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Find A Park > Gertrude Ederle Recreation Center

Gertrude Ederle Recreation Center

W. 59 St., W. 60 St., bet. Amsterdam Ave. and W. End Ave.

Manhattan

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This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

This Recreation Center is named in honor of Gertrude Ederle (1905-2003), who was a world-class swimmer and the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

Born to German immigrants, Ederle was raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at 108 Amsterdam Avenue, above her father’s butcher shop. As a girl, her father taught her how to swim at their summer cottage in New Jersey. By her late teens, she was a champion swimmer and a member of the Women’s Swimming Association. Ederle went on to win several medals, including the gold at the Paris 1924 Olympics, and held twenty-nine national and world amateur records by 1925.

On August 6, 1926, Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Departing from Cap Gris Nez, France, she landed on the shores of Kingsdown in Kent, England in 14 hours and 39 minutes.

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Know Before You Go

There are currently 2 service interruptions affecting access within this park.

Recreation CentersGertrude Ederle Recreation Center

New York City’s recreation centers and indoor pools remain closed to the general public until further notice to provide COVID-19 related services as well as free childcare options for children who are scheduled for blended learning. To learn more or to apply for the childcare program, please visit the New York City Department of Education’s Learning Bridges program page.

Once we reopen, NYC Parks will extend all existing recreation center memberships to cover the length of time we are closed to the general public.


Recreation CentersGertrude Ederle Recreation Center

New York City’s recreation centers and indoor pools remain closed to the general public until further notice to provide COVID-19 related services as well as free childcare options for children who are scheduled for blended learning. To learn more or to apply for the childcare program, please visit the New York City Department of Education’s Learning Bridges program page.

Once we reopen, NYC Parks will extend all existing recreation center memberships to cover the length of time we are closed to the general public.


Anticipated Completion: Spring 2020

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