"Throughout the centuries the stunning natural beauty of this location has attracted visitors and settlers. Before the arrival of European colonists, a trail passed by the site, and an Indian village flourished at Pot Cove. Local inhabitants grew maize on the shores, fished in Hell Gate, and drew water from Linden Brook, a small stream that still flows under Astoria Park South. In the mid-1600s the Dutch parceled out this land to various owners, including William Hallet whose grant embraced hundreds of acres. During the American Revolution, several British and Hessian regiments were stationed in the area. On Nov. 25, 1780 the frigate Hussar and its five-million-dollar cargo sank to the bottom of Hell Gate, where despite some removal of cannons, the treasure still remains."
"During the 19th century, fashionable families like the Barclays, Potters, Woolseys, and Hoyts located their country houses on the heights along the shore. Although attempts were made to remove the dangerous rocks in Hell Gate in the 1850s and 1870s, the waters were the site of New York City's worst maritime disaster on June 15, 1904 En route Long Island's North Shore with the congregation of St. Mark's German Lutheran Church on board, the steamer General Slocum caught fire. At least 1,021 passengers out of 1,300 burned to death on the ship or drowned in the turbulent waters of the East River before the ship grounded on North Brother Island."
"As the Queens waterfront succumbed to industry after the Civil War, there emerged strong public sentiment for public access to the East River. In Oct. 1913 the City of New York acquired more than 56 acres of land along the river for a park. It was originally called William J. Gayner Park after the mayor (1910-1913) and later known as East River Park, but the Board of Aldermen officially named it Astoria Park in Dec. 1913. Stephen Halsey, who founded the village of Astoria in 1839, named the area for his friend, fur merchant John Jacob Aster (1763-1848)."
"The new facility was equipped with two playgrounds, six tennis courts, and athletic field, three baseball diamonds, a wading pool, bandstand, comfort station and walks throughout. In 1926 community members gathered to dedicate the Astoria Park Memorial in tribute to the sons of Long Island City who died in WWI. Major improvements in Astoria Park were undertaken by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and the Works Progress Administration during a hot summer in 1936. The stunning pool complex opened on July 4 of that year and hosted the swimming and diving trials for the US Olympic Teams in 1936 and 1964."
"The 56-acre park was expanded twice. Parks acquired a 4.5-acre parcel beneath the Triborough Bridge in 1937 and a 5-acre strip (known as Ralph DeMarco Park) along the East River in 1969. A three-part project renovated the park in the 1980s. Phase one rehabilitated the playground in the park's southern section, the park fields, and the drainage system. Phase two restored the comfort station and installed new play equipment, swings, drinking fountains, and game tables. Phase three focused on restoration of the park's northeast section and included repaving all the roads and walkways, rerouting pedestrian entrances, installing new benches, and planting trees, shrubs, and groundcover. The inviting setting of Astoria Park remains rich in history and symbolic of an ever-changing New York City."
www.NYCgovparks.org/parks/AstoriaPark
Find A Park > Astoria Park > Highlights
Featured Facility
Find out how this playground, built in conjunction with the pool in 1936, got its unique name.
"Throughout the centuries the stunning natural beauty of this location has attracted visitors and settlers. Before the arrival of European colonists, a trail passed by the site, and an Indian village flourished at Pot Cove. Local inhabitants grew maize on the shores, fished in Hell Gate, and drew water from Linden Brook, a small stream that still flows under Astoria Park South. In the mid-1600s the Dutch parceled out this land to various owners, including William Hallet whose grant embraced hundreds of acres. During the American Revolution, several British and Hessian regiments were stationed in the area. On Nov. 25, 1780 the frigate Hussar and its five-million-dollar cargo sank to the bottom of Hell Gate, where despite some removal of cannons, the treasure still remains."
"During the 19th century, fashionable families like the Barclays, Potters, Woolseys, and Hoyts located their country houses on the heights along the shore. Although attempts were made to remove the dangerous rocks in Hell Gate in the 1850s and 1870s, the waters were the site of New York City's worst maritime disaster on June 15, 1904 En route Long Island's North Shore with the congregation of St. Mark's German Lutheran Church on board, the steamer General Slocum caught fire. At least 1,021 passengers out of 1,300 burned to death on the ship or drowned in the turbulent waters of the East River before the ship grounded on North Brother Island."
