Turtle Playground, located at 138th Street and the south side of Horace Harding Expressway in

Flushing 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 ** Flushing ...

, was acquired by the City of New York in 1954 as part of land condemnations for 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 mensur ...

. The surrounding section of Flushing historically known as Queensboro Hill provided commanding views of its namesake borough prior to its development in the 1920s as a residential neighborhood. To the south of the playground, the

Mount Hebron The Hebron Hills, also known as Mount Hebron ( ar, جبل الخليل, translit=Jabal al-Khalīl, he, הר חברון, translit=Har Hevron), are a mountain ridge, geographic region, and geologic formation, comprising the southern part of the J ...

and Cedar Grove Cemeteries occupy the former Spring Hill estate of colonial governor

Cadwallader Colden Cadwallader Colden (7 February 1688 – 28 September 1776) was a physician, natural scientist, a lieutenant governor and acting Governor for the Province of New York. Early life Colden was born on 7 February 1688 in Ireland, of Scottish pare ...

and his grandson Cadwallader David Colden, who served as Mayor of New York between 1818 and 1821. The estate was developed into a cemetery in 1893. Originally titled Kiddy Playground, this .358-acre park was renamed Turtle Playground in 1997 by Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern. The name was inspired by a recent renovation of the playground that included the installation of turtle play sculptures along with updated play equipment, swings and game tables. The

snapping turtle The Chelydridae is a family of turtles that has seven extinct and two extant genera. The extant genera are the snapping turtles, ''Chelydra'' and '' Macrochelys''. Both are endemic to the Western Hemisphere. The extinct genera are '' Acherontem ...

is among the most resilient of the urban wildlife species dwelling within the City’s parks and can be found in the nearby lakes of

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park 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 ...

and

Kissena Park Kissena Park is a park located in the neighborhood of Flushing in Queens, New York City. It is located along the subterranean Kissena Creek, which flows into the Flushing River. It is bordered on the west by Kissena Boulevard; on the north by ...

External links

Turtle Playground
—

New York City Department of Parks & 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 ...

{{Coord, 40.74216, -73.827475, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title Parks in Queens, New York Robert Moses projects Flushing, Queens