{"nrhp_refnum":"05000358","name":"Jones Beach State Park, Causeway and Parkway System","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Ocean, Wantagh, Meadowbrook and Loop State Parkways","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wantagh","county":"Nassau County","state":"NY","lat":40.62954616350004,"lon":-73.53571419895755,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-04-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large public state park district on a barrier island off Long Island's south shore in Nassau County, New York, together with the causeways and parkways (Wantagh, Meadowbrook, Loop, Bay and Ocean) that give access to it. The park was laid out from about 1924, and most major buildings and roads were built between c1926 and 1934.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Jones Beach State Park as the most important state park on Long Island and the centerpiece of the Long Island State Park and Parkway System developed under the Long Island State Park Commission. It combines a major engineering project that raised the island, a formal Beaux-Arts plan, and brick and sandstone buildings. The causeways and parkways are described as the earliest and most essential links for access and circulation. The form certifies significance at the national level.","narrative":"Jones Beach State Park occupies the western part of a long coastal barrier island off the south shore of Long Island, in Nassau County. Before the 1920s the island was nearly inaccessible, so causeways were central to the design. Wantagh and Meadowbrook causeways cross the bay to the mainland, Loop Parkway links the park to Long Beach, and Bay and Ocean Parkways carry traffic within the park. Engineers dredged fill from the bay to raise the island about fourteen feet and built artificial dunes before construction began. The park follows a formal Beaux-Arts plan. A 231-foot brick and sandstone water tower, completed in 1930, anchors the central traffic circle, with symmetrical bathhouses, a mall and a long boardwalk nearby. Other features include pools, golf courses, parking fields, a theater on Zach's Bay and service buildings. Development came in three phases between about 1926 and 1954. The district was listed as a key part of the Long Island State Park and Parkway System, with significance certified at the national level.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"No style (Beaux-Arts plan; Art Deco aesthetic in the water tower; one Colonial Revival residence)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Park and parkways remain in recreational and transportation use; some original buildings have been lost, replaced or altered, and a new building is being designed for the site of a lost restaurant.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.16215-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/05000358.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000358/2fa5d978ef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000358/2fa5d978ef-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bjoertvedt","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NY_Long_Island_with_East_Bay_and_Jones_Beach_State_Park_IMG_1956.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Bjoertvedt</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NY_Long_Island_with_East_Bay_and_Jones_Beach_State_Park_IMG_1956.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319135","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Beach_State_Park","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6275135"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/nassau-county/jones-beach-state-park-causeway-and-parkway-system-05000358/"}