Doughboy Park
Encyclopedia
Doughboy Park is a 1.71 acres (6,920.1 m²) New York City public park in the Woodside
neighborhood of Queens
. It is located on a hilly parcel of land between Skillman Avenue and Woodside Avenue, and between 54th Street and 56th Street.
The park land was originally obtained by the city as a play area for local school P.S. 11 in 1893. During the first World War, local soldiers met here before shipping off to the front in Europe. A memorial was commissioned by the Woodside Community Council for these soldiers, including ten who were killed during the war. The memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day
, 30 May 1923. It features a statue of a somber, wounded American infantryman, colloquially called a doughboy
. The bronze statue was created by Flushing, Queens
based sculptor Burt Johnson
, who also designed another doughboy statue in DeWitt Clinton Park
in Manhattan. The statue was selected as the best memorial of its kind in 1928 by the American Federation of Artists.
The terrain of the park was considered too steep for children to play on, and in 1957 the land was turned over to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
. In 1959, the section of 54th Street between 39th Drive and Woodside Avenue was removed and converted to parkland, connecting the park to the adjacent Windmuller Park. Seating, paths, and trees were later installed in the park, and in 1971 the park was given its current name. A conservation project in 1990 restored the statue, and multiple upgrades to the park have maintained the park.
Since the installation of the statue in 1923, the park has been the location of local Memorial Day
observances and other patriotic events.
In 2006, on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks upon the United States a memorial plaque in the park was dedicated which reads:
Woodside, Queens
Woodside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside and on the east by Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. Some areas are widely residential and very quiet, while others are...
neighborhood of Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
. It is located on a hilly parcel of land between Skillman Avenue and Woodside Avenue, and between 54th Street and 56th Street.
The park land was originally obtained by the city as a play area for local school P.S. 11 in 1893. During the first World War, local soldiers met here before shipping off to the front in Europe. A memorial was commissioned by the Woodside Community Council for these soldiers, including ten who were killed during the war. The memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
, 30 May 1923. It features a statue of a somber, wounded American infantryman, colloquially called a doughboy
Doughboy
Doughboy is an informal term for an American soldier, especially members of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The term dates back to the Mexican–American War of 1846–48....
. The bronze statue was created by Flushing, Queens
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
based sculptor Burt Johnson
Burt Johnson
Burt William Johnson was an American sculptor.Johnson was born in Flint, Ohio and moved to Claremont, California in 1907 to study at Pomona College, and then to New York City in 1909 to study at the Art Students League of New York. He worked with fellow sculptors James Earle Fraser and Louis St...
, who also designed another doughboy statue in DeWitt Clinton Park
DeWitt Clinton Park
DeWitt Clinton Park is a New York City public park in the Hell's Kitchen, New York neighborhood between West 52nd Street and 54th Street and Eleventh Avenue and the West Side Highway in Manhattan....
in Manhattan. The statue was selected as the best memorial of its kind in 1928 by the American Federation of Artists.
The terrain of the park was considered too steep for children to play on, and in 1957 the land was turned over to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation is the department of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's...
. In 1959, the section of 54th Street between 39th Drive and Woodside Avenue was removed and converted to parkland, connecting the park to the adjacent Windmuller Park. Seating, paths, and trees were later installed in the park, and in 1971 the park was given its current name. A conservation project in 1990 restored the statue, and multiple upgrades to the park have maintained the park.
Since the installation of the statue in 1923, the park has been the location of local Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
observances and other patriotic events.
In 2006, on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks upon the United States a memorial plaque in the park was dedicated which reads:
- On September 11, 2001, the following who lived or worked in Woodside died in the World Trade Center attack. Their lives touched our hearts, their sacrifice changed us forever.
- We remember them with love and honor.