The 1,255 acres of land that make up Flushing Meadows/Corona Park was once a dumping ground for ashes. Formerly known as the Corona Ash Dumps and characterized by F. Scott Fitzgerald as the "valley of ashes" in his novel The Great Gatsby, this oasis of land was transformed into the park it is today starting in 1939.

In 1939 an effort to replace the desolate area with something of beauty and excitement the then park commissioner Robert Moses set into plan to transform the site into a Worlds Fair. To begin the transformation, Mr. Moses was faced with the dilemma of how to dispose of the mountain of ashes. He strategically incorporated the refuse by placing as the base for the Van Wyck, Jackie Robinson and Long Island expressways that criss cross the park today.

With the idea of a Worlds Fair, the intent was to allocate a large portion of the revenue to continuing the construction and maintenance of the park. Unfortunately, the Fair did not fare so well and the area sat idle until 1964 when a new Worlds Fair Corporation was formed, again with Robert Moses at the helm. Many buildings were built including the Unisphere, the theme symbol of the 1964 fair, which is the main sculptural feature of the park today. Again, the fair did not have the success it had hoped for and the land was turned over the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.

Today, Flushing Meadows is considered one of NYC's keystone parks and is host to numerous events. The US Open tennis championship is held here each year in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Shea Stadium and the NY Mets Stadium is located at the north end of the park as well.

Of course the park also offers a variety of family activities as well. Couples can enjoy a romantic rowboat ride on one of the two lakes found in the park. Families can spend an afternoon bicycling along the many bike paths around the lakes. There are numerous playgrounds and playing fields for games of soccer or cricket.

The city is dedicated to making Flushing Meadows/Corona Park one of the great havens of New York City. In 1987, the city began a program to develop the park. Since then four new entrances have been added as well as the Queens Wildlife Center, the Queens Museum of Art and Theatre in the Park. Future developments include a state of the art Recreation Center and a new indoor pool and ice rink.