Randall's Island Stadium
Description
“On June 19, 1936, the Parks Department announced the opening of the Randall’s Island stadium, with tickets available for the final American Olympic men’s track and field tryouts on July 11 and 12, reserved seats costing 75 cents, $1.00, and $2.00 (see press release); 15,000 tickets were sold. The first day of the Olympics tryouts was preceded by an opening ceremony presided over by Robert Moses and featuring Harry Hopkins, FDR’s federal relief administrator, and Mayor La Guardia.
Lest any doubt remain as to the stadium’s WPA pedigree, Robert Moses states (in response to a reference to its “shoddy construction” in the NY Sun), “The statement that it was a poor piece of construction work is … false, as is the statement that it would not have been accepted by the city if it had been done by contract. As a matter of fact, exactly the same standards are applied to acceptance of WPA work as for acceptance of any other work for which I am responsible” (see the Parks Department press release for this and a great deal more commentary on the matter)…” (https://kermitproject.org)
“…See Wikipedia for a brief history of the stadium and its many name changes. It was torn down in 2002 and replaced by the much smaller Icahn Stadium, named after the billionaire who paid for it.” (https://kermitproject.org)
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Jesse Owens at Randall's Island Stadium
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Icahn Stadium
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Icahn Stadium
Source notes
https://kermitproject.org/newdeal/ristadium6.html https://kermitproject.org/newdeal/pdf/1936.html#1936/08/20 Millett, John D. The Works Progress Administration in New York City, New York (Arno Press). 1978: 102.
Project originally submitted by Frank da Cruz on July 22, 2015.
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