Investigation of Masonry Materials at Jacob Riis Park and Recommendations for their Rehabilitation
Berkowitz JC. 1991. Investigation of Masonry Materials at Jacob Riis Park and Recommendations for their Rehabilitation. Historic Structure Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Cultural Resources Center, New York, New York
Jacob Riis Park, located near the western end of the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens County, New York, is historically significant as a relatively unaltered example of a publicly-planned and designed municipal bathing beach in the 1930s. Named after Jacob A. Riis, a journalist and social reformer who did much to alleviate the plight of the New York City slums, the park was established to provide an inner-city beach and other non-commercial recreational facilities for the residents of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. This investigation was requested as an appendix to the Historic Structures Report currently in preparation for Jacob Riis park, Rockaway, Queens, New York, part of Gateway Breezy Point, so that original building materials on-site could be identified and characterized. Materials analysis of primary building materials included visual inspection of building materials in-situ and laboratory analysis of selected materials . This project was directed toward providing a more thorough understanding of material deterioration processes active on-site. Both testing and investigation were specifically designed to provide verification of historic treatments and materials: information central to the formulation of recommendations for stabilization of the many structures on-site. The following structures were included in this investigation: Bathhouse (HS 505), Entry Pavilion, Central Mall Buildings (HS 603, 504), and Concession Stands (HS 602, 605, 607). Generic materials covered in this section of the investigation included brick, mortar, concrete, cast stone and their associated painted finishes and coatings .
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Berkowitz, Joan
- Date of Issue
- 1991-04-22
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- GATE , NER
- Keywords
- bath house, bathhouse, bathing beach, golf course, Historic Resources, Historic Sites, Historical, History, Jacob Riis, Jacob Riis Park, materials analysis, recreation, Structures