New York World’s Fair Site Audio Tour

Explore the grounds of New York’s historic World’s Fairs, where bold visions of the future left landmarks that still shape the landscape. This self-guided New York World’s Fair Site audio tour traces the 1939–40 and 1964–65 fairs through architecture, design, and stories of ambition and rivalry.

See the Unisphere and the New York State Pavilion, and learn how the former temporary headquarters of the United Nations became the Queens Museum. Hear how an ash heap inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald before the site was transformed into fairgrounds and, later, a major city park. Along the way, discover colorful pavilion histories and the feud between artist Andy Warhol and developer Robert Moses.

Use the VoiceMap app to follow the route at your own pace, with offline audio, maps, and geodata. A daytime visit gives you the chance to stop at the Queens Museum and see its New York City Panorama, an enormous scale model of the city; check museum hours before you go. Bring your smartphone and headphones, and set out to uncover the stories behind this remarkable New York World’s Fair Site audio tour.