History
Part of the county park system since 1944, Eisenhower offers a full range of athletic and family activities, including some of the finest facilities in Nassau County, NY and an exciting schedule of summertime events.
The Eisenhower Park property was in the early part of the 20th century part of the private Salisbury Country Club and included five 18-hole golf courses. During the Depression, the owners were unable to pay taxes and the property was taken over by the county. Subsequently, the county acquired additional land in the area. In 1944, Nassau County Park at Salisbury was established as part of County Executive J. Russell Sprague's vision to create a park that "one day will be to Nassau County what Central Park is today to New York City." The park was officially dedicated in October 1949.
On October 13, 1969, Salisbury Park was rededicated as the 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.
On March 11, 2004, President George W. Bush made a visit to Eisenhower Park for the groundbreaking of a new memorial for the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
On September 9, 2007 The memorial was officially opened to the public, the two 30-foot, semi-transparent, stainless-steel towers, created to resemble those of the World Trade Center, stand in the midst of a fountain alongside the lake here in Eisenhower Park. On the lawn are two pieces of steel several feet long from the trade center wreckage, surrounded by a garden of colorful flowers. On a long stone wall are the names of the 344 Nassau County residents who died September 11, 2001.
Nearby, a plaque honoring those who were killed in New York City, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania begins Our Story and says that the events that transpired that day ultimately changed the lives of all Americans.
The memorial, the culmination of five years of planning, was designed by the architects Keith Striga of Valley Stream and Philip Gavosto of Glen Cove. To help build it, more than 500 union members from Long Island trades volunteered time and materials.
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