Would you believe there’s possibly a luxury nuclear bunker hidden underground out in Queens?!
Well so urban legend goes, “The Underground Home” might still be out there despite what city officials have said over the years.
The mysterious home was built beneath Flushing Meadows-Corona Park as an exhibit for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair.
It was the brainchild of Texas builder Jay Swayze, and came to fruition by the Cold War anxieties during the Cuban Missile Crisis era to showcase a luxurious, livable alternative to traditional bomb shelters.
Buried 15 feet below Queens near the New York Hall of Science, this 5,600-square-foot subterranean showpiece wasn’t just a bunker—it was a bold vision of atomic-age luxury.
Built inside a concrete shell, it came complete with three bedrooms, a living room crowned by a Steinway piano, and a faux terrace blending real and artificial plants. The “windows” weren’t windows at all, but screens that could simulate sunrise, twilight, or a forest view at the twist of a dial.
It was even engineered to control temperature, pressure, and humidity on its own, the home promised not just survival—but style and serenity—in a post-apocalyptic world.
Visitors to the World’s Fair could descend into the home exhibit, tour its rooms, and learn about the benefits of underground living-an idea that captured the era’s anxieties and technological optimism.
The exhibit was intended to promote Swayze’s vision of mass-marketable underground homes, though the high cost ($80,000 at the time) and limited public interest meant few were ever built.
Was the Underground Home really underground?
The “Underground World Home” at the 1964 New York World’s Fair was indeed partially underground, but not completely buried deep beneath the earth.
The top of its concrete shell was about two and a half feet below ground level, and visitors accessed the home by descending a wide staircase from a pavilion at ground level.
Is the underground home still there today? Can I see it?
After the fair, the fate of the Underground Home became something of a local mystery.
Since it was an exhibit at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair and the fairgrounds were then converted into Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, you cannot visit the Underground Home today.
Records at the New York Public Library confirm the Underground Home was demolished in 1966.
However, many believe that believe that remnants of the structure may still be buried there, even though the Parks Department is confident it was demolished.
So while you can go to the area that’s now covered by fields and grass, you’re unable to view it or dig for it.