Souvenirs and Gifts from New York's 1964 World's Fair

The recent hubbub about NYC's bid to host the Olympics in 2012, reminds us that New York's World's Fair in 1964/1965 transformed Flushing Meadows Park (even built the Unisphere), and that New York's less-famous 1939 World's Fair prompted the creation of the Park from what had been a heap of ashes and swamp.

Today the gift shop at the Queens Museum of Art stocks vintage and reproduction souvenirs and gifts from both Fairs, which make fabulous NYC gifts and are nearly impossible to find anywhere else. Prices range from 50 cents to $2,000. Who wouldn't love a vintage postcard of a 1960s beauty queen vacuuming out a scale model of NYC? Or a classy Unisphere ash tray? The 1939 Fair was the height of Art Deco, and the reproduction posters are outstanding.

The shop also sells good, classic Queens-focused souvenirs and publications. It's a place to find the perfect gift for the person in your life who loves the borough or who has great memories of the World's Fair.

• Queens Museum of Art
• Directions to the Museum and Flushing Meadows
• Images of the 1939 World's Fair