They Call This Progress?

The totally retro New York City Panorama from the 1964-65 World’s Fair is going to be “updated”:

The famed World’s Fair Panorama of New York City is getting its first major electronic overhaul since its 1964 debut, complete with new lighting, sophisticated computer technology and multimedia capabilities.

The spherical, 9,335-square-foot model of New York City is set to get the technological spruce-up this summer, with hope that by fall, it will have a more modern edge.

“The lighting is the 1964 World’s Fair lighting,” said Tom Finkelpearl, executive director of the Queens Museum of Art, where the panorama is housed. “It uses car batteries as backup power. It’s really very antiquated.”

Currently, the panorama, which includes the 895,000 buildings in New York in 1992 when it was last updated, simply displays New York City during the day and at night.

After the overhaul, which will cost about $500,000 and will be done with city and state funding, the panorama will have video projectors and moving, computer-controlled lights that will allow for an electronic “tour” of the city with highlighted landmarks.

In addition, Finkelpearl said, “The day-to-night sequence will be much more sophisticated. Instead of just fading to dark, it will be more like a sunset, with nuances with color changes.”

Construction will take place during the summer, and while Finkelpearl said the museum will do everything it can to keep the panorama open for visitors, he admitted, “It’s possible it’ll be closed for a couple of weeks.”