The north end of Orchard Beach, with the promenade at left. I can't swear that the benches you see today were made by the WPA, but certainly the WPA made benches here, and it did make this type of bench (concrete base with wooden slats) elsewhere, and the bench shown here definitely exhibits the same "salt-spray rot" as the bathhouse so is likely the same age. Of course the wooden slats in all Parks Department benches are replaced periodically, but the concrete tends to stay put. Anyway this picture gives a pretty good feeling for the majestic sweep of the beach. The wooded area to the north was formerly Hunters Island and Twin Island, all fused into the Bronx mainland by the WPA.

The New Deal in NYC 1932-1943 | Frank da Cruz | fdc@columbia.edu