Both this playground and the nearby Fairmount Place are named after the 19th century Fairmount estate that was located here, owned successively by Colonel Dunham, Robert Cochran, and Thomas Minford. Prospect Avenue, adjacent to Fairmount Playground, gets its name for the prospect (view) that it affords of the East River. Parks acquired Fairmount Playground in conjunction with the construction of the Cross-Bronx Expressway.