World’s Fair bus station entrance design

The 1939 New York World’s Fair required a large area within the city’s boundaries that was also conveniently accessible to the public. Rather than settle on any existing space, the planners and city officials chose to use the fair as an instrument of urban planning, selecting Flushing Meadows and the Corona Ash Heap to realize their ambitions.

Between groundbreaking at the end of June 1936 and the fair’s opening in April 1939, the ash heap was transformed into Flushing Meadows Park. Public transportation stations, Grand Central Parkway, and a marina were constructed to bring revelers to the venue. This station for the I.R.T., B.M.T., and bus service incorporates the futuristic, streamlined design that the World’s Fair envisioned for “The World of Tomorrow,” its slogan.