New Deal Washington Square - Photo #53 - Playground of the Americas

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playgroundamericas1
Playground of the Americas on the southeast corner of 6th Avenue and Houston Street, directly across Houston Street from the Passannante Ball Field.

"In 1925, the City of New York acquired this property and transferred it to the Department of Transportation as part of a Sixth Avenue renovation. The Board of Estimate placed the parcel under Parks jurisdiction in May 1934. It remained unnamed until February 1998, when Parks designated it Houston Plaza. In 2000, it was renamed Playground of the Americas."[1]

"On Saturday, September 22nd, the two playgrounds on Houston Street, one at the corner of Sixth Avenue, and the other in the block between First and Houston Streets at Ludlow Street, Manhattan, will be opened. This property was turned over to the Department of Parks by the Board of Transportation. It will have a formal park area in addition to the playground."[2]

References
  1. Playground of the Americas - History, NYC Parks Department website (accessed 25 April 2018).
  2. NYC Parks Department Press Release, August 22, 1934.
  3. 2 Play Areas Opened on Houston Street, New York Times, September 29, 1934, p.17. It says, "A smaller plot across West Houston Street, a rest area for older persons, was also opened yesterday." Which confirms that this playground was part of the of the same project that produced the Passannante ball field.
  4. New Deal Assistance in NYC Parks Department Projects, 1934-43, which explains how we know this park was a New Deal project.