Terrace On The Park unveiled a major comprehensive nine-million dollar makeover enhancing this landmark New York events venue that is renowned for award-winning cuisine, impeccable service and breathtaking views
Terrace On The Park, which has been an iconic element of New York’s landscape for over a half century, has recently completed a major five year facilities initiative, which was recently announced by General Manager Bruno M. Marques. Encompassing an extensive range of structural upgrades, renovations, and state-of-the-art technical enhancements, the nine-million dollar improvement is the largest in the history of this registered landmark, which has served as the city’s most recognizable special events venue for more than two generations.
Originally constructed as a restaurant and heliport for the 1964 World’s Fair, Terrace On The Park is a marvel of Modernist design, with its signature T-shaped towers soaring 120 feet above the fairgrounds, now Flushing Meadows Park. In the decades since, this imposing “aerial gateway” to New York has become a treasured part of the city’s skyline – and the lives of its people.
When the Beatles made their US debut at Shea Stadium in 1965, they first arrived here, landing on the Rooftop helipad. In the early ‘80s, Madonna worked as an elevator operator at Terrace On The Park, before becoming a world-renowned attraction in her own right. Since 1964, every incumbent New York City mayor has visited Terrace On The Park, along with presidents, prime ministers and monarchs. However impressive, these bold-faced names are only footnotes in a story that is, more than anything, about celebrations, with Terrace On The Park serving as the spectacular setting for thousands of memorable weddings, parties, proms and corporate events.
The newly-unveiled improvements program starts a new page in this already illustrious history, with sensitive restoration and redesign work enhancing every part of the Terrace On The Park experience, and every floor of the complex from Rooftop to the entry-level park side gardens. The Penthouse, famed for its sweeping 360-degree vistas, now feels even more elevated with new height-enhancing coffered ceilings and a re-design featuring handcrafted plaster panels, custom-built bars, LED lighting and specially-commissioned designer carpeting in cool contemporary colors. Adjoining the Penthouse, our Rooftop has been totally reconfigured, with two-tone stonework and new landscaping with LED planters creating a breathtaking unobstructed space that makes the most of this soaring “garden in the sky,” and a new Wedding pergola positioned to provide a perfect panoramic backdrop for on-site ceremonies.
Renovations in The Grand Ballroom range from rich zebra-wood panels and sconces to advanced LED-lighting that can be programmed for a practically-infinite number of customized settings and special effects. Similar upgrades have been applied to the Crystal and Regency Ballrooms. Throughout the structure, the interiors have been revitalized with custom carpets, drapes and polished granite stonework, while retaining some of Terrace On The Park’s signature inlaid wood dance floors. These modern design improvements have been matched by state-of-the-art technological enhancements, including ultra-fast fiber optic wifi service and integrated video/p.a. systems that allow for multi-media presentations and simulcasts during all events.
A key element of the project has been the creation of the new Promenade Level, just below the Ballroom Level on the 14th story of the tower. During the World’s Fair, this floor was home to the popular “Drinks Around The World” lounge, boasting floor-to-ceiling vistas overlooking the Fair grounds, but afterwards, it had been allowed to fall into disuse. Now it has been brought back to life as the Lotus and Marquis Suites, a pair of intimate reception and meeting spaces that can each accommodate up to 200 guests, or combined into one continuous suite. Like the Penthouse and park side level suites, these new spaces boast a private entrance area, and have been richly outfitted with contemporary textured wall panels, custom-built bars, mosaic tile flooring, and window treatments combining stone detailing with LED lighting. Another of the most dramatic additions has been a redesign of the indoor Wedding Chapel, which has been reconfigured with a polished wood and stone runway to the altar.
Terrace On The Park’s design improvements have been accompanied by major enhancements on the outside, including new gardens, on top of an annual landscaping maintenance budget that tops $100,000. On the park side level, a trio of private gardens have been laid out for receptions, weddings and brunch events; with the Rooftop Pergola and downstairs Chapel, this translates into a remarkable selection of five distinctive options for on-site ceremonies.
Parallel to the renovation project, Executive Chef (and Iron Chef Finalist) Jose Cerqueira has undertaken continued expansion of Terrace On The Park’s acclaimed catering department, with his internationally-trained team developing an ever-more-extensive portfolio of reception and dining menus options for every taste and dietary specification, including cuisine options as diverse as the communities we serve.
“This project has involved improvements in nearly every inch of Terrace On The Park, from the front doors to our Rooftop deck and gardens,” noted Marques. “We have undertaken this work to preserve the heritage of this incredible piece of New York’s history, and in doing so, we have made Terrace On The Park new again for new generations of New Yorkers, with a vision for the future that is just as big and breathtaking as our views.”
Terrace On The Park is operated under long-term concession from the New York City Parks Department to the venue’s co-managing partners George Makkos and Dimitrios Kaloidis, both of whom are active in other dining and hospitality businesses across the New York metropolitan regions. Terrace On The Park is located at 5211 111th Street, in Flushing Meadows Park, Queens. For information about weddings, banquet rentals and other Terrace On The Park events, call 718.592.5000, or visit us on-line at TerraceOnThePark.com ; e-mail: [email protected].