Audubon 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 to the north, and Bergen Avenue to the east. The park was named and dedicated on October 4, 1930. While it may be assumed that the park was named for the naturalist and painter John James Audubon, no verification for the selection of the name can be found.

In 1950 Audubon Park was rededicated as the Major John W. Desmond Memorial Park. Major Desmond died in 1926; the American Legion Post 172, 298 Bergen Avenue, in Greenville is also named for Desmond.

At the ceremony, a ten-foot granite monument with a two-stepped octagonal base nine feet in diameter was presented and may be viewed from Kennedy Boulevard. There are four bronze tablets on the sides of the monument for the names of the men and women of the Seventh Ward who had served in the armed forces; a bronze American eagle sits atop the monument.

The proceedings for the rededication started with a parade from the Bergen Avenue Desmond Post; it included representatives from several veterans' organizations, Boys Scouts, Girl Scouts and other civic and fraternal organizations. The principal speaker at the dedication ceremony was former three-time New Jersey Governor A. Harry Moore, who 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 on the park referred to it as "probably the biggest, most congested and most used basketball haven in the city" and one of the city's most popular recreational facility (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 The handball courts near Stegman Street have been replaced by a "tot lot" and the name "Audubon Park" appears at the entrance of the playground at Audubon and Bergen Avenues.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.