It may seem quaint today, but correspondence via letters throughout history is filled with as much detail, emotion, and (frankly) humanity, as any other mode of communication. Take the relatively recently unearthed letters that saved the currently-being-restored New York State Pavilion in Queens.
The New York State Pavilion was designed by Philip Johnson. The structure was made up of three observation towers: the Astro-View Towers, the Tent of Tomorrow, and the Theaterama. It was built in 1962 for the New York World’s Fair in 1964.
People for the Pavilion co-founder Salmaan Khan has been fascinated by the Pavilion since he was young. His non-profit organization is “devoted to raising awareness of the historic value of the New York State Pavilion, and of its potential to serve as a vibrant and functional public space.” Curious about the permanence of the structure when erected, Khan began searching for answers at the Rockefeller Archive Center and found numerous correspondences between important New York City officials who ultimately spared the structure from a terrible fate.
The full archive can be found here and there are plenty of interesting highlights. If you want the full breakdown, read the letters after taking a look at the summary below.
In a January 1964 letter to New York City Councilman Seymour Boyers, Robert Moses himself articulated a post-fair vision. Nelson Rockefeller’s Lieutenant Governor Malcolm Wilson was an early advocate of saving the Pavilion. The drama comes in with the plans put forth. In January 1965, a report was published by the State of New York Department of Public Works that broke down the cost of bringing the structures up to city code ($1.3 million) or demolishing them ($750,000). Plans were submitted to alleviate costs.
A new roadblock emerged in January 1966, when New York City found itself with two Parks commissioners. Newbold Morris and Thomas Hoving simultaneously held the post due to a failed resignation by Morris. Hoving desired to see the Pavilion demolished. But Governor Rockefeller, Lieutenant Governor Wilson, Robert Moses, and others wanted otherwise. In the middle of January 1966, the State comptroller awarded the City $750,00 to help cover the costs of bringing the buildings up to the appropriate City codes.
The buildings wouldn’t be transferred to the City of New York until April 1968. The Theaterama is now home to the Queens Theater. The Tent of Tomorrow became a concert venue where The Byrds, Fleetwood Mac, Santana, and the Grateful Dead performed before closing as a roller rink in the 1970s. The Observation Towers are part of the current restoration project which is going to be finished by the end of this year.
The Pavilion’s future from the beginning was uncertain, and a lot of politicking and some luck were needed to keep it alive in the present day. The letters offer fascinating insight into the minds of the Pavilion’s champions, especially Robert Moses, who was probably the fiercest advocate. The transfer of the Pavilion allowed it to live on as an iconic feature of New York, and thanks to the hard work of Khan, more can know how it was all made possible.
