Three large orbit rings of stainless steel encircle the Unisphere at various angles. These orbit rings are believed to represent the tracks of Yuri Gagarin the first man in space John Glenn the first American to orbit the Earth and Telstar the first active communications satellite. In fact the early design was to have a ring for each of a dozen satellites in place at the time of the Fair. This proved impractical not only in the number of satellites but also in the height of their orbits and the fact that geostationary satellites had no orbit path. As a result a symbolic number of three was chosen for aesthetic reasons. Rehabilitation

In 1989 the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced a multi-million dollar rehabilitation of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Among the projects was a complete restoration of the Unisphere. Begun in late 1993 and completed on May 31 1994 the project included numerous structural repairs and removal of years' worth of grime which had accumulated on the steel. The fountains which had been shut off since the 1970s were replaced and new floodlighting was installed.

On May 10 1995 the Unisphere was given official landmark status by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. It is the only officially designated landmark in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The Unisphere's fountain reopened on August 12 2010 after a $2 million restoration of its pumps valves and paintwork.2 The newly built Unisphere during the 1964-1965 World's Fair Structural foundation The marshy soil of Flushing Meadows needed special consideration during the original 1937 Perisphere construction for the 1939 World's Fair. The Perisphere and subsequently the Unisphere which used the same platform employed a foundation of 528 pressure-creosoted Douglas fir piles of 95 to 100 feet in length. Before construction of the Unisphere three piles were tested for structural integrity and all were found to be sound throughout their entire length.3 In popular culture Unisphere Clothing LLC is a clothing company inspired by the Unisphere and the 1964/65 World's Fair theme of "The Beginning of Space Age".4 The ledge surrounding the Unisphere is a famous spot in the skateboarding world. This spot is featured in many popular skateboarding videos. The Unisphere can be seen in the opening credits of the TV series The King of Queens. A rendition of the Unisphere called the Monoglobe appears in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. It is destroyed in the game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. The movie Iron Man 2 had a battle scene which showed the Unisphere. Part of the movie Men in Black was filmed around the Unisphere. The Unisphere and some of the buildings from the 1964 World's Fair are seen in an episode of The Flintstones titled "The Time Machine" which originally aired on January 15 1965. In the 1997 music video for the highly popular song "Mo Money Mo Problems" by Notorious B.I.G rap moguls Sean Combs and Mase appear to be dancing in front of the Unisphere. References "Unisphere: Built by US Steel as the symbol of the 1964-5 New York World's Fair" Place Matters 5 Feb 2010 accessed 11 Jan 2011 Hirshon Nicholas (August 13 2010). "Fountain's Return". Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/nylocal/queens/2010/08/13/2010-08-13fountainsreturnafterrepairswaterflowsatunisphere.html. Retrieved 2010-09-03.  (Creosote) Performance: Proved By More Than 75 Years Service http://www.facebook.com/pages/Unisphere-Clothing/180261655344521 External links New York City portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Unisphere http://www.facebook.com/pages/Unisphere-Clothing/180261655344521* nywf64.com (1964/1965 New York World's Fair Website) story of Unisphere at the World's Fair Unisphere Landmark Designation Report (PDF) Unisphere pictures Internet Archive: The Unisphere: Biggest World on Earth (1964) film about the creation of the Unisphere The Unisphere: Biggest World on Earth on Cinemaniacal Internet Archive: New York World's Fair 1964/03/02 (1964) newsreel featuring the Unisphere.