Flushing Meadows–Corona Park (often referred to as Flushing Meadows Park or simply Flushing Meadows or Corona Park) is a public park in the northern part of Queens in New York City, New York, U.S. It is bounded by I-678 (Van Wyck Expressway) on the east, Grand Central Parkway on the west, Flushing Bay on the north, and Union Turnpike on the south. Flushing Meadows–Corona Park is the fourth-largest public park in New York City, with a total area of .
Until the 19th century, the site consisted of wetlands straddling the Flushing River, which traverses the region from north to south. Starting in the first decade of the 20th century, it was used as a dumping ground for ashes, since at the time, the land was so far away from the developed parts of New York City as to be considered almost worthless. New York City Parks commissioner Robert Moses first conceived the idea of developing a large park in Flushing Meadow in the 1920s as part of a system of parks across eastern Queens. Flushing Meadows–Corona Park was created as the site of the 1939 New York World's Fair and also hosted the 1964 New York World's Fair. Following the 1964 fair, the park fell into disrepair, although some improvements have taken place since the 1990s and 2000s.
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park retains much of the layout from the 1939 World's Fair. Its attractions include the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the venue for the US Open tennis tournament; Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets baseball team; Etihad Park, the future home of soccer team New York City FC; the New York Hall of Science; the Queens Museum; the Queens Theatre in the Park; the Queens Zoo; the Unisphere; and the New York State Pavilion. It formerly contained Shea Stadium, demolished in 2009. The Long Island Expressway divides the park into northern and southern sections. The Flushing River continues to run north–south through the park, and two large lakes called Meadow and Willow Lakes take up much of the park's area south of the Long Island Expressway.
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park is owned and maintained by New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as NYC Parks. Private, non-profit groups such as the Flushing Meadows–Corona Park Conservancy and the Alliance for Flushing Meadows–Corona Park provide additional funds, services, and support. The park is at the eastern edge of the area encompassed by Queens Community Board 4.Queens Boards, New York City. Accessed January 26, 2024.
Etymology
The park is named after the nearby neighborhoods of Flushing and Corona, which are separated by the park. The name "Flushing" is a corruption of the port town of Vlissingen in the Netherlands. By the 19th century, the word "flushing" had become associated with "a cleansing by rushing water". "Corona" was added to the name during the 1964 New York World's Fair.
History Early years During at least three glacial periods, including the Wisconsin glaciation around 20,000 years ago, ice sheets advanced south across North America carving moraines, valleys, and hills. In particular, bays and estuaries were formed along the north shore of Long Island. During glaciation, what is now Flushing Meadows Park was formed just north of the terminal moraine that runs across Long Island, which consisted of sand, gravel, clay and boulders.; ; ; The moraine created a drainage divide, with rivers north of the moraine such as the future Flushing River emptying into the north shore. The Flushing Meadows site became a glacial lake, and then a salt marsh after the ice melted. Prior to glaciation, the Flushing River valley was used by the Hudson River to drain southward into the Atlantic Ocean. Through the 19th century, the site continued to consist of wetlands straddling Flushing River. Species inhabiting the site included waterfowl and fiddler crab, with fish using water pools for spawning.
The area was first settled by Algonquian Native Americans of Long Island (referred to erroneously as "Mantinecocks"). They consisted of the "Canarsee" and "Rockaway" Lenape groups, which inhabited coastal wetlands across Queens and Brooklyn. Beginning in 1640, Dutch settlers moved into the area, establishing the town of Newtown to the west of the site (which would become Elmhurst, Corona, and other areas in western Queens), and the town of Flushing to the east. The meadows became known as the Corona Meadows. By 1666, the Native American population had been displaced from the Flushing Meadows site by European settlers, although a deed reserved the right to hunt on the land for the Native Americans. Several wealthy landowners began building farmhouses on the site in the mid-to-late 17th century. The meadows provided numerous natural resources for settlers, including timber, water, fertile soil, and grass and hay for grazing domestic animals. During the American Revolution, a farmhouse on the site of the modern World's Fair Marina was used as a headquarters for British forces.
By the 1800s, primitive roads were established crossing the meadows, running along what are now Northern Boulevard and the Long Island Expressway. Several railroads were also laid through the site, including lines of the Flushing and North Side Railroad (today's LIRR Port Washington Branch and the defunct Whitestone Branch). Shortly after the American Civil War, the meadows became a waterfront resort due to its natural beauty, and affluent New Yorkers constructed homes in the area. British saloon-keeper Harry Hill built the Flushing Bay Hotel and Pavilion on the future marina site.
