Unisphere–A Monument To The Space Age

The importance of space exploration as a 1964 World’s Fair theme was evident in the theme structure built for the Fair, the Unisphere, a giant stainless steel globe encircled by three ellipses. The placement of these three inter-connecting rings — or arms — was to duplicate the orbits of the first Russian manned flight, the orbit of Telstar, the first telecommunications sattelite and the path of the first American to orbit the earth — John Glenn.
After his history-making 1962 flight, Glenn was presented with a silver medal depicting the Unisphere which was not yet built at the time. Rising 140 feet and weighing 900,000 pounds the Unisphere is the world’s largest global structure. It was dedicated to the fair’s theme — Man’s Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe and the desire for a Mutual Peace through Understanding.
— David Oats