Jacob Riis Park

USA / New York /
 park, recreation area / ground, swimming pool

Jacob Riis Park in the New York City borough of Queens, is part of the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and is managed by the National Park Service (NPS).

It lies at the foot of the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, toward the southwestern end the Rockaway Peninsula, just east of Fort Tilden and west of Rockaway Beach. It features an extensive sand beach and an art deco bath house built in 1932 , which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bathhouse provides a place to get out of the sun and learn about the park's history. The park is named for Jacob Riis, a famous New York City muckraker journalist and photographer who documented the plight of the poor and working class.

The park was largely built on the site of the former Rockaway Naval Air Station, one of the first US naval air stations. Riis Park was designed by the politically powerful New York City Park Commissioner Robert Moses, who had also created Jones Beach as a state park further east on Long Island in 1929.

www.nps.gov/archive/gate/jbu/jbu_home.htm
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   40°34'8"N   73°52'22"W

Comments

  • Why is the parking lot so big?
  • because you touch yourself at night.
This article was last modified 14 years ago