Ambrose Kingsland

Who was Ambrose Kingsland?

Ambrose Cornelius Kingsland 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, 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