Pershing Field

Pershing Field is a city square and park in the Heights of Jersey City, New Jersey in the United States. Approximately 13.5acre it is adjacent to Jersey City Reservoir No. 3, with which it creates a large open recreational and nature area bounded by Summit Avenue, Central Avenue, and Manhattan Avenue.CreationThe site had been intended for a reservoir, and extension of the system connected to Reservoir #3. The park, originally planned in 1918 as Reservoir Park, opened for track and field events in 1919, including those of the Amateur Athletic Union, as well as other passive and recreational activities. It was designed by the noted landscape architect Charles N. Lowrie, responsible for Lincoln Park and the Stephen R. Gregg Park in Bayonne. Dedicated in 1922. the park was named for General John J. Pershing, associating it with the previous use of the grounds as a World War I military training ground. Although invited, General Pershing declined an invitation to attend the July 4 opening ceremony with a letter of apology. It continued to be used for track meets into the 1930s, hosting Stanisława Walasiewicz and Babe Didrikson Zaharias, among others.