McKenna Square facts for kids
McKenna Square is a small, green park in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City. It's like a little green island in the middle of West 165th Street, between Audubon and Amsterdam Avenues. This park is about a quarter of an acre big, which is roughly the size of a small baseball infield. It was created in 1917 when West 165th Street was made wider. The city officially made it a park in 1937.
Who Was William McKenna?
The park is named after a brave soldier named Private William McKenna. The city's leaders, called the Board of Aldermen (which is like today's City Council), named the park for him on July 8, 1924.
William McKenna lived with his family nearby on West 173rd Street. He was a soldier in World War I, fighting in an anti-aircraft group. Sadly, he was killed in action in 1918 during a big battle called the Battle of the Argonne Forest in France.
Before the Park: Croton Street
Before McKenna Square became a park, the northern part of this area was a street called Croton Street. This street was very old, even older than the planned street grid of Manhattan.
The name "Croton" might remind you of the Croton Aqueduct. This was a huge project that brought clean drinking water to New York City starting in 1842. The water came all the way from the New Croton Reservoir in Westchester County.
In the early 1900s, small houses for workers stood on Croton Street. Many Irish immigrants lived in these homes. Soon after the park area was created, Croton Street was no longer used as an address. It became part of the north side of West 165th Street.
The Park Today
McKenna Square got a new look in 1985. The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which helps with housing and city planning, helped redesign it.
The park now has a raised area in the middle. This area is made of steel, stone, and glass blocks. You can walk along a winding path made of rose-colored granite stones. The park also has beautiful London plane trees, which provide shade and make the space green and inviting.
