Once a vision of tomorrow \u2014 now a project of today. <\/p>\n
A crumbling NYC architectural marvel that notably doubled as an alien spaceship in the 1997 movie \u201cMen in Black\u201d is finally getting its comeback \u2014 with a $50 million glow-up fit for a Hollywood reboot.<\/p>\n
The New York State Pavilion \u2014 the soaring, space-age icon built for the 1964 World\u2019s Fair<\/a> in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens \u2014 is undergoing a massive restoration after decades of rust, neglect and scaffolding purgatory.<\/p>\n The New York State Pavilion from the 1964 World\u2019s Fair is getting a multimillion-dollar restoration after decades of decay \u2014 bringing a beloved Queens landmark back to life. Getty Images<\/p>\n Nicknamed the \u201cTent of Tomorrow,\u201d the retro-futuristic gem boasts a giant elliptical crown and three Jetsons-style observation towers that shoot up as high as 226 feet \u2014 a once-dazzling shrine to mid-century optimism now gearing up for its second act.<\/p>\n And for longtime local residents, this isn\u2019t just a facelift \u2014 it\u2019s a portal back in time.<\/p>\n Helen Day, who toured the Pavilion when it debuted, still remembers the jaw-dropping wonder of the World\u2019s Fair.<\/p>\n \u201cYou walked down the roads, and everything was wide and beautifully constructed and just a magical place,\u201d she told CBS News.<\/a><\/p>\n Day hopes the overhaul will help younger Gothamites finally understand what the strange concrete colossus off the expressway really is.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were two groups of people,\u201d she recalled \u2014 those who experienced it firsthand, and \u201cthose who had never experienced it, who would drive past it on the expressway and wonder what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n The city\u2019s Parks Department signed off on a $56.8 million stabilization effort to rescue the Pavilion\u2019s weather-beaten concrete, steel and towering platforms \u2014 with guided tours of the site to begin as soon as late 2026.<\/p>\n Preservationists say the revival isn\u2019t just cosmetic \u2014 it\u2019s personal.<\/p>\n Locals are heralding a $56.8 million stabilization effort to rescue the Pavilion\u2019s weather-beaten concrete, steel and towering platforms. Getty Images<\/p>\n Queens Historical Society executive director Jason Antos said the long-neglected landmark is finally getting the respect it deserves.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful thing for Queens<\/a>,\u201d he told the Queens Chronicle.<\/a> \u201cFor so many decades it was inaccessible and now can be enjoyed as the ultimate historic relic of New York City\u2019s last and greatest World\u2019s Fair.\u201d<\/p>\n Forest Hills resident and local historian Michael Perlman called the project nothing short of a wish granted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the few buildings remaining from the World\u2019s Fair. Restoring it and creatively reusing it would be a dream come true,\u201d he said to the outlet. <\/p>\n Designed by famed architect Philip Johnson and commissioned by then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, the Pavilion was meant to be the biggest and boldest structure at the fair \u2014 a gleaming symbol of \u201cman\u2019s achievement on a shrinking globe in an expanding universe.\u201d<\/p>\n