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The historic bathhouse at Jacob Riis Park has aged so much that it could have been eligible for Social Security benefits.
However, after being boarded up and left to face the elements for 54 years, this iconic “People’s Beach” site is set for a revival, thanks to an extensive $88 million renovation.
Located in the Rockaways, the once-neglected Jacob Riis Park Bathhouse has concluded a comprehensive restoration. The 1930s-era landmark has been transformed into a vibrant waterfront destination now called “The Rockaway Ocean Club.”
Back in 1932, the bathhouse was New York’s premier summer hotspot, according to Secret NYC. It was a vast seaside retreat where thousands of beach lovers would frequent changing rooms, dance to orchestras, and forgo sunscreen altogether.
During its heyday, the venue accommodated such large crowds that today’s beach gatherings would seem like intimate, private affairs by comparison.
Then came the long fade-out: by 1972, the doors were locked, the lights went out, and the building was left to weather hurricanes, salt air, and the occasional lifeguard office cameo.
Now, after a painstaking restoration led in part by NYC Parks and private partners, the bathhouse has been rebuilt to thread the needle between historic preservation and “please don’t flood immediately.”
The revived complex includes a redesigned boardwalk lined with food and drink options — from coffee and juice to pizza, gelato, and beach-day essentials you forgot in your tote bag (sunblock, towels, and regret prevention, presumably).
There’s also a central courtyard built for maximum summer energy, plus plans for a rooftop restaurant with sweeping ocean views.
Even more ambitious: a future 28-room boutique hotel, meaning New Yorkers may soon be able to stay overnight without leaving sand in an Uber.
While much of the restored space remains open to all, part of the project introduces a members-only beach club — a kind of “intergenerational country club,” managed by operators with ties to the Soho House universe, including Soho House & Co.
Expect private lounges, ocean views, and a 162-person pool — because apparently the ocean itself was not exclusive enough.
Memberships reportedly range from roughly $1,000 for local peninsula residents to $3,500 for families from further afield, which has already sparked the usual New York mix of eyebrow raises, group chats, and think pieces in waiting.
Select boardwalk vendors and the central courtyard are expected to open over Fourth of July weekend, with additional features rolling out in phases after that.
While Riis is getting its long-overdue seaside glow-up, it’s not the only vintage New York landmark staging a dramatic comeback.
The New York State Pavilion, the space-age relic of the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, is also in the middle of a long-awaited revival after decades of rust, neglect and pigeon occupation.
Nicknamed the “Tent of Tomorrow,” the Queens icon is hard to miss: a giant elliptical crown flanked by three Jetsons-style towers that still shoot 226 feet into the sky as a mid-century fever dream on permanent replay.
The city’s Parks Department has signed off on a $56.8 million stabilization project to rescue the crumbling concrete, steel and towers, with guided tours expected as soon as late 2026.
It briefly reinvented itself as a roller rink and concert venue — swapping futurism for disco balls and live guitars — before its massive suspension roof was deemed unsafe and torn down in 1976.
A turning point came in 2008, when it was added to the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places and saved from demolition.
Phase one of restoration wrapped last year, repairing cracked concrete, replacing suspension cables and stabilizing the towers.
The next phase could eventually reopen the observation decks — letting New Yorkers climb back into the retro-future skyline, this time without the rust risk.