"As the Queens waterfront succumbed to industry after the Civil War, there emerged strong public sentiment for public access to the East River. In Oct. 1913 the City of New York acquired more than 56 acres of land along the river for a park. It was originally called William J. Gayner Park after the mayor (1910-1913) and later known as East River Park, but the Board of Aldermen officially named it Astoria Park in Dec. 1913. Stephen Halsey, who founded the village of Astoria in 1839, named the area for his friend, fur merchant John Jacob Aster (1763-1848)."
"The new facility was equipped with two playgrounds, six tennis courts, and athletic field, three baseball diamonds, a wading pool, bandstand, comfort station and walks throughout. In 1926 community members gathered to dedicate the Astoria Park Memorial in tribute to the sons of Long Island City who died in WWI. Major improvements in Astoria Park were undertaken by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and the Works Progress Administration during a hot summer in 1936. The stunning pool complex opened on July 4 of that year and hosted the swimming and diving trials for the US Olympic Teams in 1936 and 1964."
"The 56-acre park was expanded twice. Parks acquired a 4.5-acre parcel beneath the Triborough Bridge in 1937 and a 5-acre strip (known as Ralph DeMarco Park) along the East River in 1969. A three-part project renovated the park in the 1980s. Phase one rehabilitated the playground in the park's southern section, the park fields, and the drainage system. Phase two restored the comfort station and installed new play equipment, swings, drinking fountains, and game tables. Phase three focused on restoration of the park's northeast section and included repaving all the roads and walkways, rerouting pedestrian entrances, installing new benches, and planting trees, shrubs, and groundcover. The inviting setting of Astoria Park remains rich in history and symbolic of an ever-changing New York City."
www.NYCgovparks.org/parks/AstoriaPark
Find A Park > Astoria Park > Highlights
Featured Facility
Charybdis Playground
Find out how this playground, built in conjunction with the pool in 1936, got its unique name.
Astoria Park
Charybdis Playground
Due to its proximity to Hell Gate, a turbulent area in the East River, this playground has been named for the monster Charybdis. According to Greek mythology, Charybdis was the daughter of Poseidon, the god of the sea. As a young nymph, she flooded lands to add to her father’s kingdom until Zeus, the supreme ruler of the gods, turned her into a monster.
Charybdis and her partner Scylla are personifications of the violent waters in the Straits of Messina, which separate Sicily from the Italian peninsula. Charybdis was said to dwell under a fig tree on the Sicilian shore and, three times each day, drink from the strait and spit the water back into the strait several hours later, creating perilous whirlpools and terrifying sailors. In The Odyssey, by Homer, the hero survived Charybdis’s wrath by clinging to a tree for hours until she spit out the water and his raft floated to the surface.
Hell Gate earned its reputation as a dangerous spot when the Dutch first explored this area in the 17th century. The channel, formed by faults deep underground, contains some of the deepest water in the New York Harbor. Its hazardous reefs bear quaint names such as “Hen and Chickens,” “Pot Rock,” “Bread & Cheese,” and “Bald Headed Billy.” On November 25, 1780, the frigate Hussar and its $5 million cargo sank to the bottom of Hell Gate, where the treasure still remains. Attempts were made to remove the dangerous rocks of Hell Gate in the 1850s and 1870s. One effort in 1870s, the world’s largest detonation at the time, shook windows as far away as Newark, New Jersey.
The waters were also the site of New York City’s worst maritime disaster. On June 15, 1904, en route to Long Island’s north shore with the mothers and children of St. Mark’s German Lutheran Church on board, the steamer General Slocum caught fire as it approached Hell Gate. At least 1,021 passengers out of 1,300 burned to death on the ship or drowned in the turbulent waters of the East River before the ship grounded on North Brother Island.
Charybdis Playground, situated on the western edge of Astoria Park, was built in conjunction with the 1936 construction of Astoria Pool, under Commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981). Originally known as Astoria Park Lower Playground, Commissioner Stern gave it its present name in 1997. The following year, Council Speaker Peter F. Vallone funded a $400,000 renovation. In 2000, Mr. Vallone sponsored a $381,000 project which featured the reconstruction of the comfort station on its south end. With its striking views of both the Triborough and Hell Gate Bridges, this playground is a magical spot along the East River that serves Astoria’s children.