Filling and use as a dumping ground Around 1907, contractor Michael Degnon, whose firm constructed the Williamsburg Bridge, the Cape Cod Canal, and the Steinway subway tunnel (used by today's ),; purchased large tracts of marsh near Flushing Creek.; At the time, the land was considered "all but worthless". Degnon envisioned using the site to create a large industrial port around Flushing Bay, similar to a terminal he developed in Long Island City.; ; By 1911, Degnon had created a plan along with the United States Department of War and the Queens Topographical Bureau. The plan envisioned widening Flushing River and creating docks for ships, with numerous factories and freight facilities. Meanwhile, the residential areas of Corona were expected to become the primary residence for factory workers.
To create the port, beginning in 1910 Degnon proceeded to fill the land using household coal ash and street sweepings from Brooklyn. Degnon set up two companies of his own, one of which was contracted with the New York City Department of Sanitation. He also contracted the Brooklyn Ash Removal Company, owned by Fishhooks McCarthy, a member of the corrupt Tammany Hall political machine. Residential ash was collected via trolleys of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, and loaded onto freight trains which traveled via the Long Island Rail Road branches, or other trolleys, which hauled the refuse to Corona.; ; ; ; The operation was referred to as a citywide refuse "conveyor belt", while the trains were nicknamed the "Talcum Powder Express" because they often ran uncovered and deposited soot onto the surroundings.; The northern end of the site was filled via now-conventional means, using dirt pumped from Flushing Bay which was being dredged to a lower depth. Material from the bay was extracted by an offshore hydraulic machine, and funneled through a pipe across Northern Boulevard, before being deposited onto the wetlands.; ; The filling for the north meadow was complete in 1916.
The prospect of creating a port was halted in 1917 by material restrictions caused by World War I, and a lack of federal support for the project. Industrial activities in the borough were fulfilled by existing terminals in Long Island City, Maspeth, Flushing, and College Point.; ; Dumping of ash into the meadows continued, however, fueled by the increased use of garbage incinerators in the city. The area became known as the Corona Dump or Corona Ash Dumps.; During nearly 30 years of filling, around 50 million cubic yards of ash and waste were dumped onto the meadows site.; One particular mound of ash rose high and was called "Mount Corona".; ; Other mounds rose high. The average thickness of the ash was .
The dumps drew the ire of local residents, due to strong odors and being deemed unsightly, along with increasing rat infestations in the local neighborhoods.; ; ; Much of the "street sweepings" collected consisted of horse manure from horse-drawn carriages. In addition, many residents simply threw out normal garbage along with the coal ashes.; The meadows were also considered one of the worst breeding grounds for mosquitoes in the city.; The dump was famously characterized as "a valley of ashes" in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.; Fitzgerald meanwhile described the Flushing River, now polluted from the dumps, as "a small foul river". The dumps and garbage trains were accused of facilitating a polio outbreak in Corona in 1916. The Brooklyn Ash Removal Company was brought to court by local residents in 1923 for "violation of the sanitary code" due to the smoke emitted from the dumps. As a minor concession, the company opened the Corona Park Golf and Country Club in 1931, on a tract near Nassau Boulevard (today's Long Island Expressway). When Etihad Park was built for Major League Soccer team New York City FC in 2027, "The Valley of Ashes" became one of the stadium's nicknames because of its proximity to the dump's site.
Park planning and World's Fairs 1939–1940 Fair and aftermath
New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses first conceived the idea of developing a large park in Flushing Meadow in the 1920s. At the time, he envisioned the site to become a "true 'Central Park'", especially with much of city population moving to Queens and Long Island due to urban sprawl. Moses also planned Flushing Meadows to be the westernmost of a chain of parks running across Queens, which would include Kissena Park, Cunningham Park, Alley Pond Park, and Douglaston Park.; In 1929, representatives from surrounding communities created a plan to turn the ash dump into a recreational complex, and presented them to Queens Borough President George U. Harvey.
In 1930, Moses released plans for numerous parks and highways in the city. This included the Grand Central Parkway, the construction of which would require taking land from the ash dumps. One of the provisional projects listed was a "Flushing River Park", along with a "Flushing River Parkway". The Brooklyn Ash Removal Company's contract with the city expired in 1933, and the city took over the company's assets and operations on May 25, 1934. The Brooklyn Ash property occupied around of the site, north of what is now the Long Island Expressway.; The remainder of the meadows still contained natural wildlife. It was frequented by fur trappers, local residents collecting firewood and growing vegetables, and later, squatters during the Great Depression. Areas of the dumps were also used for growing vegetables, with the soil fertilized by the garbage and manure.