Linden Park (Queens)

Linden Park, officially known as Park of the Americas, is located in the center of the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York. It has stood out as a green square block on maps long before Corona was an urban neighborhood, or a suburb of the city, but when the village of West Flushing was first mapped out in 1853.

History

The village was home to the National Racecourse, after which nearby National Street was named. The Long Island Rail Road station in West Flushing increased the local population, and by 1872 the residents demanded a named that would differentiate their village from Flushing. The name Corona, Latin for "crown" was chosen as the "crown" of all the towns on Long Island. The proud residents of Corona often held events in this park, such as summer band concerts. In 1893, a school was built across the street from the park, which was later designated as P.S.16. At the time of New York City consolidation, in 1898, Corona’s population was mostly German, Italian, and Jewish, with a small black community. The event that turned this suburb into an urban neighborhood was the extension (perhaps construction) of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company's Flushing Line (now the 7 <7> trains) to Corona Plaza on April 21, 1917. To commemorate this event, local dignitaries and residents held a celebration that night in Linden Park with a concert.

The park’s popular landmark and namesake was the natural, spring-fed Linden Lake, which was originally a watering hole for the village livestock. As the population grew, ice-skating became a popular winter venue. In 1912, the lake was drained for cleaning, the fish and turtles temporarily moved to other parks. All mud and stones were removed; the lake bottom was paved in concrete, and a fountain was installed in the center of the lake. The restored lake was only two feet deep, to prevent drowning from skating on thin ice. Also that year, a memorial was erected in honor of Hugo E. Kruse, a local resident who was killed in the explosion of the USS Maine (ACR-1) in Havana, Cuba, which triggered the Spanish–American War. In 1917, the onset of World War I overshadowed memories of the Spanish–American War, and today, only a plaque under the park’s flagpole remains to commemorate the American fighters killed in that war, including Kruse.

The growing use of Linden Park resulted in the final draining of Linden Lake in 1947, and replaced with a playground, baseball field, and basketball courts, changing the scene of a village picnic ground into a sports and recreational theme.

After immigration resumed in 1965, the Latin American community greatly increased and eventually formed the majority of Corona’s population, with smaller numbers of Italians, Chinese, and Pakistani residents. The growing influx of people converted small homes into apartments, and revived the shopping districts on Roosevelt Avenue and National Street.

During the city’s financial deficit in the 1970s, vandalism, a flooded baseball field, unsafe playground, and homeless encampments all plagued this historic park. Linden Park was beautifully restored in 1997, with a new playground and exercise equipment, a restored flagpole, and small shrubs planted. In 2004, the baseball field received artificial turf. This square oasis continues to provide a place for sports and rest for the crowded and busy neighborhood of Corona. That year, the city councilman for Corona, Hiram Monserrate, requested to rename Linden Park as Park of the Americas, in recognition of the neighborhood's diversity of Latin American immigrants.

References

• Seyfried, Vincent F. (1986). Corona: From Farmland to City Suburb, 1650–1935. [New York]: Edgian Press.
• Wilkinson, Christina (December 4, 2005). "Corona, Crown of Queens". Forgotten New York. Retrieved August 14, 2015.

External links

• Park of the Americas – New York City Department of Parks & Recreation