brooklyn now, where it's going through a renaissance of development and restoration. But the only reason why it's doing that is that the low and middle working class are being pushed out in favor of the hipsters and upper class people.

So sad to say, the only hope of restoring the NYSP my be through gentrification. Problem is, the only people who would get to enjoy it are the out-of-towner snobs and Yuppies, not the regular folk and true New Yorkers who have been fighting to get this structure restored in the first place.

Anonymous said...

joe is right. When the NYSP inevitably collapses in another few years from intentional neglect the city will get some upscale tenant to occupy the land, turning it into another restaurant for the tennis trash to go to after the games, perhaps, and sicking security on middle class "trash" like us who dare to go within 500 yards of the place. Of course they'll also have to have a place to park their cars. So there goes another meadow or two too.

georgetheatheist said...

This just in.

The Pavillion will used as the future mausoleum site for Estelle Cooper.

Anonymous said...

Talk about abuse, they have to use a shabby wooded plywood and chain to close the East entry. Anything heavier would pull the whole brick wall down.
The wall is failing so badly you can now poke a pencil between the bricks.
Any effort to demolish or stabilize the tent and crown would require removal of this perimeter wall, Mezzanine and floor to stabilize the support columns.
The support columns would then have to be stabilized, the crown un welded and jacked down inch by inch. (The reverse of how it went up)

The observation towers are stabile; those were built on steel piles. However the decks themselves are actually suspended via cables from arms above (many don’t know this)
You need demented engineer-welders-mountain climbers to go up there and check or replace them.

The elevators are built by Otis, since they are amusement park design they don’t use counterweights. The cars counterweigh each other. This would require a custom replacement as well

This is why this neglect is so expensive to undo, the structure is a masterpiece it’s a shame what’s happened to it.

The city has blown millions of dollars on "Studys" on what people could tell them for free.
They could have sandblasted and painted the structure 3 times already but NO NO...They want it to rot and come into Emergency status so the STATE foots the demo bill and the city has room for more USTA BullSh*t for fat suits and rich weirdos who dont even live in Queens !

...Ohhh I get so angry
-Joe

Anonymous said...

now I know it!