Can You Pick Out My New 125-Story Building On The Banks Of The Bronx River?

The New York City Panorama at the Queens Museum of Art, recently listed by USA Today as one of ten places you should go out of your way to see, is slated for a “major multi-media update,” including an inventive way to pay for its continued upkeep:

QMA Director Tom Finkelpearl did not know ahead of time that the panorama would be making USA Weekend’s list.

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “It’s not like it’s that surprising. It really is a kind of legendary place. Sometimes I’ve been a little frustrated that the panorama is more famous than the museum itself.”

The panorama was initially built for the 1964 World’s Fair by Robert Moses with the help of a 100-member team. During the World’s Fair, an average of 1,400 viewed the panorama each day. Finkelpearl said that when visitors first view the panorama, the first thing he sees them do is find their house. He said it also gives them a chance to get a different look at the city.

It’s kind of a spectacle. It has that excitement to it,” Finkelpearl said. He continued, “It’s the special thing that nobody else has and I think that helps differentiate us from other museums.”

From when it was first built, the panorama did not change a great deal until 1992, when it underwent a major renovation. It was a $1 million project that added approximately 6,500 buildings to the panorama.

Currently, the panorama, which is sponsored by The Roslyn Savings Foundation, will soon undergo a major multi-media update. It will include relighting the model.

Finkelpearl, who used to bring his friends to see the panorama even before working at the museum, said that the museum also hopes to embark on a program where companies could pay to have their building added to the panorama.

Emph. added because now my wheels are really turning . . . bwahahaha!