Watch video...A rusting monument from the World's Fair joined
Machu Picchu on a list of the world's most endangered landmarks, released Thursday by the World Monuments Fund. The New York State Pavilion has been named one of the top 100 most endangered cultural landmarks by the fund. “We hope that listing it on our watch list will call more attention to the dilapidated condition of this pavilion as well as its importance,” said Bonnie Burnham of the World Monuments Fund. The pavilion, designed by architect Philip Johnson, was the centerpiece of the 1964 World's Fair in Queens, but soon after it began to fall into disrepair. Its million-dollar mosaic floor, with a huge map of the state, is now in pieces and its observation towers are covered in ivy and corroded by rust. “We hope the Parks Department will see this and respond and put up the money that's needed to stabilize the structure,” said Burnham. The structure gained notoriety in the film “Men In Black” where it served as an alien spaceship. Some local activists are also hoping the new spotlight on the structure will lead to public and private funding to revitalize it. “Our position is, at the least, preserve it,” said activist David Oates of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Association. “Make it safe, light it up, and keep it, [so that maybe at some point] function can be [restored.]” The borough president says she's not sure that's possible. “All the studies indicate that it has probably gone too far in decay and that's a concern,” said Borough President Helen Marshall. “But, of course, if it can be, then I am willing to listen to the experts and whatever they say. I will be happy to restore it.” The city said it shot down past proposals to renovate the structure because the plans did not fit into the community and were not economically feasible. Currently, the University of Pennsylvania is restoring parts of the mosaic flooring and the Parks Department says later this year it will request proposals for a structural study on how to stabilize the pavilion long term. “We hope that both our efforts and the pavilion's inclusion on the World Monument Funds list will gain the necessary public awareness and funding to move forward with the preservation of this important historical icon,” said Abigail Lootens of the NYC Parks Department in a statement. Other landmarks on the list include Route 66, hurricane-ravaged neighborhoods in New Orleans, the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem and Peru's Machu Picchu.
-Ruschell Boone
