Huge Improvement Being Made to Astoria Park

We had to bite our tongue for 24-hours in anticipation of this morning's surprise announcement that the abandoned diving pool in Astoria Park will be converted into an outdoor performance stage! Local organizations such as the Astoria Performing Arts Center, the Astoria Symphony Orchestra, and Astoria Music & Arts will likely be some of the first to call the stage home.

The high dive hasn't been used for years and has become quite the eyesore. Back in the olden days, the high dive (and the main pool) was used for Olympic trials. There are also some amazing (disturbing) old photos of circus animals jumping from the high dive.

We've talked with Council Member Vallone about this possibility for years and are FREAKING THRILLED that it's become a reality. Here's the original post from a year and a half ago where we brainstormed ideas.

UPDATE (12:15p): Just got off the phone with Taryn Sacramone, Executive Director of the Astoria Performing Arts Center. She tells me Council Member Vallone is funding this project using $1,000,000 from his discretionary funding budget. Groundbreaking is set for 2012 with a completion estimated in Summer 2013. The new amphitheatre will have 1,500 seats.

Tags: arts, astoria park, concert, music, performance, performing, pool, theatre, vallone

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Comment by pat merino on March 9, 2012 at 11:09am: This NYT article caught my eye last week and thought it may be worth sharing.....

Comment by Ben on January 4, 2012 at 10:34pm: That diving pool in Astoria Park was killing the beauty

Comment by Flikchik on December 9, 2011 at 11:07am: The improvement is needed but I have some sentimental feelings about that pool. My Dad grew up in Astoria and used to dive off those diving boards.

Comment by Threemoons on December 7, 2011 at 6:17pm: I hope to G-d this means that they will improve the public restrooms in the park also. I love taking a book out and reading on the lawn, but the only options for hitting the head are a) the inevitabley disgusting ones by the playground, and also then having to endure stinkeye from the parents (LADY, I am NOT a pedophile, I need to take a pee, OK?) or in the summer when the pool is open, the absolutely unspeakably horrible toilets in the locker rooms (no soap in the sinks, usually no paper in the stalls, wet, disgusting, filthy seats). In the summer once after an event of some sort there were also 4 extra portasans--all literally filled past the level of the seat with dirty diapers, picnic refuse, etc. I called 311 it was so bad; you couldn't stand within 100' of them. It was nasty.