Jackie Robinson Recreation Center, Harlem, 2005

The most prominent feature of the new WPA Colonial Park was its Play Center, a colossal construction including swimming pools, bathhouse, locker rooms, gymnasium, weight room, and who even knows what else is in there! The entrance is shown here 72 years later: the line to get in. The pool and bathhouse is one of the eleven gigantic swimming sites built by the WPA in New York City in 1936. Colonial Park, Play Center, and Pool were renamed after Jackie Robinson in 1978.