There are more than a thousand New Deal sites across New York City, but because most are unmarked their common connection to the New Deal goes unrecognized. The Living New Deal’s New York City branch is working to remedy that. Thanks to our partnership with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, red, white and blue medallions will soon be installed identifying the New Deal origins of the city’s eleven Olympic-sized pools, all built in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration.
During the Great Depression and for going on 84 summers since, New Yorkers flocked to Crotona Park Pool in the Bronx, Astoria Pool in Queens, and Highbridge Pool in Manhattan, among others. If the Living New Deal has its way, medallions will be placed at many other sites to recognize what the New Deal left to the city.
The medallion was designed to commemorate all types of New Deal projects, from pools to schools, public housing to post offices, playgrounds, courthouses and more,” says Peggy Crane, the Living New Deal’s New York City branch coordinator.
Because of the coronavirus, the city’s pools have yet to open for the summer. Stay tuned for the official rollout.