This magnificent restoration was accomplished by Thomarios of Akron, Ohio, who also restored the Saturn V at KSC. An internal structure was fabricated by Robert Cane Archetects that allows the rockets to stand free of external support lines. This Mercury-Atlas (and the Titan behind it) was erected for the New York World's Fair in 1964-65. Although I attended the fair, I don't recall seeing it but I was just a tot at the time. What really made this special is that it was topped with an actual production spacecraft, Spacecraft #1. Now, it lifts a Friendship 7 mockup as well as the markings for the 109D Atlas booster that lofted it. In the older images below, you can see the escape tower is topped with a set of aircraft warning lights. These have been removed (although they are still visible on the Titan).
Here the Atlas rocket is being removed by Villani Industries, a Long Island-based firm. Note the engines have already been removed from the boosted. Read here for more information on this news.
Images (left and above) by: Andrew Tomko
New York World's Fair, 1964-1965. Besides the Mercury Atlas and Gemini Titan, you can also see a Gemini and Apollo spacecraft (where are they now?) and the thrust section of the Saturn V (this was torn down in the Rocket Park rehab).
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