Ask a historian: Is Bushwick’s Maria Hernandez Park built on a former circus site?
Luke from Bushwick asks: “Is Maria Hernandez Park built on former circus land?”
Yes, Luke. But that was long ago and far away.
Today’s Maria Hernandez Park, between Knickerbocker and Irving avenues, is very significant to Bushwick’s history because it’s named after a local hero. As the largest community park in the neighborhood described by the Parks Department as a “plaza with a wild undulating design” and with a baseball diamond, it had been named Bushwick Park in 1896 and later, Knickerbocker Park.