Flushing Meadows is a public park located in the borough of Queens in New York City.
History
The park opened in 1939 and is famous for hosting the 1939 New York World's Fair. The New York World's Fair became the site of several incidents involving the superhuman community, not the least of which involved a criminal colloquially known as the Phantom of the Fair. To combat the Phantom of the Fair, two mystery men known as the Sandman and the Crimson Avenger joined forces to stop his criminal exploits. The park's fairgrounds attracted other adventurers of note including the mage John Zatara and detectives Scoop Scanlon and Slam Bradley.
Two of the most recognizable attractions on the fairgrounds were the Trylon and the Perisphere. The Trylon was a seven-hundred foot spire designed by architects Wallace Harrison and J. Andre Fouilhoux. Adjacent to the Trylon was the Perisphere. As its name suggested, the Perishphere was a tremendous sphere, 180 feet in diameter. The sphere housed a diorama called "Democracity" which, in keeping with the fair's theme "The World of Tomorrow", depicted a Utopian city-of-the-future. Democracity was viewed from above on a moving sidewalk, under movies displayed on the sides of the sphere. After exiting the Perisphere, visitors descended to ground level on the third element of the Theme Center, the Helicline, a long spiral ramp that partially encircled the Perisphere. The Trylon and the Perisphere became symbols of the 1939 World's Fair, reproduced on promotional materials and serving as the fairground's focal point.
In 1942, the war-time super-hero team the All-Star Squadron used Flushing Meadows as a base of operations and headquartered themselves inside the Perisphere. They occupied the area until mid-1943, after which, the Trylon and the Perisphere were razed. The materials from which they were constructed was recycled for military armaments throughout the remainder of the war.
Earth-Two
In Earth-Two continuity, Daily Star managing editor George Taylor sent his top reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane to cover the attractions of the state fair. Lois recognized a criminal named Nick Stone, who in turn, kidnapped her. Clark Kent changed into his costumed identity of Superman and rescued Lois, while simultaneously apprehending Stone.[1] They returned to the State Fair in 1940 where they had an encounter with an international jewel thief named Blackie Sarto. Superman stopped Sarto's gang from stealing the Madras Emerald. Also in 1940, super-heroes Batman and Robin investigated a string of mysteriously collapsing bridges in the Flushing Meadows area. They traced the incident to a scientist named Doctor Hugo Vreekill. In the ensuing struggle, Vreekill was electrocuted and killed.[2]
Points of Interest
Residents
See Also
- Appearances of Flushing Meadows
- Location Gallery: Flushing Meadows
- Catalogued images related to Flushing Meadows