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- UNISPHERE
- Symbol of the New York World's Fair 1964/1965 is this 12-story-high stainless steel model of the earth designed, built and presented to the Fair by United States Steel. Dedicated to "Peace through Understanding," the Unisphere will remain on its site when the Fair is over, as a permanent gift to the City of New York for the improved Flushing Meadow Park that will be created on the fairgrounds. It is located at the Fountain of the Continents, near the center of the Fair. Seen from the edge of the pool, it shows the world as it appears from 6,000 miles in space.
- Highlights
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- THE STATISTICS. The Unisphere is the largest representation of the earth man has ever made. It is 140 feet high and 120 feet in diameter and - with its tri-pod-like base - weighs 900,000 pounds. The sphere is formed of an open grid of meridians and parallels. Laid on them are curved sheets of stainless steel representing the land masses; the capitals of major nations are marked by lights.
- THE DESIGN. Unprecedented problems had to be solved in constructing the huge model. Because the continents are not evenly distributed on earth, the Unipshere, which stands on three slender prongs, is an unbalanced ball. Furthermore, the metal land-mass areas act as sails in the wind, building up enormous and unequal pressures against the curved surfaces. The structure required the solution of mathematical problems so complex that without high-speed computers planning the Unisphere would have taken 10 years.
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- UNISPHERE
Symbol of the Fair, this 12-story high stainless-steel model of the earth was built and presented by United States Steel.
Dedicated to "Peace through Understanding," the Unisphere will remain on its site when the Fair is over, as a gift to the city for the improved Flushing Meadow Park to be created on the fairgrounds.
THE STATISTICS. The Unisphere is the largest representation of the earth ever made: 140 feet high, 120 feet in diameter. The capitals of the major nations are marked by lights.
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