The land, originally owned by John D. Rockefeller, was purchased by the City of New York in 1896 for use as an extension of Riverside Park.

[2][3] In 1909, the Committee of Japanese Residents of New York donated 2,500 cherry blossom trees to the city, to commemorate the Hudson–Fulton Celebration.

[3][7] As part of the construction of adjacent Riverside Church, Sakura Park underwent landscaping with $350,000 in funds from John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1932.

[10] General Daniel Adams Butterfield, author of the bugle call, Taps, which is a standard component for concluding for US military funerals, stands on a rock pedestal as a larger-than-life-sized bronze statue by Gutzon Borglum—who is said to have been so annoyed by commissioning committees numerous demands for changes to the sculpture, that he marked his signature on the top of the general's head, claiming that this was the single aspect the committee had not required him to change.

The landscaping is dominated by two walks lined with mature linden trees, the branches meet overhead forming a leafy arcade.