Photos posted online claim to prove that tiles from a huge state road map created for the 1964 World's Fair icon were cracked and left lying in dust and weeds after undergoing a heralded $40,000 restoration.A spokeswoman for the city Parks Department, which cares for the pavilion, said she didn't know if restored tiles had gone back into the pavilion at some point. But she said the tiles were put into special-made crates under supervision of a historic preservation specialist and are now safe in an enclosed storage space.
Are Web pics of damage to restored New York State Pavilion map real?
Conservator John Hinchman, a University of Pennsylvania professor who managed the map project, said he wasn't sure if the tiles in the photos matched the ones he helped preserve. Tom Finkelpearl, executive director of the Queens Museum of Art, said he hadn't seen the photos and didn't know whether to trust them. But he figured the tiles wouldn't have suffered damage from being back in the pavilion.
"What destroyed the tiles was not the weather," Finkelpearl said. "It was the plants that were growing into them and cracking them apart."
So let's see, where do we begin? This is a very OLD story at this point, and not sure why it was even published now. But at the very least, a dumb statement made by the restorer saying he can't identify pieces his group painstakingly restored demand follow up questions like, "Don't you catalogue, document and photograph your restoration work?" And when the museum director makes an asinine statement about the plants cracking the tiles rather than the weather, I suppose it would not be out of line to ask how the seeds could grow in cracks that shouldn't have been there in the first place. Not to mention that most of the damage is actually from the cement that Parks slapped on the tiles to "repair" them.
Actually, if the reporter had simply asked to see the tiles that were supposedly carefully packed into crates and stored in an enclosed storage space, the whole controversy could have been put to rest. But why do that? This is Queens.
5 comments:
If bright lights run Queens, it would make sense that they would get bright lights to manage Queens projects:
Dumb and Dumber.
The powers that be want that building out of there !
Its seems "sombody" is destroying every original piece before makes landmarking. There were blue globes that survived up there for 45 years. I personally seen them tossed and smashed into a crate of trash with workers coffe & Gateraid cups.
I could tell they were broken on impact the way the pieces lay.
Perhaps the USTA wants more property ?
A couple years ago Estelle Cooper and some people raised some $500,000 at Terrace on The Park for the NYSP.
If the panel restoration was done via a $40,000 grant using students from Pa where did the $500,000 go ?
Did the whole Bloomberg mob take a 1st Class trip ....CAUGH CAUGH VACATION to Terezza Italy to tell us some guy name Mario said the maps to far gone again ?
Please tell us Estelle and Mr.Bloomberg ?
-Joe
1."A spokeswoman , said she didn't know"
2."spokeswoman Patricia Bertuccio denied"
3."Conservator, said he wasn't sure"
4."Director of the Queens Museum of Art, said he hadn't seen"
When asked about the restored panels future one of the museum directors about where the tiles would be stored, "she" said it was a hot political issue and the Parks Department would have a large say. The end result was tossed off a cart on the ground open to the elements for over 5 months.
The covering was 1 cheap blue tarp and a 4X8 sheet of plywood for all them
The Queens museum websight itself has photos the panels intact www.queensmuseum.org/exhibitions/backonmap.htm
Go to the past Exibititions page and work your way to the interactive map.
The North fork 25A area is intact !!!
SHAME ON NYC PARKS AND ALL UNVOLVED...PEOPLE NEED TO BE FIRED !!!!
MR.BLOOMBERG YOUR APPOINTED IDIOTS HERE IN QUEENS NEED TO BE REMOVED NOW !!!
The QM wants to be a multicultural art museum (note how the suits refers to it as the “QMA”) These people like the Mayor wants all this 1964 WF stuff, the Archie Bunker dead and buried. The QM defunct its association with the Worlds Fair over 15 years ago.
The QM has nothing to do with Queens most the people in there aren’t even from New York!
As far as the Corona Parks Dept employees go I think they are all ex DMV employees, Rikers convicts and relatives at that.
Whats left, homless living under the VQE behind Fountain Of The Planets and old Monorail footings on the lake side ?
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