Corona was a station along the

Port Washington Branch The Port Washington Branch is an electrified two-track rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It branches north from the Main Line at the former Winfield Junction station, just eas ...

of the Long Island Rail Road in the

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

section of

Queens, New York City Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. It was one of two stations built by the

Flushing Railroad Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushin ...

in Corona, this one having been at Grand Avenue (later called National Avenue, now National Street) and 45th Avenue. The station first opened as Fashion Race Course in March 1855,The Long Island Rail Road A Comprehensive History by Vincent F. Seyfried Part Two The Flushing, North Shore & Central Railroad
then renamed West Flushing, once the West Flushing station at 108th Street closed and possibly when the

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

was closed in 1869, and later renamed Corona around June 1872 when the Post Office was opened under the name of Corona. The race pens were located on this street which led directly north to the Fashion Race Course. Service opened on April 2, 1855. The second depot built in September or October 1872 and was burned down on December 9, 1880. The former Corona Park depot from the White Line, abandoned four years earlier was moved to the site as a replacement around 1890 and was itself razed around September 1894. The fourth depot was built in September 1894 and was razed in 1930 due to a grade crossing elimination project. A temporary station was put in service to the south of the former location on May 8, 1930. Elevated platforms were constructed in mid-October, 1930, with westbound platforms opening on October 13 and eastbound platforms opening on October 17. The station stop was discontinued on April 8, 1964, the same year that the

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

station re-opened.

Original West Flushing station

Three blocks east of Corona station was another station named West Flushing that served the community at large. It was located at what is today 108th Street and 44th Avenue, and was built in September 1854. Though even the most scholarly railroad historians never knew when the station was closed, it may have been related to the purchase of the New York and Flushing Railroad by the Flushing and North Side Railroad, if not then the 1869 closure of the horse racing track served by Corona station. A December 31, 1869 timetable refers to a "West Flushing" station, but it is unknown whether it refers to the original station or not.Rare 1869 LIRR Flushing Long Island Rail Road Timetable - WorthoPedia
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Baseball

Fashion Race Course itself, which operated as a horse race track from 1853 to about 1869, was the venue used to stage a series of three intra-city all-star

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

games in 1858. These games were notable for having the first known admission charge to watch baseball. The games were held on July 20, August 17 and September 10. The race course is documented on some old maps. Its gate was located at what is now 37th Avenue and 103rd Street in Corona, about a mile west-southwest of

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

References

External links

Pride in Port: The Jekyll & Hyde Branch of the Long Island Railroad: (Forgotten New York)Bob Emery Maps of Corona Station (Unofficial LIRR History Website)
* ttps://www.loc.gov/item/2013593266/ Library of Congress collection, map of Brooklyn and Queens, showing Fashion Race Course, 1859 (north edge of West Flushing)br>Library of Congress collection, map of Brooklyn and Queens, showing Fashion Race Course, 1872 (north edge of West Flushing)
{{LIRR stations navbox Former Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City Corona, Queens Railway stations in Queens, New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 1855 Railway stations closed in 1964 Baseball venues in New York City Defunct horse racing venues in New York City 1855 establishments in New York (state) 1964 disestablishments in New York (state)