About

The Queens Museum Connects the Borough’s Past to the Present

Learn About the Museum’s History

A black and white photo of the New York City Building. It has a long rectangular shape with a row of square columns. At the top of the building in uppercase font reads “THE CITY OF NEW YORK”. In the parking lot, in front of the building, are nine cars parked in a row and a street sign, to the right, that reads “MAIN STREET '' in uppercase font.
A black and white photo of an aerial view of the New York City Building with 59 flags of the United Nations.
A dim, colored film photo of the New York City Building. Adults are dispersed in the walkway in front of the building. The building is lined with flags and there are partial views of the building’s signs. The one on the left reads “A PANORAMA OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK” in uppercase font.
A black and white photo of the Queens Museum. The entrance of the museum is in the background. In the middle ground is a wide walkway with benches and trees. In the foreground is a lawn, with three long rolls of paper covered with art supplies. Children are sitting and gathered around the paper and adults are walking around, instructing the children.
A landscape view of the entrance to the Queens Museum, against a dark blue evening sky. The museum is glowing red and in the top center of the building, in white uppercase font, reads “QUEENS MUSEUM”.

Image: The New York City Building and parking lot, c. 1939. Vintage silver gelatin print. Provenance research in-progress.

Founded in 1972, the Queens Museum is located in the nation’s most culturally diverse county, on the grounds of the 1939-40 and 1964-65 and New York World’s Fairs, and in a building that formerly housed the United Nations from 1946 to 1950. Browse our historical timeline and learn about the key moments that marked the history of our site.

Honoring the History of Our Site & the Diversity of Our Communities

The Queens Museum is dedicated to presenting high quality arts and educational programming for the people of New York, and particularly the residents of Queens, a uniquely diverse ethnic, cultural, and international community. The Museum’s work honors the history of our site and the diversity of our communities through a wide ranging and integrated program of exhibitions, educational initiatives, and public events.

 

In this current moment of uncertainty, we recognize that museums should serve as places of care; not just for their collections, but for their communities, staff, and artists. The Queens Museum strives to be a cultural institution that is open, responsive, inclusive, and empathetic.

Living Land Acknowledgement

The Queens Museum would like to acknowledge the past, present, and future generations of Matinecock, Canarsie, Lekawe (Rockaway), Munsee Lenape, and the interconnected Matouwac communities across the Greater Long Island region, as stewards of the land.

 

As both a museum of art and a historic site built on unceded Indigenous lands, the Queens Museum is committed to working towards a living land acknowledgment built on listening, collaboration, and action together with Indigenous communities. We recognize the ongoing impacts of the violent colonial displacement of Native people–as well as the displacement of animal relatives and the disruption of natural ecosystems–by the United States.

 

We invite our communities to join us in taking action now by devoting time to taking care of the land, whether this be cleaning up your local park or donating to an Indigenous-led advocacy group.

We Thank Our Community of Supporters

The Queens Museum is housed in the New York City Building, which is owned by the City of New York. With the assistance of the Queens Borough President and the New York City Council, the Museum is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional funding is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, Queens Museum Board of Trustees, members, and friends.

Get in Touch With Us

Phone and Fax

– T +1 718 592 9700 / F +1 718 592 5778

Email

– General inquiries: info@queensmuseum.org

– Press inquiries: press@queensmuseum.org

Mailing Address

– Queens Museum
New York City Building
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Queens, NY 11368

Host Your Event at the Queens Museum

Our historic venue–the site of two World’s Fairs and the temporary headquarters of the United Nations–is available to rent for your next wedding, meeting, film shoot or important event.