The event that turned Corona from a suburb into an urban neighborhood was the construction of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company's Flushing Line (now the New York City Subway's 7 and <7> trains) to 103rd Street–Corona Plaza station on April 21, 1917.
The park's popular landmark and namesake was the natural, spring-fed Linden Lake, which was originally a watering hole for the village livestock.
Also that year, a memorial was erected in honor of Hugo E. Kruse, a local resident who was killed in the explosion of the USS Maine (ACR-1) in Havana, Cuba, which triggered the Spanish–American War.
[2] It was replaced with a playground, baseball field, and basketball courts, changing the scene of a village picnic ground into a sports and recreational theme.
[5] During the city's financial deficit in the 1970s, vandalism, a flooded baseball field, unsafe playground, and homeless encampments all plagued this historic park.