Corona

Understanding Corona

The Landmarks Preservation Commission traces Corona’s growth from the Flushing Railroad in 1853 through trolley service and the elevated line along Roosevelt Avenue in 1917. Improved connections encouraged housing and commerce on land that had been sparsely settled farmland. A Tiffany glass factory opened in Corona in 1893.

Congregation Tifereth Israel was built in 1911 for a Jewish congregation with many members who had moved from Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Its narrow, symmetrical front carried a familiar synagogue form into a different Queens setting. This is one part of Corona’s history, rather than evidence of an unchanging identity.

William F. Moore Park was originally Corona Heights Triangle. The city acquired it in 1924 and renamed it in 1929 for a local Marine killed in the First World War. A 1980 renovation added a bocce court; Parks records the community nickname Spaghetti Park.

Places to explore

• Congregation Tifereth Israel

  109-18 54th Avenue

  Look for pointed-arch windows and a gabled front. The LPC report identifies Gothic, Moorish and Jewish ornament. Use the NYFE landmark guide for the fuller building story. Interior visitor access has not been verified.

  Read the NYFE place guide

• William F. Moore Park

  Corona Heights triangle at 51st Avenue

  The small park connects the memorial flagstaff with a local bocce tradition. It is a brief neighborhood stop with its own history, distinct from the much larger Flushing Meadows-Corona Park nearby.

Planning a visit

Use the synagogue’s 54th Avenue address as an exact destination. The familiar Corona name also extends beyond this statistical unit; select North Corona or Flushing Meadows-Corona Park separately when those are the intended places.

View the synagogue exterior from the public street; do not assume interior entry. Check current park notices before relying on a particular recreation facility.