The US Open on Monday returned to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens\u2019 Flushing Meadows Corona Park. For many attendees, the park is quite a journey from home \u2013 so why not arrive ahead of the match and enjoy what else Flushing Meadows has on offer?<\/p>\n
The neighborhood is known for the remaining relics of the 1964 World\u2019s Fair like the Unisphere and the Towers of Tomorrow, which can be fun to ogle, but there\u2019s also plenty of family-friendly entertainment on offer, as well as music history. Below are five non-tennis ways to make the most of the area while you\u2019re there.<\/p>\n
Visit the Home For Retired Playground Animals<\/p>\n
In 2023, NYC Parks unveiled a new home<\/a> for \u201cretiring\u201d animal sculptures no longer fit to be climbed on. The concrete creatures hail from playgrounds across the city and include an aardvark, a camel, two dolphins and more, all now cohabitating together in their sunset years. \u201cOffer congratulations and well-wishes,\u201d encourages a delightful sign explaining the grove\u2019s purpose and warning visitors against climbing on the animals, as \u201cthey\u2019ve had enough.\u201d<\/p>\n In the middle of United Nations Ave. N., just northwest of the Herbert Hoover Promenade in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park<\/p>\n Play mini golf<\/p>\n There are two mini golf courses to choose between. Rocket Park Mini Golf<\/a> is located on the campus of the New York Hall of Science and, over the course of its nine holes, teaches players about the science of spaceflight. Meanwhile, to the east of the National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows Pitch & Putt<\/a> offers an 18-hole course more classically adorned with waterfalls, bridges and streams. It\u2019s available for not just day play but is also lighted for after-dark golfing.<\/p>\n New York Hall of Science (47-01 111th St., Queens) and 100 Flushing Meadows Park<\/p>\n See The Panorama<\/p>\n Built by a team of over 100 people for the 1964 World\u2019s Fair, the Panorama of the City of New York is an enormous, scale model of all five boroughs of the city. It fills the floor of an entire vast room, and spectators can peer down at it from above. The Panorama is located inside the Queens Museum, and while it\u2019s considered the start of the institution, there are other rotating exhibits, including permanent ones about the World\u2019s Fair.<\/p>\n Queens Museum, New York City Building, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park<\/p>\n Have a bite at the Queens Night Market<\/p>\n On select Saturdays during the warm weather months, the Queens Night Market<\/a> transforms the area behind the New York Hall of Science into a feast of diverse foods provided by various vendors, many with impressively affordable offerings. There\u2019s cuisine from Sierra Leone to Bangladesh, Burma to Brazil on offer.<\/p>\n Behind the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadow Corona Park<\/p>\n Tour the Louis Armstrong House Museum<\/p>\n