- City:
- Brooklyn, New York City, NY
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation, Playgrounds
- New Deal Agencies:
- Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs
- Completed:
- 1936
- Quality of Information:
- Minimal
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
A June 1936 press release from the Department of Parks announced the opening of a newly reconstructed playground at the site of what is now McLaughlin Park. It contained a girl’s playground “fully equipped with play apparatus, basketball, volley ball and paddle tennis courts.” In October 1936, the Department announced the completion of the “reconstruction of the entire park. The area to be opened includes a wading pool and a large boys’ playground with a soft ball diamond.”
Although the announcement does 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.
Source notes
Department of Parks, Press Release, June 12, 1936 Department of Parks, Press Release, October 1, 1936 New York City Parks Department New Deal Projects 1934-43Site originally submitted by Frank da Cruz on October 4, 2016.
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