Orchard Beach is an artificial beach located in the eastern section of Pelham Bay Park, in the Northeast Bronx. It was constructed by New York City between 1935 and 1937, and is the only public beach in the Bronx. The beach is shaped like a crescent, approximately 400 feet wide and a mile long, and was built on the other side of Pelham Bay, which connects Hunter Island and Rodman's Neck. The bathhouse is a curved two-story structure that has concrete colonnades, adorned with blue terracotta tiles.
It was designed in a classic modern style, with materials as affordable as concrete, brick and limestone, along with tiles and terrazzo. The beach project involved filling approximately 110 acres (45 ha) of LeRoy and Pelham Bays with landfills, followed by a total of 4,000,000 cubic yards (3,100,000 m) of sand brought on barges from Sandy Hook (New Jersey) and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. Robert Moses, responsible for both development and parks commissioner from 1934 to 1960, was successful for the first time at Jones Beach on Long Island. He devised plans for a new recreational area in Orchard Beach after seeing the popularity of the Hunter Island campground. The Moses' design theme influenced the decorative elements that were later used in Riis Park, Rockaway and Orchard Beach, among other beaches in the city. To make the beach longer and have a more perfect crescent shape, Moses decided that Hunter Island and the Twin Islands should be connected to Rodman's Neck, covering most of LeRoy Bay, located west of Hunter Island.
Public works such as the Belt Parkway and the Marine Parkway Bridge improved access to the beach for both private vehicles and buses. A second renovation of Orchard Beach began in 1995, with a new sand-filling project to replace the sand that had been lost since the last project of its kind in 1964. The terraced area that overlooks the Long Island Strait is home to food outlets and shops. There are plenty of these in Orchard Beach and also in hundreds of parks and play areas throughout New York City. At the center of the mile-long crescent-shaped beach are colossal bathing pavilions that evoke Paris's Trocadero. The ground floor of each pavilion is at beach level, while the second floor is on the same level as the elevated entrance plaza. The long waterfront is paved with hexagonal blocks.
It is bordered with iron railings, benches and portholes with a nautical motif. The square is concave and a large terrace is set against the curved colonnades of the bathhouse. The central terraces on the upper level offer views of the waters of Long Island Sound, sailboats, and flying seagulls. Looking to the west, on the upper level, while standing on the floor design shaped like a pink compass, you can see the tall buildings of Co-op City. During its peak season in 1927, Rockaway's population increased from 70,000 to 250,000 people. New boardwalks were built on South and Midland beaches in Staten Island, Coney Island, and in Rockaway and Jacob Riis parks.
Although this measure disappointed many inhabitants of bungalows at that time, in 1930s they were removed to create a spacious environment at Orchard Beach with well-maintained flower beds next to its parking field. To this day it remains one of New York City's most popular beaches.
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