This elegant Beaux-Arts structure and four-acre park located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, originally designed by Carrére & Hastings at the turn of the 19th century, has been restored and the park reinvented to suit the current community’s needs and desires.  The park building’s original limestone and brick façade was cleaned while the interior was insulated, clad in marble and provided with a terrazzo floor. The gymnasium now has a new life as a community center with a meeting room, classrooms and a theater/stage.

Large existing trees were retained amid new handball and basketball courts and a playground for young children in the refurbished park. A modern stainless steel pool filtration system was provided to serve the pool, enlarged to Olympic standards, and the adjacent semi-circular training pool. Brick pavers and low brick walls capped in limestone reflect the materials used in the landmarked recreation building. The geometric elements created to define separate activities are arranged along the original axial orientation of the park yet mark the work as something new.