East River Park - Photo #5

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Photo: Lower East Side Preservation Initiative
Comfort station by Embury in East River Park, Manhattan, at the tennis center about a block north of Delancey Street, where Rivington Street would be. The building has been neglected for years and is now scheduled to be torn down in the East Coast Resiliency Project; efforts are underway by the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative to save it. As of June 2020, "The buildings have been deemed eligible for the State and National Registers of Historic Places. That doesn't mean they are protected from demolition, but any plans to do so must be reviewed by SHPO. The East Side Coastal Resiliency project is going ahead this fall, with ground breaking in East River Park in November, I think. Hopefully the buildings still can be saved."[4,5] Apparently not: "I wanted to let you know that we've been unsuccessful in getting the city to restore them. Plans now are to demolish them. Tomorrow (Sunday, Nov. 14) at 2:00 pm, we are having a rally in front of the Tennis Center Comfort Station."[8]

More views from LESPI showing the stylized trim around the doors and under the roof (click to enlarge):

East River Park comfort station

East River Park comfort station door

East River Park comfort station door

East River Park comfort station trim
References:
  1. NYC Parks Department Press Release, 26 July 1939.
  2. Office for Metropolitan History, Manhattan New Building (NB) Database, lists Embury as architect.
  3. New York Times, 18 May 1938: "East River Driveway, between Delancey and Rivington Sts, 48x22.1; for 1-story comfort station; owner: same [i.e. Department of Parks, City of New York]; architect: same [i.e. Aymar Embury 2d].
  4. East River Park Track House and Tennis Center Comfort Station Resource Evaluation, New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, 18 June 2020: "Property meets eligibility criteria. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction; or represents the work of a master; or possess high artistic values; or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction."
  5. Correspondence with Deborah Wye, Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, 16 July 2020.
  6. New Deal Park Structures Face Demolition in NYC, Deborah Wye, Living New Deal, 28 August 2020.
  7. Barbara Wye, Threatened East River Park Buildings Recognized for Architectural Distinction, Bowery Boogie website (accessed 4 December 2020): "Two East River Park Art Deco gems were recently deemed eligible for the State and National Registers of Historic Places by the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Both the Track House near East 6th Street and the Tennis Center Comfort Station between Rivington and Delancey Streets were recognized for their historical significance. Based on research and an application submitted this past winter by the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative (LESPI), the determination means that the SHPO must review any plans to alter the buildings, including current intentions to demolish them under the East Side Coastal Resiliency project."
  8. Correspondence with Deborah Wye, Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, 13 Novenber, 2021.