Audubon Park: Audubon Park

Audubon Park
Major John W. Desmond Memorial Park
Kennedy Boulevard at Audubon Avenue
Greenville

 Audubon Park occupies the entire city block fronting Kennedy Boulevard to the west, Stegman Street to the south, Audubon Avenue (for which it was named) to the north, and Bergen Avenue to the east.

Audubon Avenue, originally Kilpatrick Street, started as a small country lane west of Bergen Avenue. The narrow street led carts and wagons to the small farms and greenhouses that once prospered in the neighborhood. The name Audubon Avenue first appears on maps and other official records at the turn of the twentieth century. Presumably, the street name was chosen in honor of the work of the famous naturalist and painter John James Audubon (1785-1851), although there is no known connection between him and the area.

Most of Audubon Park's property had belonged to a German-born market gardener named George Dorn (1840-1915). His farmhouse was situated further west on the north side of the street, approximately at the location of New Jersey City University's Congressman Frank J. Guarini Library.

George Dorn and his wife Anna were among the founding members of the nearby Zion German Evangelical Lutheran Church. They were among German immigrants who settled in Greenville during the second half of the 19th century. The German community of Greenville established and patronized several local institutions like Greenville Hospital and Armbruster's Schuetzen Park.

Dorn died in 1915, and the Jersey City Board of Education acquired the eastern part of his property for a new public school. When plans changed, the city bought the parcel for a public park. The name of Audubon Park was officially bestowed at its dedication on October 4, 1930.

In 1950, Audubon Park was rededicated as the Major John W. Desmond Memorial Park. Major Desmond, a local mailman and a veteran of the Spanish-American War and World War I, died in 1926. The American Legion Post 172, at 298 Bergen Avenue in Greenville, is also named in his honor.

At the ceremony, a ten-foot granite monument with a two-step octagonal base, nine feet in diameter, was presented and is seen from Kennedy Boulevard. Four bronze tablets on the monument's sides display the names of the men and women of the Seventh Ward who served in the armed forces. Atop the monument is a bronze American eagle.

The rededication ceremony began with a parade from Bergen Avenue Desmond Post. Representatives from several veterans' organizations, Boys Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other civic and fraternal organizations joined the event. The principal speaker was former three-time New Jersey Governor A. Harry Moore. He encouraged continued American military vigilance after World War II: "We must fill the skies with planes and cover the ocean with ships" (Jersey Journal 8 May 1950). Jersey City Mayor John V. Kenny (1949-1953) also spoke.

In 1988, a Jersey Journal article referred to the park as "probably the biggest, most congested and most used basketball haven in the city" and one of the city's most popular recreational facilities (Jim Hague 24 September 1988).

The park has been renovated over the years. The handball courts near Stegman Street have been replaced by a "tot lot" and the name "Audubon Park" appears at the entrance of the playground at Audubon and Bergen Avenues.

References:
Hague, Jim. "Audubon Park: A Hoop Heaven," Jersey Journal 24 September 1988.
"Park Rededication Honors Memory of Maj. Desmond," Jersey Journal 8 May 1950.