Grover Cleveland Park – Ridgewood NY

Description

The land for Grover Cleveland Park was first established in the 1920s. It acquired its present name in 1939. In June 1940, the Department of Parks announced the completion of the WPA’s reconstruction of the park:

“This five-acre park has been redesigned and reconstructed to provide a wider all year round usage. Approximately three-quarters of the area is set aside for active recreation. There is now a completely equipped separate small pre-school children’s playground, a wading pool which can be used for basketball, and three paddle tennis courts, a volleyball court, and three shuffleboard courts for older children.

For adults, there is a large bituminous-surfaced area containing two basketball courts with removable goal posts so as to provide room for two softball diamonds. This area will also be used for roller skating and ice skating during winter months when sub-freezing temperatures permit. There are also two double handball courts.

The balance of the park has been set aside for passive recreation with broad bench-lined walks and fenced-in lawns. The entire park has been landscaped with trees and shrubbery. The old comfort station has been re-installed to provide up to date sanitary facilities.

The reopening of this park designed by the Park Department and built by the Work Projects Administration makes a total of 331 new or reconstructed recreational areas completed by the Park Department since January 1, 1934.”

The park has undergone several further improvements since.