The current Orchard Beach recreational area was created through the efforts of Robert Moses in 1934, and was built along with the Split Rock golf course.
Fiorello La Guardia had become the mayor of New York City and named Moses as the city's Parks Commissioner.
Immediately after his position was announced, Moses ordered engineers to inventory every park in the city to see what needed renovating.
He devised plans for a new Orchard Beach recreation area after he saw the popularity of the Hunter Island campsite.
At the time, the beach was a narrow sand bar connecting Hunter Island and Rodman's Neck.
There was a retaining wall behind the sand bar, and breakwaters allowed water from the Long Island Sound to pass through the sand bar.
The retaining wall frequently flooded at high tide, which made the sand bar effectively unusable most of the time.
There were approximately 600 families using the bungalows near the sand bar, as well as 30-foot-high (9.1 m) bathhouses made of granite pavers.

On February 28, 1934, Moses announced a plan for an upgraded beach at Pelham Bay, which had been inspired by the design of Jones Beach on Long Island.
The beach would be reconstructed through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under the 1930s New Deal program, along with another project to construct the nearby Pelham Bay Golf Course.
 Moses canceled 625 camping leases in March 1934 so the beach could be built on the land.
Most of the campers were connected to the Tammany Hall political structure that had ruled the city at one point.
Campers protested to the mayor, but to no avail.
Campers subsequently filed a lawsuit against the city, which concerned Moses's right to cancel the leases.
The courts ruled in favor of the city in May 1934, and the site was cleared of campers in June.

The beach was designed by Gilmore David Clarke and Aymar Embury II.
To make the beach longer and more perfectly crescent-shaped, Moses decided that Hunter Island and the Twin Islands be connected to Rodman's Neck by filling in most of LeRoy's Bay, located west of Hunter Island.
The deteriorated Hunter Mansion was demolished with the construction of the beach.
Embury also designed a bathhouse pavilion for Orchard Beach.

The beach project involved filling in approximately 110 acres (45 ha) of LeRoy's and Pelham Bays with landfill, followed by a total of 4,000,000 cubic yards (3,100,000 m³) of sand brought by barge from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.
Moses had originally wanted to use sand for the new land, but thought that waste from the New York City Department of Sanitation would be cheaper to use, so the material of choice was switched to landfill.
Work on placing the fill began in early 1935, but officials opposed the use of garbage to fill in the land.
The landfill was placed among Rodman's Neck, the Twin Islands, and Hunter Island.
After the garbage began washing onto the beach through the as-yet-incomplete seawall, work on the filling operation was halted.
The board allocated $500,000 (equivalent to $9,300,000 in 2019) for 1,700,000 cubic yards (1,300,000 m³) of sand, and the rest of the land reclamation project was done using sand from Sandy Hook and the Rockaways.
The sand-filling operations officially began in April 1936.
Two seawalls were built: one made of boulders on the east side of the fill facing Pelham Bay, and a smaller wall on the west side facing LeRoy's Bay, now a lagoon.
The fill was then landscaped with flowers, shrubs, and various genera of trees, while the naturally planted chestnut, oak, hickory, black locust, and black cherry trees on either side of the fill were kept as is.

The beach was dedicated in July 1936 despite only being partially complete.
The dedication attracted an estimated 18,000 beach-goers.
Orchard Beach was set to open along with the upgraded Jacob Riis Park in Queens on June 19, 1937, but the openings were pushed back due to unfinished work.
Both beaches were opened on June 25, 1937, and the bathhouse pavilion at Pelham Bay Park also opened that year.
Orchard Beach was completed in 1938.
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The current Orchard Beach recreational area was created through the efforts of Robert Moses in 1934, and was built along with the Split Rock golf course. Fiorello La Guardia had become the mayor of New York City and named Moses as the city's Parks Commissioner. Immediately after his position was announced, Moses ordered engineers to inventory every park in the city to see what needed renovating. He devised plans for a new Orchard Beach recreation area after he saw the popularity of the Hunter Island campsite. At the time, the beach was a narrow sand bar connecting Hunter Island and Rodman's Neck. There was a retaining wall behind the sand bar, and breakwaters allowed water from the Long Island Sound to pass through the sand bar. The retaining wall frequently flooded at high tide, which made the sand bar effectively unusable most of the time. There were approximately 600 families using the bungalows near the sand bar, as well as 30-foot-high (9.1 m) bathhouses made of granite pavers.
On February 28, 1934, Moses announced a plan for an upgraded beach at Pelham Bay, which had been inspired by the design of Jones Beach on Long Island. The beach would be reconstructed through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under the 1930s New Deal program, along with another project to construct the nearby Pelham Bay Golf Course.  Moses canceled 625 camping leases in March 1934 so the beach could be built on the land. Most of the campers were connected to the Tammany Hall political structure that had ruled the city at one point. Campers protested to the mayor, but to no avail. Campers subsequently filed a lawsuit against the city, which concerned Moses's right to cancel the leases. The courts ruled in favor of the city in May 1934, and the site was cleared of campers in June.
The beach was designed by Gilmore David Clarke and Aymar Embury II. To make the beach longer and more perfectly crescent-shaped, Moses decided that Hunter Island and the Twin Islands be connected to Rodman's Neck by filling in most of LeRoy's Bay, located west of Hunter Island. The deteriorated Hunter Mansion was demolished with the construction of the beach. Embury also designed a bathhouse pavilion for Orchard Beach.
The beach project involved filling in approximately 110 acres (45 ha) of LeRoy's and Pelham Bays with landfill, followed by a total of 4,000,000 cubic yards (3,100,000 m³) of sand brought by barge from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. Moses had originally wanted to use sand for the new land, but thought that waste from the New York City Department of Sanitation would be cheaper to use, so the material of choice was switched to landfill. Work on placing the fill began in early 1935, but officials opposed the use of garbage to fill in the land. The landfill was placed among Rodman's Neck, the Twin Islands, and Hunter Island. After the garbage began washing onto the beach through the as-yet-incomplete seawall, work on the filling operation was halted. The board allocated $500,000 (equivalent to $9,300,000 in 2019) for 1,700,000 cubic yards (1,300,000 m³) of sand, and the rest of the land reclamation project was done using sand from Sandy Hook and the Rockaways. The sand-filling operations officially began in April 1936. Two seawalls were built: one made of boulders on the east side of the fill facing Pelham Bay, and a smaller wall on the west side facing LeRoy's Bay, now a lagoon. The fill was then landscaped with flowers, shrubs, and various genera of trees, while the naturally planted chestnut, oak, hickory, black locust, and black cherry trees on either side of the fill were kept as is.
The beach was dedicated in July 1936 despite only being partially complete. The dedication attracted an estimated 18,000 beach-goers. Orchard Beach was set to open along with the upgraded Jacob Riis Park in Queens on June 19, 1937, but the openings were pushed back due to unfinished work. Both beaches were opened on June 25, 1937, and the bathhouse pavilion at Pelham Bay Park also opened that year. Orchard Beach was completed in 1938. L
Orchard Beach (Bronx)