Ambrose Kingsland

Ambrose Kingsland
1887 portrait by Daniel Huntington based on an earlier original.
71st Mayor of New York City
In office
1851–1853
Preceded by Caleb Smith Woodhull
Succeeded by Jacob Aaron Westervelt
Personal details
Born May 24, 1804
Died October 13, 1878

Ambrose Cornelius Kingsland (May 24, 1804 – October 13, 1878)[1] was a wealthy sperm oil merchant who served as the 71st mayor of New York City from 1851 to 1853. In 1851 he initiated the legislation that eventually led to the building of Central Park.

Kingsland's home was at 114 Fifth Avenue (southwest corner at 17th Street), now the site of a Banana Republic store.

In 1864, Kingsland purchased Hunter Island, now in Pelham Bay Park, Bronx for $127,501.00. He later purchased a sizeable country home north of the city along the Hudson River in North Tarrytown, present day Sleepy Hollow, New York. His sale of this land to the early steam-engine automotive company, Stanley Steamer, helped open North Tarrytown's 20th century era as a major automotive factory town.

A waterfront park in the Westchester County suburb still bears Kingsland's name, as does Kingsland Avenue in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, which he helped survey. There is also a Kingsland Avenue in the Baychester section of the Bronx [2]

References

  1. Caliendo, R.J. (2010). New York City Mayors 1. Xlibris. p. 390. ISBN 9781450088152. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  2. source http://ragette.org/greenpoint%20architecture/historicdistrict/AIA%20text.htm

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Caleb Smith Woodhull
Mayor of New York City
1851–1853
Succeeded by
Jacob Aaron Westervelt