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Giant Globes (page 1)

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Daily News Globe
New York, NY
 Los Angeles
Times Globe
Los Angeles, CA
The revolving Daily News Globe was installed in the lobby of the Daily News Building when it was built in 1929. The globe is about 12 feet in diameter. The newspaper moved to a different location in the mid-1990s but this globe and weather instruments still remain.

The Los Angeles Times Globe also revolves. The aluminum globe is about five feet in diameter. It was built around 1935 and is installed on a bronze pedestal. The lobby also features murals by Hugo Ballin.

Waterman Globe
Mobile, AL
 Globe
Yarmouth, ME
The Waterman Globe was installed from 1948-1973 in the Waterman Building in downtown Mobile. The Waterman Building was the headquarters for the Waterman Steamship Corporation. The rotating globe is 12 feet in diameter and made of aluminum. The countries are represented as they were in the 1940s. In the 1970s, the globe was cut into 300 pieces and put in storage. Restoration work on the globe began in 1996. In 1999, it was installed at Mitchell Center at the University of South Alabama. For more, see this website.

The Yarmouth Globe, nicknamed "Eartha", is located at DeLorme's headquarters. It was built in 1998 and is 41 feet in diameter. It is the world's largest, revolving globe. It is on display in a three-story atrium, quite visible from the highway. DeLorme also has an incredible map store. For more, see this website. [map]

Globe
Wellesley, MA
 Globe
Germantown, MD
 Globe [gone]
Tulsa, OK
The Globe in Wellesley is 28 feet in diameter and weighs 25 tons. It was designed in 1947 and finished in 1955. The tiles fell off in 1984 and, by 1991, it was just a rusty ball. The revolving mechanism broke in 1993 and it hasn't spun since then. It was restored in 1993 with the help of DeLorme. It is on the campus of Babson College, outside the former Coleman Map Building (now Coleman Hall, a residence hall). In 2018, it was announced that the globe would be restored. It was reinstalled in 2019 in Kerry Murphy Healey Park. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map].

The Globe in Germantown is a steel water tank which was built in 1980. It is located on the property of Montgomery College. The tank is 100 feet in diameter and holds two million gallons of water. It cost nearly $2 million to build. This photo is from 2004. In 2011, the globe was repainted. [map]

The Globe in Tulsa was about 30 feet in diameter and made of 24 fiberglass segments. It was built around 1957 for the International Petroleum Exposition. Bell's Amusement Park bought it and reassembled it around 1958. At that time it was the largest rotating globe in the world. In later years, a broken bearing and disassembly kept it stationary. Bell's was located just inside the Tulsa State Fairgrounds. The globe had some painted advertising for the radio station KMOD on it. In 2007, the amusement park closed and the rides and globe were moved into storage. In 2011, Bell's was preparing to reopen in West Tulsa. I don't know if the globe will reappear there.

Globe
Coatesville, PA
 Memorial Globe
Tacoma, WA
The Globe in Coatesville is part of a veterans' monument. [map]

The Memorial Globe is installed in Thea's Park. It is eight feet in diameter and made of steel. It was erected to extend a message of peace after the 9-11 terrorist attacks. [map]

Unisphere
Queens, NY

Leisure World
Seal Beach, CA
2008:
 2013:
 2017:
Leisure World
Silver Spring, MD
 Leisure World
Mesa, AZ
 Globe
Bethany, OK
The Unisphere was built by U.S. Steel in 1960 as plans for the 1964-1965 World's Fair were commencing. It is 140 feet tall and made of stainless steel. The Unisphere is the largest representation of the earth ever made. The three rings which circle the globe represent the orbits of the first American astronaut, the first Russian cosmonaut, and the first communications satellite. The Unisphere is surrounded by a giant pool with fountains. On the same grounds, at the 1939 World's Fair, was the Perisphere which was a stylized white globe. It contained exhibits including "Democracity," a diorama of a futuristic city. For more, see this website. [map]

The Leisure World chain of retirement communities produced these globes in the 1960s. They were inspired by the Unisphere. The steel and fiberglass globes are 32 feet tall and weigh about 4,000 pounds. They were designed by QRS Neon. The first location opened in Seal Beach in 1962. The globe was installed then. The fountain was turned off sometime between 2000 and 2004. The globe stopped revolving around 2011. In 2015, there were plans to restore it and paint it a bronze color. However, when the paint was stripped, the globe partially collapsed and it was deemed beyond repair. It remained under a tarp for over a year. In late 2016, the new bronze-colored globe was on display. [map]

The Leisure World globe in Silver Spring still revolves and is nicely maintained. I believe this location opened in 1966. By 2022, the globe had been painted bright green. [map]

The Leisure World in Mesa was built in 1973. The globe still has the water feature. [map]

The Leisure World in Laguna Hills, CA was the second location. The globe was moved from Laguna Hills to Laguna Woods in 2002. In 2007, the globe was demolished in 2007 after a lawsuit. The renamed Laguna Woods Village could no longer use the globe which was trademarked by Leisure World. For more, see this website.

There was a third location built in 1964 in Walnut Creek, CA. By the late 1980s, a couple of continents had fallen off the globe. It was dismantled in 1994 and eventually sold to Waterworld in Concord, CA. However, it was never used at the park. There was another Leisure World location in Monroe Township, NJ. I don't know if that one had a globe.

The Globe in Bethany is located in front of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church office complex. Although this globe looks identical to the ones used by Leisure World, as far as I know, there were never any locations in Oklahoma. According to the IPHC, this globe was built in the early 1970s when the church moved here from Georgia. The globe was a symbol of their ministry's growth to 40 states and 90 countries. Perhaps this globe was produced by the same manufacturer that made them for Leisure World. [map]

RKO Globe
Los Angeles, CA
 Globe
New York, NY
This RKO Globe occupies a corner of the former RKO movie studios building. In keeping with the RKO logo, there was once a radio tower on top of this globe originally. The building, which I believe is from 1921, is now occupied by Paramount Pictures. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

The Globe in New York is installed in front of the Trump International Hotel & Tower. This steel globe was built by Kim Brandell in 1996. It was inspired by the Unisphere in Queens described above. There is another one of these globes at the Trump International in Sunny Isles Beach, FL. [map]

Globe
Fort Payne, AL
The Collbran Globe was originally a Shriner's storage building in Tampa, FL. It was blown across the state during Hurricane Hugo. The present owner, a Shriner himself, brought it here. He says he wants to fix it up and put a cowboy hat on top. These photos are from 2007. By 2013, the globe had been repainted. The door is now missing. [map]

Globe
Hamilton, ON
The Globe is part of a sewage treatment plant. The side that faces the QEW highway shows North America with the lettering "HAMILTON" over it. For more, see this website. [map]

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