$24M Restoration Of Queens Pavilion Towers To Start In October

FLUSHING, QUEENS — The city next month will start work on a major restoration of the iconic New York State Pavilion observation towers in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Workers will solidify the long-deteriorating towers, waterproof their bases and add architectural lighting.

What the $24 million project won't include are the significant fixes necessary to make the towers accessible and allow people to go to the top, according to the city's parks department.

The project, originally slated to start this month, will start in October and wrap up in spring 2021.

"It’s a really meaningful first step in what we hope will be a long-term project to really recover the pavilion and really give it back to the public," Aaron Asis, of People for the Pavilion, told NY1.

Famed architect Philip Johnson designed the three towers for the 1964-65 World's Fair.

The New York State Pavilion project, which also included an amphitheater and exhibition space, drew an estimated six million visitors, according to Citylab.

In the decades since, the towers have languished in a state of disrepair.

Funding for the restoration comes from the Queens borough president's office, which contributed over $13 million, and the City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio.