By Bill Parry
The long-neglected Diving Pool in Astoria Park will undergo reconstruction next spring and be transformed into a public music and arts amphitheater, according to the city Parks Department. The 32-foot Arte Moderne diving platform that towers over the largest public swimming pool in the city was closed in the early ‘80s and sat deteriorating ever since with plant life growing in stagnant water at the bottom.
“The Astoria Park Diving Pool Amphitheater project is moving forward,” Parks spokeswoman Meghan Lalor said. “We are currently in the procurement process. We expect to begin construction in spring 2016. The project is funded with over $5 million from the City Council.”
Once known as The Olympic High Dive as part of the Astoria Pool when it opened in the summer of 1936, it hosted the 1936 and 1964 U.S. Olympic diving trials. It is part of a complex built by Robert Moses, the largest of 11 New Deal swimming pools that were constructed as part of the Depression-era Works Progress Administration.
The park’s main pool remains the city’s largest, drawing 100,000 visitors every summer. Construction is expected to be completed within 18 months and when finished the 37,000-square-foot performance space will seat 550 people.
“We look forward to completing the performance space project, which will address some maintenance issues and will also honor the history of this important site,” Lalor said.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
