Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

==== Late 20th century ====
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| caption1 = "Free Form" by Jose De Rivera, cast in 1964
| image2 = Swans & people statue FMCP jeh.jpg
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| caption2 = "Freedom of the Human Spirit" by Marshall Fredericks, cast circa 1964
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| caption3 = "''[[Rocket Thrower]]''" by [[Donald De Lue]], commissioned for the [[1964 New York World's Fair|1964/1965 New York World's Fair]]
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Although the park was opened, it had yet to become the grand park Moses had originally envisioned.{{sfn|Caro|1974|pp=1086–1087}} In August 1967, new parks commissioner [[August Heckscher II]] sought to begin improvements on the park in order to turn it into the "Central Park of the 20th century." A new plan for the park had been designed by architects [[Marcel Breuer]] and [[Kenzō Tange]], but the project did not receive funds due to communication issues with the [[New York City Comptroller]]'s office.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hoffman|first1=Paul|title=PARK IN FLUSHING GETS TOP PRIORITY; Heckscher Hopes to Make It the 'Park of the Century'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/28/archives/park-in-flushing-gets-top-priority-heckscher-hopes-to-make-it-the.html|access-date=March 30, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 28, 1967|archive-date=April 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407073155/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/28/archives/park-in-flushing-gets-top-priority-heckscher-hopes-to-make-it-the.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Huxtable|first1=Ada Louise|title=Flushing Meadows Park Plan Delayed by Auditing; AUDITING DELAYS PARK IN FLUSHING|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E07E6DC163BE637A25751C1A96E9C946691D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=March 30, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 12, 1967|archive-date=October 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009093404/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E07E6DC163BE637A25751C1A96E9C946691D6CF&legacy=true|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1972, little development had taken place to improve the park, while many World's Fair structures remained in disrepair.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Weiss|first1=Samuel|title=Future of the Fair Site Still Debated|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/10/archives/future-of-the-fair-site-still-debated.html|access-date=March 30, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 10, 1972|archive-date=April 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407073205/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/10/archives/future-of-the-fair-site-still-debated.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-FMCP-Dec1978"/> The disrepair was systematic within the park system, a product of lack of funding during that decade's [[New York City fiscal crisis|fiscal crisis]].{{sfn|Historic Preservation Studio|2015|p=19}} This state of disrepair continued into the 1980s.<ref name="ChiTribune-FMCP-Wasteland">{{cite news|last1=Coakley|first1=Michael|title='64 Flushing Meadows fair site becomes $1 billion wasteland|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1984/06/24/page/3/article/64-flushing-meadows-fair-site-becomes-1-billion-wasteland/index.html|access-date=March 30, 2017|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=August 24, 1984|location=[[New York City]]|archive-date=March 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330180509/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1984/06/24/page/3/article/64-flushing-meadows-fair-site-becomes-1-billion-wasteland/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1975, a group of [[Traditionalist Catholicism|traditionalist Catholics]] started to assemble at the old Vatican Pavilion [[exedra]] monument of the 1964 New York World's Fair to have evening [[rosary]] prayer vigils, having been obligated to relocate from [[Bayside, Queens]]. This was led by a woman named [[Veronica Lueken]] who claimed she was experiencing [[Visions of Jesus and Mary|visions]] there of the [[Virgin Mary]], and giving out supposed messages from heaven, frequently apocalyptic in nature.<ref name=Laycock2014>{{cite book | last=Laycock | first=J.P. | title=The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle to Define Catholicism | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2014 | isbn=978-0-19-937968-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVZwBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT14 | page=14 | access-date=March 29, 2021 | archive-date=October 1, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001175647/https://books.google.com/books?id=WVZwBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT14 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=nyt20031009>{{Cite news|last=Kilgannon|first=Corey|date=October 9, 2003|title=Visions of Doom Endure in Queens; Prophecy, and a Rift, at a Shrine|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/09/nyregion/visions-of-doom-endure-in-queens-prophecy-and-a-rift-at-a-shrine.html|access-date=March 29, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411045652/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/09/nyregion/visions-of-doom-endure-in-queens-prophecy-and-a-rift-at-a-shrine.html|url-status=live}}</ref> At its height in the late 20th century, thousands of people attended the nightly events, held on different [[feast days]].<ref name=nyt20031009/> One event in June 1983 attracted fifteen thousand pilgrims.<ref name=Laycock2014/> Despite the events' popularity, Bishop [[Francis Mugavero]], then Bishop of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn]], stated in a 1986 "Declaration Concerning the Bayside Movement" that the events lacked credibility.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mugavero|first=Francis|date=November 4, 1986|title=Declaration Concerning the 'Bayside Movement'|url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/declaration-concerning-the-bayside-movement-11313|url-status=live|access-date=March 29, 2021|website=EWTN Global Catholic Television Network|language=en|archive-date=March 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323020955/https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/declaration-concerning-the-bayside-movement-11313}}</ref><ref name="NYC Department of Records & Information Services 2019">{{cite web|date=December 20, 2019|title=The Seer of Bayside|url=https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2019/12/20/the-seer-of-bayside|access-date=March 29, 2021|website=NYC Department of Records & Information Services|archive-date=March 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304134326/https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2019/12/20/the-seer-of-bayside|url-status=live}}</ref> After Lueken's death in 1995, and her husband's death in 2002, their followers divided into two small camps that continued to visit the park for vigils.<ref name=nyt20031009/><ref name="NYC Department of Records & Information Services 2019" />

