Queens Museum

"Get on the 7 and take it all the way to the Mets — Willet Point station. You're deep in Queens. You're not going to catch a game at Citi Field, nor spectate at the US Open (should the timing align), although you'll see plenty of sports fans milling about. You're here for the Queens Museum, which doubled in size during a 2013 renovation and offers free admission. If you've come for a specific reason, it's likely the 9,335-square-foot scale model of New York City in its entirety. The Panorama was originally built for the 1964-1965 World's Fair by Robert Moses and Lester & Associates. It is breathtaking in its attention to detail—you'll be able to find your hotel or apartment if you are willing to spend the time—and vastness. New York City is massive! Perhaps more massive than you realized, all the more reason to branch out to this farther-flung museum." - Andrea Whittle, Charlie Hobbs

"Queens Museum is situated inside the Flushing Meadows Corona Park across from the Unisphere and the World's Fair Pavilion. The Panorama of the City of New York alone is worth the trip to this off the beaten path museum. In addition to the exhibitions (Tiffany Glass) on view, upstairs of the museum houses a collection from the World's Fair of 1939 and 1964 that was formerly hidden in the museum's vault until now. The museum's mission is to put on programming for and by the locals of the community." - QNS MADE

"Constructed for the 1964 World’s Fair, the Panorama of the City of New York exhibit at the Queens Museum shows the entire sprawling city in miniature.  The panorama was built by a team of more than 100 people working for the great architectural model makers Raymond Lester & Associates over the course of three years. These prolific artisans built an incredibly realistic model of all five boroughs in New York City at a scale of one inch to 100 feet. (To get a sense of the scale, the model’s version of the 1,454-foot Empire State Building measures just shy of 15 inches tall.) The entire panorama covers an area of 9,335 square feet. When introduced in 1964, the panorama’s features included lighting that cycled from dawn to dusk to night. Phosphorescent paint was added to windows on many of the model buildings, so that they would cast a realistic glow during the nighttime portion of the cycle. Thousands of colored lights highlighted municipal buildings like schools, courthouses, libraries, firehouses, police precincts, and more. Every few minutes, model airplanes took off and landed at a miniature LaGuardia Airport. Over time, slight changes to this miniature city have been made in order to preserve its architectural integrity. In 1992 the model was removed from the museum and brought up to date over the course of two years. Each of the 273 sections that make up the model was painstakingly updated using maps aerial photos, and in-person visits to ensure accuracy. More than 60,000 buildings were replaced over the course of this update. Though the original buildings were made and painted by hand, newer additions have been crafted from plastic or plexiglass. The model now contains 895,000 individual structures, including every building in the city as of 1992." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

"Constructed for the 1964 World’s Fair, the Panorama of the City of New York exhibit at the Queens Museum shows the entire sprawling city in miniature.  The panorama was built by a team of more than 100 people working for the great architectural model makers Raymond Lester & Associates over the course of three years. These prolific artisans built an incredibly realistic model of all five boroughs in New York City at a scale of one inch to 100 feet. (To get a sense of the scale, the model’s version of the 1,454-foot Empire State Building measures just shy of 15 inches tall.) The entire panorama covers an area of 9,335 square feet. When introduced in 1964, the panorama’s features included lighting that cycled from dawn to dusk to night. Phosphorescent paint was added to windows on many of the model buildings, so that they would cast a realistic glow during the nighttime portion of the cycle. Thousands of colored lights highlighted municipal buildings like schools, courthouses, libraries, firehouses, police precincts, and more. Every few minutes, model airplanes took off and landed at a miniature LaGuardia Airport. Over time, slight changes to this miniature city have been made in order to preserve its architectural integrity. In 1992 the model was removed from the museum and brought up to date over the course of two years. Each of the 273 sections that make up the model was painstakingly updated using maps aerial photos, and in-person visits to ensure accuracy. More than 60,000 buildings were replaced over the course of this update. Though the original buildings were made and painted by hand, newer additions have been crafted from plastic or plexiglass. The model now contains 895,000 individual structures, including every building in the city as of 1992." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

"After watching Pretend It's a City, the new Martin Scorsese documentary about Fran Lebowitz, I was enthralled by the enormous panorama of New York City that features in a few episodes. I learned it was built by controversial city planner Robert Moses for the 1964-1965 World's Fair, and it's on display to the public at the Queens Museum. I snagged timed tickets for my boyfriend and me (the museum is free, but timed tickets are required while they're operating at limited capacity), and we visited on Sunday. There's much to see in the museum, but the panorama is pretty incredible—it covers 9,335 square feet, has a lighting cycle that goes from dusk to dawn (there's even a plane that lands at LaGuardia!), and it really drives home the expansiveness of the city and its five boroughs. Afterward, we walked around Flushing Meadows Corona Park to see the other remainders of the fair, then scooted over to Flushing's Chinatown nearby for noodles and a stroll. A pretty perfect day for diving into the city's history."