Elmhurst Park is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

located in Elmhurst,

Queens 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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

storage

gasometer A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...

s that were tall. The area is bordered on the south by 57th Avenue and the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music men ...

, on the north by Grand Avenue, on the west by the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

-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 The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

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 cylinders,

Brooklyn Union Gas KeySpan Corporation was the fifth largest distributor of natural gas in the United States. KeySpan was formed in 1998 as a result of the merger of Brooklyn Union Gas Company (founded 1895 by merging several smaller companies) and Long Island Ligh ...

began dismantling the gas tanks in 1996. Because the

frequently became congested in that area, "backup at the Elmhurst Gas Tanks" became a familiar phrase in radio

traffic reporting Traffic reporting is the near real-time distribution of information about road conditions such as traffic congestion, detours, and traffic collisions. The reports help drivers anticipate and avoid traffic problems. Traffic reports, especially in ...

. 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, 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 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 The Queens Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a memorial at Elmhurst Park in Elmhurst, Queens, New York City in honor of the veterans of the Vietnam War of 1955–1975. It was designed by Landscape architect, Landscape Architects Denise Mattes and Fran ...

, a $2.85 million memorial to

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

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