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Dwelling in the formidable shadows of Manhattan and Brooklyn, the NYC borough of Queens is not always associated with the cutting edge. However, it has been home to a plethora of enduring inventions. For example, Louis Lattimer, an African-American inventor from Flushing, patented an improved carbon filament manufacturing process in 1882. This process was crucial for the manufacture of Thomas Edison's light bulb and later, Lattimer also patented the first socket switch. Other Queens-based inventions: the xerography process, the modular Moog synthesizer, the answering machine, and the electric toothbrush.
Besides innovation, Queens also has the Amazin' Mets of baseball, the U.S. Open of tennis, the Lemon Ice King of Corona, two airports, and as much ethnic diversity as you'll find anywhere on the globe (the borough's inhabitants come from at least 107 countries and speak a total of 126 languages).
So, in the name of lighter-footprint summer fun, how about inventing a staycation in New York City's most underrated borough?
12 Places to Visit on Your Queens Staycation
1. Astoria Park:
Located on the banks of the mighty East River (which is really an estuary of the Long Island Sound but let's not get too technical here), Astoria Park is home to the Big Apple's largest and oldest public pool. Dog runs, a quarter-mile running track, tennis courts, basketball courts, a bandstand, and more?all situated beneath the imposing Triborough (RFK) and Hell Gate Bridges.
2. Alley Pond Park:
Spread out over 657 acres, this park contains freshwater and saltwater wetlands, tidal flats, meadows, forests, and abundant bird life. For the recreation-minded among you, Alley Pond offers barbecuing areas, baseball fields, basketball courts, dog runs, handball courts, hiking trails, soccer fields, a nature center, and more.
3. Forest Park:
This park has a split personality. Stay east and you'll find softball, tennis, basketball, bocce, horseshoes, shuffleboard, golf, handball, and even facilities for pole vaulting, broad jumping, shot put, and discus throwing. Go west and you'll discover nearly two miles of hiking trails and seven miles of bridle paths.
4. Flushing Meadows-Corona Park:
The largest park in Queens (1,255 acres) was home to both the 1939 and 1965 World's Fairs. Today, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park houses the Mets' new stadium, Citi Field, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the New York Hall of Science (see below), Queens Museum of Art (see below), the Queens Wildlife Center, the Playground For All Children (designed for kids of all abilities and disabilities), the Meadow Lake (including sailboats), and the world famous Unisphere.
5. New York Hall of Science:
You don't have to leave Flushing Meadows-Corona Park if you wanna get geeky. The Hall of Science is a hands-on science and technology center featuring more than 400 hands-on exhibits for visitors of all ages. Just outside, Rocket Park features the Hall's two newly-refurbished iconic space rockets.
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| Courtesy of the New York Hall of Science |
6. Queens Museum:
Who needs the Louvre when you've got a spacious and accessible art museum located right in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park? Whatever you do, be sure to leave time to fully appreciate the infamous Panorama.
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| Michael Nagle/Getty Images |
7. P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center:
One of the oldest and largest non-profit contemporary art institutions in the U.S., this former public school is an exhibition space rather than a collecting institution. Affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art since 2000, P.S. 1 also offers the International and National Projects series, the Warm Up summer music series, and WPS1, an Internet art radio station founded in 2004
8. Noguchi Sculpture Garden:
Created by Isamu Noguchi himself, this museum opened in 1985, presenting a comprehensive collection of the artist's works in stone, metal, wood, and clay, as well as models for public projects and gardens, dance sets, and Akari Light Sculptures?all housed in 13 galleries within a converted factory building.
9. Socrates Sculpture Park:
The only venue of its kind in the New York metropolitan area, Socrates Sculpture Park was an abandoned riverside landfill and illegal dumpsite until 1986. Thanks to local artists and community members, it was eventually transformed into an open studio and exhibition space for artists and a neighborhood park for local residents. To some, it's an outdoor museum or gallery. To others, it's just a very unique dog run. Either way, it's a must-see.
10. Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge:
The refuge's 9,155 acres contain diverse habitats including salt marsh, upland field and woods, several fresh and brackish water ponds and an open expanse of bay available for exploration. More than 330 bird species have been sighted at the refuge over the last 25 years (nearly half the species in the Northeast). Keep your eyes peeled for horseshoe crabs, butterflies, herons, ibis, muskrats, turtles, and chipmunks.
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| Stefan Ekernas/istockphoto |
11. Rockaway Beach:
The Ramones sang about it, it was formerly known as the Irish Riviera, and was once home to a full-blown Playland, but Rockaway Beach remains a cool summer destination...easily accessible by train or bus. Make sure you check out the unexpected sight of surfers hanging ten on a Big Apple beach.
12. Water Taxi Beach:
1,002 tons of sand, 44,000 square feet, the midtown Manhattan skyline...all that and tofu dogs, too? The Water Taxi Beach is the ideal way to wrap up your Queens staycation. But remember: No dogs. No swimming. No coolers. No kidding.
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