Rye Town Park-Bathing Complex and Oakland Beach
Why it's listed
Rye Town Park is a 28.1-acre public park on the shore of Long Island Sound in Rye, New York, together with the 34.5-acre Oakland Beach. It was designed in 1909 by architects Upjohn & Conable and landscape architects Brinley & Holbrook. A rubble stone wall encloses the north, south and west sides, and a stone retaining wall holds the park about 15 feet above the beach. Within the grounds, meandering paths, lawns, tree clusters, a small lake, a stone arched bridge and a terrace overlook follow the natural topography. The Spanish Mission Style buildings form the core: a bathing pavilion with two four-story towers and red clay tile roofs, two colonnaded shelters, and a 1910 restaurant. Six of the 17 buildings and structures are counted as contributing. Some planned features, such as the Music Hall and Casino, appear never to have been built. The park is valued as a cohesive recreation complex of the early twentieth century and as an example of planned park design.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the park as a cohesive early 20th-century recreation facility. Its Mission-style bathing pavilion, shelters and restaurant sit within a naturalistic landscape sensitive to the site's topography. The park is also placed within the regional planning and park reform movement of the early 1900s in Westchester County.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 03000252, listed April 18, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Forrest Ave., bet. Rye Beach and Dearborn Ave., Rye |
|---|---|
| County | Westchester County |
| Listed | April 18, 2003 |
| Reference number | 03000252 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Architect / builder | Upjohn & Conable (architects); Brinley & Holbrook (landscape architects); J. F. Musselman (architect of the 1925 Women's Bath House) |
| Architectural style | Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Landscape Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a park; the original rear bathhouses were demolished between 1919 and 1930 and the area is now a paved parking lot. |
| Acreage | 62.6 |
| Coordinates | 40.96000, -73.68078 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Sites (archaeological sites, battlefields, landscapes) are often listed with a restricted address to protect them from looting or disturbance. Listing is honorary for private owners; federal undertakings on or near the site go through Section 106 review, and state laws may protect burials and artefacts regardless of listing.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 03000252.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7384986
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.