Doughboy Park
1.71 Acres
Doughboy Park is located at the intersection of
Woodside and Skillman Avenues in Queens. Although the park received its name
by local law in 1971, its eponymous monument has stood on the site since 1923.
During the first World War British soldiers referred to their American counterparts
as "doughboys" because of the large round buttons on the American uniforms;
these buttons reminded the British soldiers of the cakes or biscuits known as
doughboys. Statues of American infantry soldiers are similarly called doughboys,
and there are bronze doughboys in each of the five boroughs of New York City.
The sculptor of the Woodside Doughboy also created a doughboy for the Flanders
Field Memorial in De Witt Clinton Park in Manhattan. The Woodside Doughboy was erected by the Woodside
Community Council in remembrance of the local men and women who served in World
War I. Funded by public subscription, the statue was dedicated on Memorial Day,
May 30, 1923. The ceremony included music by St. Marys Military Band, a rendition
of the "Star Spangled Banner" by the children of P.S. 11, the doughboy's unveiling
by Gold Star Relatives, and blessings by ministers from St. Pauls and St. Sebastian's
Churches. The sculptor, Burt W. Johnson of Flushing, was
a student and brother-in-law of renowned artist Augustus St. Gaudens. Johnson
portrayed a somber World War I soldier holding his helmet in front and his gun
to the side. The sculptor's health was failing as the piece was being completed,
and he supervised the final work from his wheelchair. The bronze statue stands
upon a granite pedestal designed by architect C.N. Kent and inscribed "LEST
WE FORGET 1917 1918." Although the work was originally titled "The Returning
Soldier," it is popularly known as the Woodside Doughboy. Woodside residents remember that even before the
statue was erected, local soldiers gathered here at the "mustering ground" before
departing to fight in World War I. Ten men who left from this site did not return
as they made the supreme sacrifice and gave their lives for their nation. Since
the dedication event in 1923, community members have gathered at the monument
every Memorial Day for patriotic ceremonies. In 1928 the American Federation
of Arts selected the Woodside Doughboy as the best war memorial of its kind
in this century. This City of New York acquired this land in 1893
as a play area for P.S. 11. The land was eventually deemed too steep and overgrown
for children's use; it was assigned to Parks in 1957. The site was transformed
from a children's play area to a sitting area for adults, in keeping with the
dignity of the statue. Improvements included the addition of drinking fountains,
macadam walks, shade trees, and maintenance facilities. Reconstruction of the park in 1988 provided
a new path in the western portion of the park, and additional work in 1995 added
new plantings. A 1998 requirements contract replaced fencing in the park. In
1990 the beloved Woodside Doughboy received an extensive conservation treatment
which included cleaning, repainting, and treating with a protective wax coating.
Saturday, May 01, 1999