Additionally, in 1978, the [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] tennis tournament was moved from the [[West Side Tennis Club]] in [[Forest Hills, Queens|Forest Hills]] to Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The tournament was originally held in the [[Singer Bowl]] stadium (renamed the [[Louis Armstrong Stadium]]), a 1964 World's Fair structure which was renovated and expanded for the tournament. Other parts of the park were also repaired or expanded for the tournament, including the fountains of the Unisphere.<ref name="NYTimes-FMCP-Dec1978">{{cite news|last1=Shaman|first1=Diana|title=In Corona, They Look for a Lift From Tennis|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/03/archives/in-corona-they-look-for-a-lift-from-tennis-corona-looks-for-a.html|access-date=March 30, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 3, 1978|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726170228/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/03/archives/in-corona-they-look-for-a-lift-from-tennis-corona-looks-for-a.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. Open Site Goes Public for '78|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/28/archives/us-open-site-goes-public-for-78.html|access-date=March 30, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 28, 1977|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726171030/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/28/archives/us-open-site-goes-public-for-78.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Arne Abramowitz became administrator of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in 1986 and soon began planning a renovation of the park.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rivera|first=Elaine|date=December 30, 1986|title=New Park Chief Building a Career in Open Spaces|pages=21|work=Newsday|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82217784/new-park-chief-building-a-career-in/|access-date=July 26, 2021|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726161020/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82217784/new-park-chief-building-a-career-in/|url-status=live}}</ref> The following year, NYC Parks announced an $80 million rehabilitation of the park.<ref name="nyt19871119">{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=Susan Heller|date=November 19, 1987|title=Park in Queens to Get $80 Million Restoration|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/19/nyregion/park-in-queens-to-get-80-million-restoration.html|access-date=July 26, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726161015/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/19/nyregion/park-in-queens-to-get-80-million-restoration.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nydn19870920">{{Cite news|last=Neugebauer|first=William|date=September 20, 1987|title=It may be the jewel in city park crown|pages=318, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82216838/flushing-meadows/ 319]|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82216761/it-may-be-the-jewel-in-city-park-crown/|access-date=July 26, 2021|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726161007/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82216761/it-may-be-the-jewel-in-city-park-crown/|url-status=live}}</ref> The renovation had been planned since the early 1980s but had been deferred due to a lack of funding.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Polsky|first=Carol|date=August 9, 1988|title=Flushing Meadows Stuck in Park|pages=9, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82216396/queens-park-lurches-forward/ 24]|work=Newsday|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82216298/flushing-meadows-stuck-in-park/|access-date=July 26, 2021|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726161010/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82216298/flushing-meadows-stuck-in-park/|url-status=live}}</ref> The grounds of the park's northern section were landscaped in 1992,<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 17, 1992|title=Overdue facelift for park in works|pages=207, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82217132/ 216], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82217226/ 217]|work=Newsday|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82217067/overdue-facelift-for-park-in-works/|access-date=July 26, 2021|via=newspapers.com {{Open access}}|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726161013/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82217067/overdue-facelift-for-park-in-works/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the restoration of the Unisphere was completed in May 1994.<ref name="Huang 1994">{{cite news|last=Huang|first=Vivian|date=June 1, 1994|title=Let us spray for Unisphere|page=293|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38447214/|access-date=November 4, 2019|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=January 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123222859/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38447214/let-us-spray-for-unisphere/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Muschamp 1994">{{Cite news|last=Muschamp|first=Herbert|date=September 2, 1994|title=Summer's Last Hurrah: The Final Fling Before the Fall; Recircling the Globe|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/02/arts/summer-s-last-hurrah-the-final-fling-before-the-fall-recircling-the-globe.html|access-date=November 4, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019233411/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/02/arts/summer-s-last-hurrah-the-final-fling-before-the-fall-recircling-the-globe.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the early 1990s, the New York State Pavilion's ledges, steps, and fountain grates have been utilized by skateboarders and featured in famous east coast skateboarding videos.<ref name="VillageVoice-MaloofCup-2010">{{cite news|last1=Thrasher|first1=Steven|title=Maloof Money Brings NYC a Massive Skate Party, and a Free Park|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/content/printView/6664878|access-date=April 18, 2017|work=[[The Village Voice]]|date=May 18, 2010|archive-date=April 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419102228/http://www.villagevoice.com/content/printView/6664878|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="QChron-MaloofCup-Jun2010">{{cite news|last1=Fischler|first1=Jacob|title=Queens tweaks its wheels at first skate tourney|url=http://www.qchron.com/editions/north/queens-tweaks-its-wheels-at-first-skate-tourney/article_6c62e43a-1967-5292-9259-67c6c3f3c119.html|access-date=April 18, 2017|work=Queens Chronicle|date=June 10, 2010|archive-date=June 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615074444/http://www.qchron.com/editions/north/queens-tweaks-its-wheels-at-first-skate-tourney/article_6c62e43a-1967-5292-9259-67c6c3f3c119.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Mehring|first1=Jonathon|title=Tribute to NYC street skating: Testing Out Flushing Meadows|url=http://xgames.espn.com/xgames/gallery/13616668/image/2/testing-flushing-meadows|publisher=[[X Games]]|access-date=April 19, 2017|archive-date=April 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419103931/http://xgames.espn.com/xgames/gallery/13616668/image/2/testing-flushing-meadows|url-status=live}}</ref>