Knickerbacker Park
Knickerbacker Park partly occupies land that had once been part of Young’s Grove (and prior to that Lutzelberger’s Grove) and Oaklands.
Young’s Grove, roughly, was bounded by Fifth Avenue, 108th Street, the Fitchburg Railroad, and 106th Street. Knickerbacker Park’s boundaries are more irregular, not being at all rectangular, but its furthest boundaries are Knickerbacker Lane (the alley between Sixth and Seventh Avenues), 108th Street (originally, at least), the Uncle Sam Bike Trail (formerly the rail line), and 103rd Street. Oaklands occupied much of the land south of Young’s Grove.
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Will Be Memorial to His Father, for Many Years One of Troy’s Influential Citizens—Between Forty and Fifty Acres of Land Involved in Transaction—Use of Adults and Children—To Be Fully Equipped.
John Knickerbacker announced today at a meeting of the Troy Rotary Club he had obtained options on between forty and fifty acres of land in Lansingburgh, and it was his intention to later turn this property over to the city for a playground to be used by children and adults, as a memorial to his father, the late Thomas A. Knickerbacker, for many years one of Troy’s leading citizens and business men. […]
“To have a safe place for the children to play in summer and winter, to have a place where fair play is taught and learned, to have a place where young and old can enjoy God’s out-of-doors, are not these surely ideals worth while?
“Someone has said, ‘Troy is a good city, but let us make it better.’ Playgrounds are one of the things that would make it better.”
Troy Times. April 22, 1924: 5 cols 4-5.
John Knickerbacker for the erection of a recreation building at Knickerbacker Park, Lansingburgh; approximate estimate cost $12,000.
John Knickerbacker for the erection of a private garage at Knickerbacker Park, Lansingburgh; approximate cost $1,000.
“Building Permits For First Half of September.” Troy Times. September 18, 1926: 13 col 6.
http://www.troyny.gov/Departments/Parks_Recreation/knickerbackerpark.aspx