Fountain Of The Fairs Come To Life

The largest fountain network on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. was turned on for the first time in over three decades last Thursday as the Fountain of the Fairs was officially restored in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The network of fountains and pools leads to the Unisphere and it is the culmination of a $34 million upgrade of the central portion of the Park. The fountain was first built for the 1939 Worlds Fair (shown here) where it adorned the central mall facing the Fairs theme symbols, the Trylon and Perisphere. It was restored for the 1964 Worlds Fair (top right) but it had been shut down since the late 60s. Last week (below right) Queens parks construction supervisor Edward Lewis, Assistant Commissioner Estelle Cooper, Parks Commissioner Henry Stern (with his dog Boomer), Queens Borough President Claire Shulman and parks manager Richard Murphy pulled the switch, inaugurating the fountain once again. For more on the fountains click to the Toasted Oats column.