Camp Vacamas, started in 1924, is a sleepaway camp originally located Upstate in the Catskills, in Kingston, N.Y. Founded by several Jewish organizations including The Forward, the name is an acronym of the East Side Vacation Camp Association. The camp is now located in West Milford, N.J. and is still called Camp Vacamas.

Astoria Pool, ca. 1940. Astoria Pool is the largest of the 11 public pools opened in the summer of 1936 under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration and the planning of Robert Moses (who was an avid swimmer). The pool structures, including the diving towers, fountains, and the bathing pavilion are all of a subtle Art Moderne style. The pool opened July 2, 1936 and two days later hosted the Olympic Trials for the U.S. Swim and Diving Teams who soon there after attended the Olympics in Berlin. The trials would return to the pool in 1952 and 1964. In both cases the two fountains located on the east end of the pool were lit as Olympic torches through the events. Today the pool continues to serve the local neighborhood during the summer months. The diving pool was closed in the 1970s and has been deteriorating since then. In 2012 renderings were release for the conversation of the diving pool into a performance venue but as of 2017 no such project has commenced.

Astoria Pool, ca. 1940.

Astoria Pool Pavilion, 1937.

Astoria Pool, 1937.

The 1930s were an important moment in history of recreation in New York City. In the early 1930s the Department of Parks came under the control of Robert Moses, who had very specific goals regarding citywide access to recreation facilities year-round. Moses employed the at-the-ready manpower of the New Deal's Works Progress Administration to create a spate of new, modern, and large-scale recreational facilities. This included the construction of 11 neighborhood Olympic sized pools. The pools all opened over a few weeks during the summer of 1936. The pools and accompanying play centers were constructed of inexpensive materials but featured advanced design and technology in filtration, chlorination, and heating systems and underwater lighting. Most were rendered in sleek Art Moderne styles. Each had a wading pool, lap pool, and diving pool and could accommodate thousands of swimmers at a time. In the non-summer months both the pools and the play centers were converted for paddle tennis, shuffleboard, volleyball, basketball, handball, roller skating rinks, and dance classes. These facilities in total had a capacity for nearly 50,000 people at the same time. They changed the way New York kids spent their summers. In a 1934 press release announcing the pools Moses said, “It is no exaggeration to say that the health, happiness, efficiency and orderliness of a large number of the city's residents, especially in the summer months, are tremendously affected by the presence or absence of adequate swimming and bathing facilities.”