QUINTESSENTIAL QUEENS

Can you guess where these pieces of glass came from? Who would imagine that zipping across Queens County via the infamous Number 7 subway line would bring us into view of an historic collection of Tiffany lamps and glass. Even stranger is the fact that the location of the exhibit is in the Queens Museum of Art and is situated on the site of the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs. An Austrian orthodontist collected the glass from the Tiffany Studios formerly located in Corona, Queens (BB p 497). Let's go a step further to realize that this site is actually a landfill created on top of a huge garbage dump (BB p. 497).

Twenty plus adventurous souls zigzagged through Queens to begin our Gotham New York experience. As we walked into the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park we had a full view of Citifield and the US Tennis Association National Tennis Center where the US open is played (http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Tournaments/US-Open.aspx).  This is a world class tennis stadium  and is named after tennis greats like Arthur Ash and Billie Jean King. People from all over the world come to these sports stadiums and we are literally a short subway ride away. It was a good feeling to finally ride the number 7 which has always mystified me. I never knew exactly where either Flushing or the number 7 were located. The infamous number 7 had been associated with subway stories told by former, giddy high school classmates using foreign accents as they joked about being flashed by perverts. Instead, the speedy train helped us to gain quick access to these amazing places and more!

Two more unique creations were inside the Queens Museum of Art. These were the panorama of New York and the topographical map of the watersheds located in New York State. This building was the New York City building of the 1939 World's Fair. I found the watershed diorama particularly interesting because it clearly depicts important state lands which are located across the road from my log cabin upstate. I was amazed and impress by this great map. A watershed is an area of land which drains water into reservoirs, rivers and lakes (http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/26561.html). It is easier to understand how a watershed works with a visual map such as this and it is something I appreciate.

New York Panorama

The New York Panorama is an amazing architectural rendition commissioned by Robert Moses for the 1964 World's Fair (BB, p.497).


Later, our illustrious, little group of vagabonds ventured forth to the international hub known as Jackson Heights. Here we were treated to authentic Indian food at the Jackson Diner (http://www.zagat.com/ ) while we reflected on our unique journey and enjoyed our new found friends. New bonds were formed and we wondered what would be next. Could it get any better. We were part of an experiential learning process, like a 3-D movie in the making. Each snapshot of our energy charged day was beginning to unfold like a moving picture of scenes and memories. What fun we had!

Like a movie coming to life we arrived in Astoria at the Museum of the Moving Image. Here we had a taste of film productions and viewed interesting artifacts related to the movie industry.

OOOlala, this was fun. Zipping into sensory overload and history via common transit shows the power of imagination and what utilizing mundane transportation can do! Of course, it was more fun because we did it together!