Terrace on the Park
| Terrace on the Park | |
|---|---|
The building seen in 2008 | |
Interactive map of the Terrace on the Park area | |
| Former names | Port Authority Pavilion |
| General information | |
| Location | 52-11 111th Street, Queens, New York, United States |
| Coordinates | 40°44′41″N 73°51′03″W / 40.74472°N 73.85083°W |
| Year built | 1961–1963 |
| Opened | October 16, 1963 |
| Owner | New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |
| Height | |
| Height | 120 feet (37 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 (+ ground level) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Allan Gordon Lorimer |
| Main contractor | W. J. Barney Corporation |
| Website | |
| www | |
Terrace on the Park is a banquet hall at 52-11 111th Street, within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, in the Corona neighborhood of Queens in New York City, New York, U.S. The building was constructed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as the Port Authority Pavilion, an exhibition building and heliport for the 1964 New York World's Fair. The building was designed by chief architect Allan Gordon Lorimer, engineers John Kyle and Ray Monti, and planning chief E. Donald Mills. It is south of the New York Hall of Science.
Robert Moses, the president of the World's Fair Corporation, had wanted to develop a heliport with a restaurant as part of the 1964 World's Fair. The Port of New York Authority, which developed the fair's transportation zone, announced in September 1961 that it would erect a restaurant and heliport in that zone. The Port Authority Building opened on October 16, 1963, several months before the fair opened. During the fair's 1964 and 1965 seasons, the building included a rooftop heliport, the Top of the Fair restaurant, and an exhibit space at ground level. Afterward, the building was converted into an event venue owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The structure was renovated in the 2010s.
The bulk of the building is placed atop four stilts, each measuring 120 feet (37 m) high, which are connected by a circular truss near the top of the building. Because of the stilt placements, each side of the building is shaped like the letter "T". On ground level, there was formerly an exhibit area with a circular theater. The restaurant is near the top of the stilts and is spread across two levels. The building's roof originally functioned as a heliport, but has since been converted to an outdoor terrace.