- City:
- Flushing, New York City, Queens, NY
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation, Playgrounds
- New Deal Agencies:
- Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs
- Completed:
- 1935
- Quality of Information:
- Minimal
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Parks acquired this property by condemnation in the mid 1920s. In December, 1935, the Department of Parks announced the opening of a new playground on the site. The press release announcing the opening explained that it, and the other 12 playgrounds opened on the same day, collectively contained: “88 small swings; 72 large swings; 36 seesaws; 14 playhouses; 15 large slides; 11 sand tables; 10 garden swings; 7 small slides; 7 small tables; 6 handball courts; 6 jungle gyms; 5 shuffleboard courts; 5 wading pools; 4 parallel bars; 3 horizontal bars; 3 horizontal ladders; 3 horseshoe pitching, etc.; 2 basketball courts, 1 shower.”
As researcher Frank da Cruz explains here, almost all New York City Parks Department projects between 1934 and 1943 were accomplished with New Deal funds and/or labor; by December 1935 on, the WPA had become the main source of this support.
The park’s play equipment was improved in 1969 and again in 1994.
Source notes
New York City Parks Department New Deal Projects 1934-43 Department of Parks, Press Release, December 18, 1935 NYC Parks - Bowne ParkSite originally submitted by Frank da Cruz on September 22, 2016.
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