Our History

The Queens Museum is housed in the New York City Building in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY. The building was built to house the New York City Pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair, where it housed displays about municipal agencies. One of the proudest periods in the history of the New York City Building was that from 1946 to 1950 when it housed the General Assembly of the newly formed United Nations. In preparation for the 1964 World’s Fair the New York City Building was again renovated.

Almost twenty years after it opened, the Queens Museum undertook its first major renovation. In 1994, Rafael Vinoly significantly redesigned the existing space, creating some of the most dramatic exhibition galleries in New York. The Museum has begun a second renovation; it will double in size by expanding into the south side of the New York City Building. The architects for this new expansion are Grimshaw/Ammann and Whitney.

Mission

The Queens Museum is dedicated to presenting the highest quality visual arts and educational programming for people in the New York metropolitan area, and particularly for the residents of Queens, a uniquely diverse ethnic, cultural and international community.

The Museum fulfills its mission by designing and providing art exhibitions and educational experiences that promote the appreciation and enjoyment of art, support the creative efforts of artists, and enhance the quality of life through interpreting, collecting, and exhibiting art, architecture, and design.

The Queens Museum presents artistic and educational programs and exhibitions that directly relate to the contemporary urban life of its constituents while maintaining the highest standards of professional, intellectual, and ethical responsibility.

The 1939/40 and 1964/65 New York World’s Fairs Archive

The museum is housed in the 1939 New York City Building and owns over 6,000-6,500 objects which include memorabilia, photography, audio tape, video and 8mm & 16mm film.

The Panorama

The Panorama is the jewel in the crown of the collection of the Queens Museum. Built by Robert Moses for the 1964 World’s Fair, in part as a celebration of the City’s municipal infrastructure, this 9,335 square foot architectural model includes every single building constructed before 1992 in all five boroughs; that is a total of 895,000 individual structures.

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