Elmhurst Park is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

located in Elmhurst,

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The site was formerly home to the Elmhurst gas tanks (officially the Newtown Holder Station), a pair of large

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

storage gasometers that were tall. The area is bordered on the south by 57th Avenue and the Long Island Expressway, on the north by Grand Avenue, on the west by the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

-operated Fremont Secondary, and on the east by 80th Street. The park is owned and operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Gas tanks

Built between 1910 and 1921, the gas tanks were built to hold gas. Until the 1960s, the gas tanks had been maintained by an inspector using a rowboat. Due to the increasing prevalence of much more compact

gas cylinder A gas cylinder is a pressure vessel for storage and containment of gases at above atmospheric pressure. Gas storage cylinders may also be called ''bottles''. Inside the cylinder the stored contents may be in a state of compressed gas, vapor ov ...

s, Brooklyn Union Gas began dismantling the gas tanks in 1996. Because the Long Island Expressway frequently became congested in that area, "backup at the Elmhurst Gas Tanks" became a familiar phrase in radio traffic reporting. Having been literal rather than legal landmarks, the two huge gas holders were completely removed by 2001.

Park

Construction on the $20 million park, spearheaded by former Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

, started in 2007. On May 24, 2011, the Elmhurst Park was opened on the former site of the gas tanks. The park contained state-of-the-art facilities including benches, lighting, lawns, and jogging paths, in addition to a

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

and more than 620 trees. The park's bathrooms were delayed greatly, however. Having opened in September 2012, the restroom facilities were stylish and spacious, although highly controversial; they drew wide criticism due to their $2.3 million cost. The Queens Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a $2.85 million memorial to

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

veterans, at the northeastern corner of Elmhurst Park, was announced in June 2017. Although planning and fundraising started in the mid-2000s, construction started in December 2018. The memorial was dedicated the following December. The semicircular memorial features the names of 371 Queens residents who died while fighting in the war.

References

External links

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation: Elmhurst Park
{{Protected areas of New York City Maspeth, Queens Buildings and structures in Queens, New York Parks in Queens, New York Elmhurst, Queens category:Industrial buildings and structures in New York City Grand Street and Grand Avenue