Freedom Square Playground

Vleigh Pl., Main St. bet. 73 Ter. and 76 Ave.

Queens, 11367

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

Freedom Square is located in the heart of Kew Gardens Hills. This region of central Queens was primarily farmland as late as the early 20th century. Transportation improvements in the 1930s, such as the opening of the Grand Central Parkway and the arrival of the Independent Subway, spurred residential development in the area. Following the success of Forest Hills, Richmond Hill, and Kew Gardens, entrepreneur Abraham Wolosoff purchased land and planned a community of small homes and apartment buildings. According to local legend, he named his development Kew Gardens Hills, because he had enjoyed his stay at a hotel in Kew Gardens, a section of Queens which in turn was named for the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, England.