| Unisphere | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The Unisphere with its fountains and spectators | |
| Type | Steel structure |
| Location | Flushing Meadows–Corona Park Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°44′47″N 73°50′42″W / 40.74639°N 73.84500°W |
| Height | 140 feet (43 m) |
| Dedicated | March 1964 |
| Built | 1963–64 |
| Built for | 1964 New York World's Fair |
| Restored | 1993–94, 2010 |
| Architect | Gilmore David Clarke (landscape architect) Peter Muller-Munk Associates (industrial designers) |
| Sculptor | American Bridge Company |
| Governing body | New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |
| Designated | May 16, 1995[1] |
| Reference no. | 1925 |
  Location of Unisphere in New York City  Unisphere (New York)  Unisphere (the United States) | |
The Unisphere is a spherical stainless steel representation of the Earth at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The globe was designed by Gilmore D. Clarke for the 1964 New York World's Fair. Commissioned to celebrate the beginning of the space age, the Unisphere was conceived and constructed as the theme symbol of the World's Fair. The theme of the World's Fair was "Peace Through Understanding", and the Unisphere represented the theme of global interdependence, being dedicated to "Man's Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe".
Clarke devised plans for the Unisphere while aboard an airplane in 1960. New York City Department of Parks and Recreation commissioner Robert Moses, who had already rejected two plans for iconic structures at the 1964 fair, approved Clarke's proposal in early 1961. After further refinements, the Unisphere was constructed by American Bridge Company, a division of U.S. Steel, from March to August 1963. Over 51 million people visited the Unisphere during the World's Fair, after which it became a permanent attraction of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. In the 1970s, the Unisphere was not maintained and became visibly dirty; it was restored in the early 1990s. The Unisphere was made a New York City designated landmark in 1995 and, after another period of disrepair, it was restored in the early 2010s.
The Unisphere measures 140 feet (43 m) high and 120 feet (37 m) in diameter. It sits atop a 20-foot-tall (6.1 m) tripod base with over 500 steel pieces representing the countries, as well as three steel rings representing the first artificial satellites orbiting Earth. Around the Unisphere is a reflecting pool measuring 310 feet (94 m) in diameter, surrounded by 48 pairs of fountainheads.