World's Largest Globe (Unisphere)

Queens, New York, United States

Public art

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

The Unisphere is a steel globe 120 feet in diameter at the centre of Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, designed by Gilmore D. Clarke for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. It became a New York City landmark in 1995. In 2026 amNY reported its fountains had not worked in over three years.

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World's Largest Globe (Unisphere)

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40.74638° N, 73.84507° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

The Unisphere is the steel globe at the centre of Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. QNS describes it as commissioned for the New York World's Fair of 1964-65 and designed by landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke, a 350-ton globe 120 feet in diameter that was the centrepiece and icon of the fair. Its continents were shaped to reflect the fair's theme, "Peace Through Understanding". amNY calls it a 12-story landmark and says it has been the centrepiece of the park for more than 60 years.

The globe outlasted the fair. QNS reports that it was conserved, cleaned and reinforced in 1994 as part of a 15-year, $80 million project to restore the park, when the number of spray jets in the fountain doubled from 48 to 96, and that it was designated an official City landmark in 1995.

In recent years the problem has been the fountains rather than the globe. In September 2025 a Parks Department spokesperson told QNS that the Unisphere fountain was nonfunctioning because of electrical issues. In July 2026 amNY reported that the fountains had not functioned in more than three years, which the Parks Department attributed to electrical issues caused by flooding in the underground vault holding the equipment, and that there was no dedicated funding for restoration in that year's parks budget. Anthony Sama, executive director of the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, told amNY the superstructure is in "fairly good" condition and not in jeopardy of failure, though one orbital cable had broken, which he described as a purely aesthetic element. He also noted that many visitors wade through the fountains on hot days, something the Unisphere was not designed for.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

amNY reported in July 2026 that the fountains around the globe had not worked for more than three years, so expect no running water display. amNY (September 2026) places the Unisphere near the Grand Central Parkway and Van Wyck Expressway.

ACCESS

Located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a New York City park, near the Grand Central Parkway and Van Wyck Expressway according to amNY (September 2026). No hours or fees are stated here; check NYC Parks.

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