William Francis Deegan

Deegan Rock is located at the junction of East 138th Street, the Major William F. Deegan Expressway, and the Grand Concourse. alt=Deegan Rock East 138th Street, the Major William F. Deegan Expressway, and the Grand Concourse.

William Francis Deegan (December 28, 1882 – April 3, 1932) was an architect, organizer of the American Legion, major in the Army Corps of Engineers, and Democratic political leader in New York City.

Deegan later joined the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a major, where he supervised the construction of military bases in the New York area under the command of General George W. Goethals.

Deegan worked as an architect at a number of distinguished firms, including McKim, Mead & White; Post, Magnicke and Franke; and Starrett and van Vleck.

Legacy At the time of his death, a new road was being built from the Triborough Bridge to the Grand Concourse. This was renamed and expanded in 1956 into the Major Deegan Expressway section of I-87 in the Bronx, which retains his name.