{"nrhp_refnum":"81000081","name":"Jacob Riis Park Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Rockaway Beach Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Queens","state":"NY","lat":40.56779212500007,"lon":-73.87252823578267,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-06-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district at Jacob Riis Park on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, New York, made up of three recreational buildings built 1932-1937: the Bathing Pavilion (Bathhouse) and two twin Central Mall Buildings. The park is now part of Gateway National Recreation Area.","why_significant":"The buildings are argued to be excellent examples of early 1930s recreational architecture, with the Bathhouse a good example of Art Deco design. The park reflects public park design and community planning of the 1920s and 1930s. It was completed with Works Progress Administration labor and is tied to Parks Commissioner Robert Moses.","narrative":"Jacob Riis Park occupies a mile-long stretch of the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, and its core is a historic district of three seaside recreation buildings put up between 1932 and 1937. The largest is the brick Bathing Pavilion, a T-shaped complex with an open court holding 10,000 wooden cabanas, an arcade with octagonal turrets, and two four-story towers on the ocean side. Stoughton and Plonck designed the first section; the New York City Department of Parks enlarged it in 1936-37 with Clinton Lloyd and consultant Aymar Embury II. Two twin Central Mall Buildings face each other across the mall and hold a cafeteria and offices. The district matters as an example of Art Deco recreational architecture and planned public park design. Work Progress Administration funding paid for its construction, and it is linked to Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. The park opened July 3, 1937, was run by New York City until 1972, and then passed to the National Park Service.","period_of_significance":"1932-1937","architect_builder":"Julius Burgevin, Stoughton & Plonck; New York City Department of Parks","architectural_style":"Art Deco (Bathhouse); also described as Moderne recreational architecture","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and altered; the form says buildings and grounds have survived relatively unaltered since 1937. The site is occupied and in park use, owned by the National Park Service since 1972.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.399487-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/81000081.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000081/b6e5e28f04-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000081/b6e5e28f04-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"You may select the license of your choice.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacob_Riis_Park.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">You may select the license of your choice.</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:Jacob_Riis_Park.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321100","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Riis_Park","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6119176"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/queens/jacob-riis-park-historic-district-81000081/"}