[3] The first stage of the park was officially opened on 24 June 1970 by the then governor of Hong Kong, Sir David Trench.

[3] It featured a floral clock as well as a Chinese garden set within an English landscape, which a government spokesman called "a reminder of Hongkong's cosmopolitan cultural heritage.

"[3] However, part of the site was occupied in the construction of an MTR rapid transit line—originally the Kwun Tong line, now the Tsuen Wan line—from 1975 to 1978, and this was cited as a reason for the slow progress in developing the remaining three stages of the park for recreational use.

[5] The Government was criticised when the Executive Council approved plans in 1982 for a strip of retail premises fronting Nathan Road to be carved into the hill of Kowloon Park.

Owing to the grade change, the roofs of the shops are level with the ground of Kowloon Park, and so the gardens extend onto the building rooftops.

[9] From 1987 to 1989, the park was completed at a cost of $300 million, which was funded by the then Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club.

[1][10] The park was "doubled" in size, expanding to the north and south, and the sports centre and swimming pool complex was built.

The swimming complex opened on 12 September 1989 and can accommodate a maximum of 1530 swimmers, and has an annual attendance of more than 1 million visitors.

Naval guns have been mounted in each emplacement after they were discovered at a construction site at Chatham Road in Tsim Sha Tsui in 1980.