Source: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
A recreation center that has served generations of Queens residents is welcoming people back after a $25.9 million overhaul. New York City reopened Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center in Rego Park on October 9 following a top-to-bottom reconstruction. The project upgraded fitness areas, restrooms, entrances, safety systems and accessibility while preserving a building whose history stretches back to 1939. Now, 87 years after Lost Battalion Hall was built, the reconstruction gives the historic Queens building another chapter, keeping its original identity while updating it for residents who use the center for basketball, fitness and community activities.
The reconstruction touched almost every part of Lost Battalion Hall. Lost Battalion Hall now has accessible restrooms on every floor and wider, safer routes through the facility. Lost Battalion Hall has an unusual place in New York sports history.
The building also became part of the basketball culture of Queens and helped nurture local players, including Queens native and former NBA player Kenny “The Jet” Smith.The hall is also home to one of the last surviving Works Progress Administration murals on New York City Parks property. The reopening gives the neighborhood back an indoor recreation space with a long connection to New York’s sporting and military history. The weightlifting area, spin room and fitness room were refurbished and fitted with new equipment. Lockers and storage areas were upgraded, while the basketball court received a fresh coat of paint. The entrance and lobby were also redesigned, giving visitors a more modern way into the building while retaining its role as a community recreation center. The work was aimed at making the facility safer, easier to navigate and more comfortable throughout the year. Doors were added at the front entrance, stairways near the entrance were relocated and enclosed, and existing staircases were rebuilt. A new staircase was also added on the east side. Restrooms on the first and second floors were redesigned with accessible stalls and fixtures. A former storage room was converted into additional accessible restrooms, while bathrooms that were too small for wheelchair access were turned into changing rooms. These changes are particularly significant for an older public building that was designed decades before modern accessibility standards. During the 1960s, the New York Knicks used the recreation center as an auxiliary practice facility. The mural reflects the building’s original connection to military veterans.