Macombs Dam Park Playground (demolished) – Bronx NY

Description

The New York City Parks Department Press Release for October 14, 1935 announces the opening of a new playground at the site of what was later called Macombs Dam Park, with some or all of the following amenities: wading pools, handball courts, basketball courts, jungle gyms, swings, slides, seesaws, and other outdoor gymnasium equipment.

Macombs Dam Park was not a New Deal creation; it was first opened in 1899 and was famous for its athletic fields (see history). But the press release confirms that at least one playground was added to it by the Parks Department during the New Deal. Later press releases in 1936 announced the addition of 20 handball courts, the renovation and modernization of the field house, and the construction of two baseball diamonds, a turf athletic field, and a running track.

Although these sources do not mention the WPA or other New Deal agencies, researcher Frank da Cruz explains here that almost all New York City Parks Department projects between 1934 and 1943 were carried out with New Deal funds and/or labor, and that after April 1935, the WPA quickly became the main source of this support.

Only this playground (obviously totally rebuilt since the 1930s) remains of the original Macombs Dam Park, which is now the site of the new Yankee Stadium.