Crotona Park Reconstruction - Bronx NY

City:: Bronx, New York City, NY
Site Type:: Parks and Recreation, Marinas and Aquatic Parks, Swimming Pools, Comfort Stations (Restrooms), Playgrounds, Athletic Courts and Fields, Bathhouses
New Deal Agencies:: Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Started:: 1934
Completed:: 1941

Description

The park existed before the Depression, but was completely rebuilt in 1934-41 by the WPA:

“As ice skating grew popular in the Bronx around the turn of the century, Parks paved the perimeter of Indian Pond and installed a warming hut and concession stand for skaters. In the 1930s, Works Progress Administration (WPA) employees built the boathouse on the east side of the pond and entirely rebuilt the area around the lake. Other projects in Crotona Park completed during the tenure of Parks Commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981) included the construction or renovation of five baseball diamonds, twenty tennis courts, twenty-six handball courts, nine playgrounds, four comfort stations, and picnic and sitting areas. The most spectacular addition was the enormous swimming pool and bathhouse complex, designed by lead consultant architect Aymar Embury II, which Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia and Commissioner Moses opened on July 24, 1936. A major restoration of the pool and bathhouse was completed in 1984.” (NYC Parks)