Astoria Park Swimming Pool, Bird's Eye View Looking North

Construction of the swimming pool at Astoria Park, Queens was facilitated by funding from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), arriving just as Robert Moses became Commissioner of Parks for New York. Swimming in the East River at Hell Gate resulted in numerous drownings, and social standards had changed enough during the 1920s to enable mixed-gender bathing. This was the most famous of several built during the mid-1930s: an Olympic-sized pool (in fact used as the siet of US trials for the 1936 Olympics), along with a diving and a children's pool. It could accommodate a staggering 5,000 visitors.

The photograph here shows the pool under construction in 1935, which was completed within a year. The Hell Gate Bridge can be seen in the background. It's of interest because it may have been the location for Sol Wilson's 1935 painting Cement Plant, facilitated by the Federal Art Project.

New York Department of Parks

Photograph