Kissena Park is a 235-acre (95 ha) 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.

Venue: Kissena Park
Town: New York, US

Kissena Park is a 235-acre (95 ha) 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 Rose, Oak, Underhill, and Lithonia Avenues; on the east by Fresh Meadow Lane; and on the south by Booth Memorial Avenue. The park contains the city's only remaining velodrome, a lake of the same name, two war memorials, and various playgrounds and sports fields. The site of Kissena Park was originally part of a tree nursery operated by Samuel Parsons in the late 19th century, though parts of the park were also the site of a Long Island Rail Road line. The lake on Parsons's property was named "Kissena", which comes from the Chippewa language meaning "it is cold", "cold place", or "cool water", and the park was later named after the lake. After Parsons died in 1906, part of his former nursery was incorporated in the modern-day park. The name "Kissena Park" can also refer to a residential section of Flushing just north of the park. Kissena Park opened in 1910, and it was incorporated into Kissena Corridor Park in the mid-1950s. Various improvement projects have been conducted during Kissena Park's history, including the addition of the velodrome in 1962 and restorations of the lake in 1942 and 1983. Subsequently, the Kissena Velodrome was restored and rededicated in 2004, and a Korean War memorial was dedicated in 2007. Kissena Park is bounded by Booth Memorial Avenue to the south; Kissena Boulevard to the west; Rose, Oak, Underhill, and Lithonia Avenues to the north; and Fresh Meadows Lane to the east. The south side of the park is mostly meadow land. Kissena Park contains a small lake, Kissena Lake, on the northeast corner. Formerly a wetland, it was transformed into a "bathtub lake" during a 1942 renovation. A freshwater marsh is located on the southern shore of the lake. The Historic Grove is located on a 14-a