Kissena Park

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Kissena Park, bounded by Oak Avenue, Hemstead Turnpike, Kissena Boulevard, and Fresh Meadow Lane, was acquired by the City of New York in pieces. In 1904, the City purchased Kissena Lake from William T. Janes, whose father-in-law had run an ice cutting and manufacturing company on the lake in the late 19th century. Following the death of horticulturist Samuel Bowne Parsons in 1906, the city acquired his historic tree grove, and a year later 65 acres of what was then mostly swampland were purchased. In 1914 the city bought a training farm for the Police Department's horses. Condemnation procedures and private purchases added to the park through 1927, and in 1947 Kissena Park became part of the "Queens Corridor" park system through the addition of Kissena Corridor Park, which links Kissena Park with Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and Cunningham Park.