New York State Pavilion

About

The New York State Pavilion is a pavilion at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York. Constructed for the 1964 New York World's Fair, it was designed by the architects Philip Johnson and Richard Foster, with Lev Zetlin as the structural engineer. The pavilion consists of three reinforced concrete-and-steel structures: the Tent of Tomorrow, observation towers, and Theaterama. It is owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The New York State Pavilion was first proposed in January 1960. After the New York state government agreed to host an exhibit at the World's Fair in early 1962, work on the structures began on October 8, 1962. It opened on April 23, 1964, and operated as a World's Fair attraction for two years. NYC Parks took over the structures in 1967 and leased out the Theaterama as a performing-arts theater in 1969. The Tent of Tomorrow briefly served as a concert venue and roller rink in the 1970s, while the observation towers never reopened. After briefly reopening in the 1980s, the Tent of Tomorrow was abandoned into the 21st century. Following years of preservation efforts, the Tent of Tomorrow was repainted in 2014, and the structures underwent rehabilitation starting in 2019.