The GEM on the BOULEVARD Stephen Gregg Park gets better with age
Story and photos by Pat Bonner may be biased, but I think Stephen Gregg (Hudson County) Park is the best thing in Bayonne. I grew up in the park in the 1950s and 1960s and it’s still as scenic as it was then. But it’s a lot more popular now, and there’s more to do. Recent additions have improved a venue that’s attracted Bayonne residents for the past 108 years. There’d been a small park at the site for years, but in 1903, the Hudson County Park Commission decided to create a much larger park. Over the next few years, it negotiated and bought the property of 95 separate owners to create the park that now stretches from 37th to 48th Street. At that time, the area had about 3,000 trees and a long sand beach stretching from below the ridge through the center of the park today. Over the ensuing years, the beach was filled in with soil that was removed when Avenue B was paved. It’s rumored that some of the earth removed during the construction of Rockefeller Center was put in this area. The Park’s designer was Charles Lowrie, who designed most other large parks in Hudson County. With Hudson County Park, it seems as if he had two parks in mind due to the topography. The upper part was traditional for the early 1900s. The lower part was for athletics and activity. The areas are separated by a ridge that holds two iconic tunnels that provide echoes for kids when they walk through.
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Heroes Honored Originally, the park was called Hudson County Park, but in 1997 it was renamed
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Tennis Camp Counselors the Stephen Gregg Park. Lieutenant Gregg won the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery in France during World War II. A plaque honoring Lt. Gregg on 42nd Street will be replaced in the near future with a statue of his likeness. The park features statues honoring those lost in World War I and the Spanish American War as well as a plaque honoring Doug O’Neill, missing in action during the Vietnam War. The most distinctive feature of the upper park is the network of walkways through hundreds of older trees, including many London planes or buttonwoods planted in the 1920s. Many lead to the huge, popular playground. The park has 21 fulltime workers to care for the playground and
greenery, with additional workers hired seasonally. The gazebo at the foot of 48th Street, part of the original design, was meant to host small concerts. While picturesque, it’s largely unused today except to hold a Christmas tree during the holidays. Many uptown residents have fond memories of sledding on Double Hill. The area is still used for sledding, and the large number of picnic tables makes it popular in summer.
A Real Winner Though the ten tennis courts are no longer clay, they’re still crowded even during a pandemic. A tennis camp for
