Photo taken at Paul's Boat Yard, 560 Minnieford Ave, City Island, Bronx. "Living in the Bronx so close to City Island, my father and uncle took to boating. We belonged to a boat yard called Paul's that had a small beach and dock that people today would call a patio. It was a humble affair and nobody would dream of calling it a yacht club. As air-conditioning was not a thing back then, the boat club offered respite from the heat of the apartments. (The picture is in color because my father was a photographer.)" Photo courtesy of Jennifer Pfaender.

Photo taken at Outside of Washington Baths in Coney Island. "Here’s a picture of my cousin Lois and myself taken around 1956-1957? outside of Washington Baths in Coney Island. I was 8-9 and Lois was 7-8. It was at the end of the day. In the background was a building that housed Shatzkins knishes. It was then the famous Child’s Building My cousins and I had a routine that we followed every Saturday in the summer. My mother and I would take the D train to Coney Island from our East Broadway stop in Manhattan. My cousin Lois, my cousin Marty and my Uncle Hy and Aunt Lily would be coming also on the D train but they lived further uptown near the 2nd Avenue stop. We would meet under the Tilyou Theater on Surf Avenue at around 10. We would then proceed to the baths for a fun filled day consisting of swimming, playing ping pong and shuffleboard and playing on the separate enclose beach area that they had. At a certain time we had lunch in their outdoor dining area. I remember collecting mission soda bottle caps to play skelzy. At the beach area I always played running bases with my Uncle Hy and cousin Marty. In 1956 Marty was only 4. I remember it was a big graduation day when Marty was old enough to shower and go in the steam room with me and my uncle on the men’s side. Late in the day my father Sol would arrive. He worked in the garment center usually 6 days a week. We would meet him outside. In the picture we may have been waiting for him. Then we would have our following eating routine which would consist of knishes at Shatzkins and hot dogs at Nathans. We would sit on the barrels that Nathans had outdoors. We didn’t play any the games that the carnival barkers had but we would go in the bumper cars. By 8 or so we would all go home on the D train but before we did my father would buy the daily news and mirror and I would either read the sports section or the comics. We were all pretty exhausted and we slept soundly those evenings." Photo courtesy of David Bellel

Photo taken at Coney Island. Courtesy of Eliza Rinn.

Photo taken at Washington Square Park "Washington Square Park circa 1958 I think. That is me." Photo courtesy of Robyn Roth-Moise

Photo taken at Fire Island "Fire Island with my mom putting sunscreen on me and family friend." Photo courtesy of Robyn Roth-Moise

Photo taken in Maspeth. "My dad, Ralph Mrowka’s Volkswagen loaded up with longboards for a trip to the beach. Taken in Maspeth queens circa 1960’s." Photo courtesy of Tara Mrowka.

Photo taken at Orchard Beach. "My grandfather, uncle, and father at Orchard Beach, 1938." Photo courtesy of Claudia Keenan.

Photo taken at Coney Island. "Lifeguard Warmup, Coney Island, Brooklyn." Photo courtesy of Ellynn Short.

Photo taken at Coney Island. Courtesy of Katie Godowski.

Photo taken in the Bronx. "Italian mom on a bike in the Bronx. 1948." Photo courtesy of M Prlain.

Photo taken at Henry and Market Streets under the Manhattan Bridge. "Cooling off on a hot July day - NYC style!" Photo courtesy of Henry Chu

Photo taken at Central Park. "Here's a photo of my grandmother (Helen Wangerman Walsh) circa 1930 or late 1920s, keeping cool in a straw hat, shorts & halter top in Central Park." Photo courtesy of Melissa McTague.

Photo taken at Coney Island. "Summer Love Love is in the Air." Photo courtesy of Maya Zeleny.

Photo taken at Coney Island. "Coney Island about 1943. Uncles in the Navy with girlfriends." Photo courtesy of M Prlain.

Photo taken at Rockaway Beach. "My grandma Helen Madej Mrowka (right) with a friend or relative relaxing in the shade under the boardwalk of the rockaways. Most likely taken in 1950’s." Photo courtesy of Tara Mrowka.

Shade makes all the difference on a hot summer day. New Yorkers have long gathered under shade trees in parks and walked on the shady side of the street to beat the heat. Shade can also be portable. A parasol or a wide-brimmed hat make time spent in the sun more tolerable. A sun canopy or umbrella makes a trip to the beach safer and cooler. However it can be found, shade provides the relief necessary for New Yorkers in the summertime.

Photo taken at Rockaway Beach. Courtesy of Kitty Katz.

Hot weather changes how New Yorkers behave, inspiring people to search for new ways to cool off in the summertime. As one journalist observed during a 1925 hot spell, “the only relief” in the city “was in water, wherever it could be found.” Water—whether it’s the fountains, fire hydrants, rivers, outer-borough beaches, public baths (both floating and on land), or public pools—could transform a sizzling summer day into a cool afternoon. Source: “Nation’s Death List 300,” New York Times, June 7, 1925, 1.

Photo taken at Central Park. "My grandmother (Helen Wangerman Walsh) & a friend in breezy summer dresses at Central Park, early 1930s--probably a Sunday after going to church, otherwise they wouldn't have worn dresses & dress shoes to the park. I love this photo because it shows one of the park's great rock formations." Photo courtesy of Melissa McTague.

