John Golden Park
17 Acres
Known as "Mr. Bayside," John Golden (1874-1955) was
recognized as the dean of Broadway producers and a patriarch of New York City show
business. Born in New York on June 27, 1874, he spent his early years in Wauseon, Ohio and
returned to his native city at the age of fourteen. Despite several odd jobs, a brief
stint at New York University Law School, and a thirteen-year career with a chemical
manufacturing firm, Golden’s primary ambition was to work in the theater. In 1916 he produced his first Broadway show, Turn to the Right.
Following its tremendous success, Golden produced over 150 plays and musicals. These
included The First Year, Three Wise Fools, and Lightnin’, which
established a record (since broken) of 1291 performances on Broadway. Golden also worked
as a playwright and composer. Among the many musical numbers he wrote were "Poor
Butterfly" and "Goodbye, Girls, I’m Through." Golden was an active statesman for the theatrical profession. During
World Wars I and II he organized a free-ticket service for servicemen. Golden was one of
the founders of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Playwrights (ASCAP) in
1914 and served on the original Board of Directors of the City Center of Music and Drama.
He was an eminent member of the theatrical fraternity known as the Lambs Club and served
as "Shepherd" of that group from 1942 to 1944. Appointed the New York City
Chairman for United Nations Day in 1954, Golden authored the "United Nations All
Faith Prayer For Peace." He and his wife Margaret moved to Bayside in 1920 and subsequently made
their estate available to the community. The well-maintained grounds were often used by
neighborhood residents, including golf caddies practicing their swings, little leaguers
playing baseball, and Sunday picnickers walking among the gardens. Some Bayside residents
remember seeing Golden strolling in his white suit, broad-rimmed hat, and spats, carrying
a silver-handled cane. Upon his death on June 17, 1955, Golden’s will bequeathed his
Bayside estate to the City of New York as a park "for the use and enjoyment by the
young people of the community of all races and creeds in a manner similar to that in which
I made this property available for recreation and community acts during my lifetime."
The dedication of John Golden Park took place on October 18, 1965. The speakers included
Mayor Wagner, Robert Moses, Parks Commissioner Newbold Morris, department store owner
Bernard F. Gimbel, President of Actors Equity Association Frederick O’Neal,
cartoonist Rube Goldberg, comedian Harry Hershfield, and restaurateur Vincent Sardi Jr. The park was laid out with curving paths that linked up to those in
neighboring Crocheron Park. While baseball diamonds were already in place, new
construction transformed the former estate into a modern park. Improvements included new
tennis courts, picnic areas, and parking lot. Additional trees, shrubs, and ground cover
greened the park. Since 1983 members of the John Golden Park Block Association have
planted trees, organized yearly picnics, and helped to beautify the park. They rededicated
the park and installed a plaque in memory of Mr. Golden in 1995. Another plaque, placed at a park ballfield in 1996, honors the memory
of Tony DePhillips (1912-1994). DePhillips played basketball for the New York Whirlwinds
(predecessors of the Knicks) and baseball for several farm teams of the New York Yankees,
as well as for the Cincinnati Reds. From his Bayside sporting goods store, he founded
DePhillips Athletic League, the first little league in Queens, in 1949.
Sunday, Nov 01, 1998