New York City has had the honor of hosting the World’s Fair three times — and two of them have been held in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park! Now, 50 years after our city’s last World’s Fair, a new project has been created to preserve their memory by talking with the people who were there.

Queens Memory (a collaboration of Queens Library and Queens College) has partnered with the Queens Museum to interview visitors who attended the 1939 or 1964 World’s Fairs.

The interviews are part of the Queens Museum’s visitor experience at their World’s Fair exhibits, which contain more than 10,000 pieces of memorabilia. The exhibits act as powerful triggers for the memories of many visitors, which are then recorded and archived by Queens Memory to share with the public. The Museum has also interviewed several donors of World’s Fair collectibles about the interesting stories behind their memorabilia.

This partnership has already produced several audio recordings which can be found on the Queens Memory website along with other historical materials.

This is just the latest partnership between Queens Library and the Queens Museum. We have collaborated on several educational programs in the past, and in 2016 the ground floor of the Museum will have its own Queens Library branch — the first circulating library housed in an art museum in the nation! We look forward to continuing the strong relationship between our two institutions for the benefit of our borough.

If you have personal memories of the 1939 or 1964 World’s Fairs that you would like to share, you can contact Queens Memory Project Director Natalie Milbrodt.

And be sure to join us at Queens Library's upcoming World's Fair-themed events, including a Queens Historical Society teleconference on the 1964 World's Fair and a program with more than 200 images of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs at Queens Library at Douglaston/Little Neck.