Betsy Head Park Comfort Station
Brooklyn, NY
The original Betsy Head Park, built in 1915, included a rest pavilion, wading pool, playground, school farm garden, bath building, field house, running track, tennis courts, and the city’s first outdoor swimming pool. It was one of the most complete and popular facilities of its time, embodying all the ideas current in recreation. In 1936 the Works Progress Administration added an Olympic-sized swimming pool housed in an Art Moderne style bathhouse, one of eleven built in New York City during that time.
In 2016, New York City invested approximately $30 million in transformative capital improvements at Betsy Head Park. LSA, as Preservation Architect to Abel Bainnson Butz, contributed to the Master Plan of the Park, documenting the history of the Park and performing a feasibility study of the Pool and Bathhouse. Subsequently, LSA undertook the exterior restoration and interior renovation of the 800 square foot Comfort Station and a small Utility Building. The goal was to provide an inviting functional comfort station with improved circulation, safety, security, and accessibility. Construction was completed in 2021.