The Panorama is 9,335 square feet of New York in miniature, built for the 1964 World's Fair and still updated by hand, and this spotlight opens the archive behind it: the drawings, correspondence and decisions that determined which city got modelled. It sits a room away from the object itself, which is the whole point. If you have ever stood over the Panorama and wondered how it was actually made, the answer is finally on the wall.
What to expect
Archival documents, photographs and drawings presented in a focused gallery a short walk from the Panorama itself. Seeing the archive and then the model in the same visit is the intended sequence. Thirty minutes here; two hours for the museum and the park.
Good to know
- Take the 7 to 111th Street or Mets-Willets Point and walk into Flushing Meadows Corona Park
- Admission is suggested pricing, so pay what you can at the desk
- See the archive first, then the Panorama, rather than the other way round
- The museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays
- Perfect for map, model and city-history obsessives, and surprisingly good with children
- The Unisphere is a two-minute walk outside the door
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Common questions
How big is the Panorama?
9,335 square feet, modelling all five boroughs. It was built for the 1964 World's Fair.
Is the Panorama included?
Yes, it is part of a general Queens Museum visit.
How much does it cost?
Queens Museum uses suggested pricing, listed at $8 for adults.
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