New Deal Washington Square - Photo #47 - Passannante Ball Field

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passannanteballfield1
Passannante Ball Field on the northeast corner of Houston Street and 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas): "This site was acquired by the City of New York for the construction of the Independent Subway. In May 1934 the Board of Transportation granted NYC Parks permission to develop four parcels on West Houston Street for playground purposes. The northeastern parcel was one of thirty-eight new playgrounds added to the NYC Parks system during the first four months of Robert Moses's twenty-six year tenure as Parks Commissioner. It opened on September 14, 1934."[1] Originally this site was ferred to simply as the West Houston Street playground. Its lack of landscaping allowed the whole area to be used for play[3].
References
  1. William F. Passannante Ballfield, NYC Parks Department website (accessed 23 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. Article does not mention federal funding; see next reference to find out how we know it it was built with federal assistance.
  4. New Deal Assistance in NYC Parks Department Projects, 1934-43, which explains how we know this park was a New Deal project.