Astoria Park

Astoria Park is a 59.96-acre (242,600 m2) park located along the East River in the New York City borough of Queens.[1] The park is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks). It is situated in Astoria and adjacent to the Triborough (Robert F. Kennedy) and Hell Gate Bridges.

Astoria Park and New York Connecting Railroad
Astoria Park at sunset; the Hell Gate (upper) and Triborough (lower) Bridges are prominently visible

Facilities

The park contains Astoria Park Pool, New York City's oldest and largest swimming pool.[2] The outdoor 54,450-square-foot (5,059 m2) pool, planned by parks commissioner Robert Moses and opened in 1936, was used for qualifying events for the 1936 and 1964 Summer Olympics.[2]

Other attractions include bocce courts, fourteen tennis courts, two playgrounds, a skatepark, basketball courts, and one track for running. One of the playgrounds, Charybdis Playground, is across the Hell Gate from Scylla Point on Wards Island. In 2001, the two features were named after Scylla and Charybdis, two water hazards described in Homer's Odyssey, after Henry Stern petitioned the federal government to rename what was then known as "Negro Point". The names stem from the dangerous whirlpools in the waters of the Hell Gate.[3]

The park was formerly the site of a Native American settlement, and is close to where the General Slocum caught fire and sunk in 1904.[4]

Events

On Independence Day, the Queens Symphony Orchestra plays in Astoria Park during the fireworks show. Upcoming events are posted on the NYC Parks website.[5]

A panorama of the Triborough (left) and Hell Gate (right) Bridges from Astoria Park
gollark: I also think that if you decide what to produce via social things instead of the current financial mechanisms, you would probably have less innovation (if you have a cool new thing™, you have to convince a lot of people it's a good idea, rather than just convincing a few specialized people that it's good enough to get some investment) and could get stuck in weird signalling loops.
gollark: So it's possible to be somewhat insulated from whatever bizarre trends are sweeping things.
gollark: In a capitalistic system, people don't have to like me as long as I can throw money at them, see.
gollark: ...
gollark: And people will follow them.

References
  1. "New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Astoria Park". Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
  2. "New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Astoria Park, Pool". Retrieved 2011-05-12.
  3. Pollak, Michael (2008-06-29). "F.Y.I. - Turning Away Wrath". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  4. "New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Astoria Park, History". Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  5. "New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Astoria Park, Events". Retrieved 2011-05-12.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.