Progressland

Dig the above image from Alamedainfo.com. That site has all sorts of images dating back to the 1964–65 World's Fair in Flushing, Queens. As anyone who's passed through Queens probably knows, some of those structures still stand today, most notably the Unisphere and the observatory towers, famously known as the secret spaceships in Men in Black. A friend of mine just got a tattoo of those towers, which I love.

If you have a moment, you should check out the Wikipedia entry on the World's Fair. The history is fascinating, not to mention all of the attractions of the fair itself. I think my favorite is General Electric's "Progressland."

In other news, a very big thanks to Red Weather Review for their recent write-up of Forgotten Borough, which includes a rumination on all those Queens writers who don't stick around their hometown:

The secret about the huge slab of New York City called Queens is that many of our country’s most gifted writers have lived there. Yes, I use the past tense. With Manhattan so close–and with other glitzy places (not to mention teaching and other posts) beckoning from across the country–Queens-born writers often leave. But before they do they are immersed in humanity in a way that is still rare elsewhere. With a population of immigrants from throughout the world, the borough provides an extraordinary window on our country’s multicultural future.

Click here to read the review in its entirety!