Astoria Park, on the west shore of Queens, extends from south of the Triborough Bridge to north of the Hell Gate Bridge. The history of the park begins in October 1913, when the park was called the William J. Garner Park. In December of that year, it was renamed to Astoria Park. At the beginning of the park’s history, the surrounding Astoria area was occupied by mostly Irish and Italian immigrants. After the boom of Greek immigrants in the 1960s, Astoria park became a cultural center for Greek and Italian people.

The new facility was equipped with two playgrounds, six tennis courts, an 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 World War I. Major improvements in Astoria Park were undertaken by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and the Works Progress Administration during the summer of 1936. The stunning pool complex opened on July 4 of that year and hosted the swimming and diving trials for the U.S. Olympic Teams in 1936 and 1964.

The 56-acre park was expanded twice. Parks acquired  two pieces of land: 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, which included fixing the parks facilities (playgrounds, park fields, drainage systems), installing new equipment (swings, fountains, game tables), and repaving all the roads and walkways. The warm and friendly setting of Astoria Park remains rich in history and symbolic of the constantly changing culture of New York City.

Astoria park has a wide variety of different facilities. Facilities such as bathrooms, water fountains, and playgrounds are standard for all parks. Astoria park, however, also has skate parks, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, running tracks, spray showers, fitness equipment, tennis and bocce courts, and dog runs.

Sources:

City of New York Parks and Restoration: http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/AstoriaPark/history