Orchard Beach NY
1945
Mahala family photos


left to right
Aunt Louise
Bernie Praskac (Mahala cousin)
George "Sonny" Vavro
JoAnne Privuznak Lynch (our Mom)
Michael Privuznak
Lizzie Mahala Vavro

Orchard Beach is in the eastern section of Pelham Bay Park in the northeastern Bronx and is the Bronx's only public beach. An icon of the Bronx, Orchard Beach is sometimes called the Bronx Riviera or Hood Beach. The 1.1-mile-long (1.8 km), 115-acre (47 ha) beach faces the Long Island Sound and is laid out in a crescent shape with a width of 200 feet (61 m) during high tide. The modern beach was designed by Aymar Embury II, working with consulting landscape architects Gilmore David Clarke and Michael Rapuano.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchard_Beach_(Bronx)

The New York City government acquired the land for Pelham Bay Park in 1887, and the park was officially established in 1888. In early 1902, in order to accommodate vacationers, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation removed two former houses in Pelham Bay Park and used the remaining wood to build free bathhouses, which were used by about 700 bathers per day during that summer. Around 1903, the nearby Hunter Island became a popular summer vacation destination.