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Eisenhower Park

Coordinates: 40°44′05″N 73°34′23″W / 40.734706°N 73.573058°W / 40.734706; -73.573058
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This article is about the park in New York, United States. For other uses, see Eisenhower Park (disambiguation).

Eisenhower Park Main Entrance

Eisenhower Park, formerly known as Salisbury Park, is a public park in East Meadow, New York bordered by Hempstead Turnpike on the south and Old Country Road on the north. At 930 acres (3.8 km2), it is larger than Central Park (in Manhattan, New York City), with much of the area devoted to three 18-hole golf courses, including the Red Course, host to the annual Commerce Bank Championship (Champions Tour). The park is home to the September 11th Memorial for residents of Nassau County.

History

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Lannin House
Veterans Memorial
9/11 Memorial

Part of the county park system since 1944, Eisenhower Park offers a full range of athletic and family activities, including some of the finest facilities in Nassau County and an exciting schedule of summertime events.

In the early part of the 20th century, the park was part of the private Salisbury Country Club and included five 18-hole golf courses. It hosted the ninth PGA Championship in 1926, then a match play competition. Walter Hagen defeated future two-time champion Leo Diegel 5 & 3 in the finals to win his third consecutive title,[1] his fourth overall, and the eighth of his eleven major titles. The championship was conducted on the present-day Red Course.

During the Great Depression, the club's owners were unable to pay taxes and the county took over the property. Subsequently, the county acquired additional land in the area. Salisbury Park was officially dedicated on October 1, 1949.[2]

On October 13, 1969, Salisbury Park was rededicated as Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Park at a ceremony attended by the 34th President's grandson, Dwight D. Eisenhower II, and his wife, Julie Nixon Eisenhower. The elder Eisenhower had died several months earlier in March and would have turned age 79 on October 14.

On March 11, 2004, President George W. Bush visited Eisenhower Park for the groundbreaking of a new memorial for the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.[3]

On September 9, 2007, the memorial was officially opened to the public. The two 30-foot (9 m), semi-transparent, stainless-steel towers, created to resemble those of the World Trade Center, stand amidst a fountain alongside the park's lake. On the lawn are two pieces of steel several feet long from the WTC wreckage, surrounded by a colorful flower garden. A long stone wall bears the names of the 344 Nassau County residents who died September 11, 2001.

Activities in the park

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Athletics

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  • Batting cage, with nine separate batting areas for varying pitching speeds
  • 14 softball fields
  • 3 baseball fields
  • 3 football fields
  • 4 soccer fields
  • 16 lighted tennis courts
  • A 50 m (55 yd) Aquatic Center swimming pool

Cricket

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Main article: Nassau County International Cricket Stadium

In September 2023, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that it would construct a temporary cricket stadium at Eisenhower Park to host matches during the upcoming 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The modular stadium will be deconstructed following the conclusion of the tournament, with the grounds remaining intact as a legacy of the event.[4][5][6][7]

Entertainment

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The Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre is an outdoor theater that hosts a full schedule of entertainment events during the summer, from concerts to movies.[8] The theater's name serves as a tribute to the late folk rock singer. Chapin was killed in a traffic collision en route to a free benefit concert in the park on July 16, 1981. That same year, a ceremony was held to around 5,500 people to commemorate the renaming of the theater.[9]

Carltun on the Park is a privately run restaurant operated in a former country club. The Carltun offers a restaurant, bar, banquet facilities, and a meeting room. The restaurant has played host to numerous events, including a fundraiser in 2004 for George W. Bush.[10] The facility was renamed "The Lannin" in honor of Joseph Lannin, who created the Salisbury Country Club in 1917.[11]

Golf

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The park features three 18-hole golf courses open to the public: the Blue, Red, and White courses. The Red Course, originally part of the Salisbury Golf Club and designed in 1914 by Devereux Emmet, formerly hosted the annual Commerce Bank Championship on the Champions Tour, last held in 2008. It was also the site of the PGA Championship in 1926, won by Walter Hagen.[12]

Located adjacent to the courses is a driving range with more than 100 stalls and night hours in season.[citation needed]

In addition to the regular courses, there are two lighted 18-hole miniature golf courses.[citation needed]

Swimming

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Aquatic Center

The Nassau County Aquatic Center at Eisenhower Park is one of the finest swimming facilities in the U.S. Built in 1998 for the Goodwill Games, it currently hosts major swimming competitions and is open daily to the public.

Located within the center is a renovated Health Club that contains treadmills, arc trainers, stationary bikes, stair machines, free weights, and an assortment of Cybex weight machines.

Hockey

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Northwell Health Ice Center has been the practice facility for the New York Islanders since 2016. It was formerly known as Twin Rinks when it opened in 2014.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ Vischer, Peter (September 26, 1926). "Walter Hagen beats Diegel for pro title". Miami Daily News. New York World News Service. p. 15.
  2. ^ "New Nassau Park Unwrapped". Daily News. New York. October 2, 1949. p. 28. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Buglione, Nick (March 18, 2004). "Bush breaks ground President visits East Meadow for solemn memorial, fundraiser". Long Island Herald. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  4. ^ McLogan, Jennifer (March 19, 2024). "Long Island park set to host Cricket World Cup match in June". CBS New York. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  5. ^ Vallone, Jordan (April 25, 2024). "East Meadow, Salisbury residents address concerns regarding Cricket World Cup". Long Island Herald. Retrieved May 5, 2024. Nassau County will receive around US$2.7 million in direct revenue from the tournament.
  6. ^ Gollapudi, Nagraj (January 17, 2024). "ICC confirms New York's Eisenhower Park will not host international games before T20 WC". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  7. ^ Spangler, Nicholas (April 1, 2024). "Creating the perfect stadium, playing surface critical to June's T20 World Cup cricket matches on Long Island". Newsday. Archived from the original on April 1, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  8. ^ "Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre". Discover Long Island. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018.
  9. ^ "Theater Named For Harry Chapin". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 24, 1981. p. B2.
  10. ^ Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation & Museums Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Madore, James T. (June 27, 2023). "Reopening of former Carltun Eisenhower Park catering hall delayed until late July". Newsday. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  12. ^ "The Red Course at Eisenhower Park". PGATOUR.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  13. ^ LaRocco, Paul (August 31, 2015). "Islanders owner wins bid to take over bankrupt ice rink". Newsday. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  14. ^ Hackmack, Andrew (January 27, 2016). "Islanders to keep Long Island connection". Long Island Herald. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
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40°44′05″N 73°34′23″W / 40.734706°N 73.573058°W / 40.734706; -73.573058

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