The city Health Center, meant to serve Long Island City and Astoria, at the southwest corner of 31st Ave. and 14th St., was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). “This center and eight others are being built as WPA projects,”… read more
On July 2, 1938, the Department of Parks announced the opening of a playground on the site of what is now the Astoria Health Playground: “In Queens, at 14th Street south of 31st Avenue adjacent to the Astoria Health Center,… read more
The Astoria Heights Playground, covering most of the block between 30th Rd., 31st Ave., 45th St. and 46th St., was developed by the Parks Department and the WPA in two stages between 1937 and 1938. In September 1937, a playground… read more
The 56-acre park dates from the early 20th century, but “major improvements in Astoria Park were undertaken by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and the Works Progress Administration during a hot summer in 1936. The stunning pool complex opened on July… read more
Astoria Park pool opened on July 2, 1936. It was the largest of the eleven WPA pools built throughout the city that year. It was the site of the Olympic swimming and diving trials for the 1936 Olympics, just as Randall’s Island Stadium was… read more
“The City acquired this land on July 19, 1910, and since the 1920s Italian-Americans of Queens have gathered here to celebrate Columbus. The Board of Aldermen, on April 1, 1930, named the site for the famed explorer. The Italian Chamber… read more
The Queens school now known as the Henry Gradstein Elementary School was built during the 1930s. Construction was sponsored by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA).