Libra Triangle is a public green space located in the neighborhood of
Elmhurst in
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
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* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
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* ...
, at the intersection of
Broadway and Justice Avenue. Prior to its consolidation with
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 ...
in 1898, Elmhurst was known as the town of Newtown. Its center of local government was at the site of this traffic triangle.
In 1803, Newtown Town Hall was built on this site and expanded with into a courthouse in 1849. After Newtown became a City neighborhood and renamed Elmhurst, the former town seat served as a municipal courthouse and as a police station house until 1940, when the 110th Precinct received a new building on 43rd Avenue. Following Newtown Town Hall’s demolition in 1966, Justice Avenue was widened with a traffic triangle at
Broadway.
[Seyfried, Vincent “''Elmhurst: From Town Seat to Mega-Suburb''” 1995]
The park was named Libra Triangle by Commissioner
Henry J. Stern in recognition of its history and as a
pun
A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...
on its intersection with Justice Avenue.
References
External links
Libra Triangle—
New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
{{Coord, 40.737742, -73.877002, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title
Parks in Queens, New York