St. John's Park, 1953.

The name of the park references the asylum that used to sit nearby, St. John's Asylum for Boys. The refuge was opened almost a century earlier by the Catholic church to provide aid for disadvantaged children, all of Irish descent. The asylum was relocated to Long Island in 1948. The city gained possession of the land the buildings occupied to construct the Albany Houses, a NYCHA project. As part of Robert Moses' plan as Parks' commissioner, the housing development was not complete without a park and recreational center. The rec center was completed in 1956 with a swimming pool, exercise rooms, gymnasium, and boxing facilities. The park boasted three softball fields, a comfort station, basketball and handball courts.

At the opening ceremony, Moses claimed: "The opening of this building will enable the Department of Parks to establish a well-rounded recreation program in the heavily populated Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn where such a program is urgently needed.” The Recreation Center was renovated in 1987 and is still open today.