Photo taken at Century Playground. "Century Playground in Brighton Beach, aka the Seal Park." Photo courtesy of Eliza Rinn.

Photo taken at Sheepshead Bay. "Playing chess on the street." Photo courtesy of Harold Cohen.

A group of children relax on the steps of the pool at Jackie Robinson Park, Harlem.

New Yorkers have long sought shade in parks like this one on Eastern Parkway. Felix Adler, professor and social reformer, wrote of his youth in the 19th-century city: “I can remember, how keenly, as a boy, I delighted in the mere sight of a few shade trees, with their faint suggestion of woods and fields, and how tolerable, on hot summer days, they seemed to make the ugly streets in this city in which they stood.”

An aerial view of the Fourth of July crowd on Coney Island boardwalk and beach. The pavilion is visible in the background and portions of commercial buildings can be seen on the far left.

A view eastward across a section of Mulally Park Pool, which is located between East 165th and East 164th Street. Also shown is the elevated structure of the Woodlawn subway line on River Avenue. The vantage point is the Park Plaza Building on the west side of Jerome Avenue (1936).

New Yorkers have long sought shade on city streets, in parks, and at the beach. The use of shade equipment, such as umbrellas, was particularly important when it came to a day at the beach. In 1880, the *New York Times* reported, “The bathers were engaged in their sports in the water all day long...little boys and girls shed their shoes and stockings and paddled along the beach, apparently insensible to the heat, while their parents strode along by their side...carrying huge umbrellas.” In the heatwave of 1905, record-breaking crowds of over 300,000 people visited Coney Island. It was so hot that one woman lacking shade was overcome by the heat on the beach, according to reporters.

Hendrix Street Day Nursery. Photo caption reads, "View of Stephen Hoffman, 7, of 184 E. 95th St., Sol Holland, 7, of 328 E. 91st St., and Rochelle Rubin, 7, of 474 Warwick St. playing in wading pool at Hendrix Street Day Nursery located at 394 Hendrix Street. Sol is standing under a shower."

Beachgoers enjoy the Coney Island surf.

Swimmers cool off in Colonial Park Pool below Sugar Hill, Harlem.

As this photo reminds us, neighborhoods in Queens such as Woodside were much greener than early 20th century Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn. Dense development, the lack of vegetation, and the unequal distribution of parks across the city left some neighborhoods with few shade trees. New York's Tree Planting Association reported that in the fifteen years following consolidation (1898), the city lost 200,000 trees due to urban development, restricted space and light, crowded root systems, hazardous pollution, and physical damage inflicted by automobiles, carriages, and horses. The *Times* lamented that this left swaths of residential areas two to five square miles “almost wholly without trees.”

Swimmers cool off in the Colonial Park swimming pool, located in Harlem. The park was renamed Jackie Robinson Park in 1978.

Beachgoers of all ages try to beat the heat by finding shade at Coney Island.

A group of friends create a human tower in the swimming pool at Coney Island's Steeplechase Park.

The photograph caption reads: "Keeping cool 'mid autumn leaves--Taking advantage of the still hot October sun [and wading in Prospect Park lake] are Betsy Rossiter of 770 Union St., left, and Harriet Capetanakis of 768 Union St. ..."

An action photograph shows a man being tossed from a blanket, all part of the fun at Coney Island Beach (July 4, 1933).

The caption provided reads, "Reporter Kenneth Johnston broke an egg on the steps of Borough hall in order to fry it. The experiment failed ..."

The provided caption reads: "Keeping cool at the pool--Tony Izzi of 8415 4th Ave. doesn't mind in the least as little cousin, Janice Napoli of 7101 4th Ave., gives him a sudden shower [with pail of water]. They're seen at Steeplechase Pool, Coney Island."

This Weeping Beech tree stood in the Kingsland Homestead until 1998.

Provided caption reads: "Natalio, Esther, Gail, Johnathan and Joseph spend the summer day at Jones Beach. June 21, 1977."

Two men playing chess on beach. A close-up photograph of two men relaxing on Coney Island Beach while playing chess.

A group of children splash in the surf at Manhattan Beach.

City fountains were popular spots for cooling off, especially among youngsters. In July 1925, as “the sun rose intolerantly over a baked and soaked city,” children jumped into the fountain in City Hall Park. Newspaper Row, the center of the newspaper industry, faced the park, and newsboys had set their sights on its fountain. Looking on with a grin, Mayor John F. Hylan told city police to let the children splash. Mopping his sweaty brow, Hylan remarked, “That cool water looks good to me. I wish I could join them myself!”

William Gray Hassler in the water at Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, undated (ca. July 1917).

A young man and young woman find a creative way to relax with one another on Coney Island Beach.

Swimmers enjoy Harlem's Colonial Hill Pool with Sugar Hill in the background.

Swimmers and spectators scan the crowd at Betsy Head Memorial Playground, located at Thomas S. Boyland Street and Blake Avenue.

New York opened its first two municipal baths, floating pools moored at Manhattan piers, in the summer of 1870. Located near tenement districts where people lacked home baths, the municipal baths were immediately popular. By their second summer in operation, more than 860,000 bathers visited the city’s floating baths to wash and cool off. At the peak of the program, the Department of Public Works oversaw a fleet of nearly a dozen floating baths that hosted millions of visitors each summer.