What does an ash heap have in common with the U.S. Open and Two World's Fairs?

It's late August and time for the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows.  We visited the event on a qualifying and practice day.  

The venue is amazing.  Ultra-modern and pristine like a Disney theme park, with friendly, helpful staff.  

We watched a few different qualifying matches and were amazed at the level of tennis played by U.S. Open hopefuls, only a handful of whom will actually qualify for the event next week.  

We also watched players on the practice courts.  Even though it was friendly practice, the level of tennis there was even more amazing.  We saw the likes of McEnroe (photo below) and Nadal.  

It was an enjoyable experience.  Plus, admission was free.  No joke.

Some random hottie at the gate. 

Inside the venue with the Arthur Ashe Stadium in the background (the largest tennis stadium in the world)

John McEnroe on the practice court at the 2016 U.S. Open

After spending a few hours at the U.S. Open, we ventured next door to the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, a huge park in the middle of Queens.  The location was the site of the 1939 and 1964 New York World's Fairs and a few artifacts from the fairs remain.  Check out the photos below. 

Some random hottie posing in front of the Unisphere from the 1964 fair.  From Wikipedia:  "The theme of the [1964] World's Fair was "Peace Through Understanding" and the Unisphere represented the theme of global interdependence. It was dedicated to "Man's Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe"."

Some dude posing in front of the Unisphere, with the Observation Towers from the 1964 fair visible in background. 

The Rocket Thrower by Donald De Lue from the 1964 fair.  From Wikipedia:  "De Lue explained the work as "the spiritual concept of man’s relationship to space and his venturesome spirit backed up by all the powers of his intelligence for the exploration of a new dimension." However, The New York Times art critic John Canaday described it as "the most lamentable monster, making Walt Disney look like Leonardo Da Vinci."  It's not that bad.  Is it?

Answer to the question What does an ash heap have in common with the U.S. Open and Two World's Fairs?   Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was once known as the Corona Ash Dumps, where NYC dumped ashes from its many coal-burning furnances.  Some garbage and horse manure were also dumped there.  The site was selected for the 1939 New York World's Fair and it was cleared.  Some of coal ash was used in the construction of nearby highways.  Who knew?