The Unisphere
Tuesday, 12th April 2005 by Alex Turnbull
Remember the scene at the end of Men in Black where the flying saucer crashes through a huge globe? Well this is it, the Unisphere, in Flushing Meadows Park, NY. Not very interesting at first glance, but check out how cool the shadow is!
Many thanks to Paul for this one. He says:
The Unisphere was the symbol of the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair. This 12 story high stainless steel model of the earth was designed and fabricated by the United States Steel Corporation and remains on the site at Flushing Meadow Park today.
And Wikipedia says:
It's the world's largest global structure, rising 140 feet and weighing 900,000 pounds
Very cool.
Thanks also to Todd W, Yorkie, Andy Baio (Yes, that Andy) and anecho.
About the author
Alex has decided that his title will be Senior Vice President of Stuff.
Note the oval to the South of the Unisphere. It’s the New York State Pavilion atop which sits a couple of flying saucers .. at least according to MIB.
The building directly beneath the Unisphere is the old New York State pavilion. You can’t really see it, but there are two towers with observation decks on top of them. These doubled as the flying saucers in that scene in Men in Black.
If you look to the north a bit you can see Shea stadium, home of Mets.
And it was parodied on the Simpsons as the Wig-o-Sphere. This eventually came crashing down on Nelson, Millhouse, and Bart’s rented car.
Wow! the world is a small place. I work with three dynamic young fellows called Alex, James and Olly! Weird!
You can see a map of all the things that were at the 1964 NY World’s Fair Here. I remember most of the cool rides, Ford, GM, Bell System, from my visit when I was 7.
Sorry Sv, the Wig-O-Sphere from the Simpsons episode dealt not with the New York Worlds Fair but with the Knoxville Worlds Fair . In this image you can see the SunSphere, about all that is left of the fair.
Sorry, here’s the SunSphere link: View Placemark
Is this the big globe thing which also featured in the starting sequence of Kenan and Kel? Pardon my 1990s geekiness.
I suspect the kenan and Kel version was much smaller… My memory of the starting sequence is hazy, however.
I’m surprised to see no mention of The King of Queens (Kenan and Kel?). In the opening credits, Doug and Carrie are wrestling on the ground, Arthur’s strolling by behind them, and there are the Unisphere and the saucers in the background. Cool to finally see where these were located!