The 1.12-hectare waterside park at Island Gardnes is notable for its spectacular cross-river view of the classical buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, the Cutty Sark and the National Maritime Museum, with Greenwich Park forming a backdrop. The northern entrance of the Greenwich foot tunnel is also within the park. It is almost certain that the view from this location is the one that the Canaletto painting ’Greenwich Hospital from the North Bank of the Thames’ is taken from, though whether Canaletto himself actually visited the site is in doubt. The park was formally opened on 3 August 1895 by local politician Will Crooks.

The 19th century name for the area was North Greenwich. It was named for the now defunct North Greenwich railway station (1872), that served a former passenger ferry to Greenwich and stood near the later Island Gardens (1897) and Greenwich foot tunnel (1902).

The park gave its name to Island Gardens DLR station. This opened in 1987 as the southern terminus of the DLR’s initial system, and was an elevated terminal station situated to the west of the park. The later construction of the DLR extension to Lewisham involved a tunnel under the Thames, and Island Gardens station was relocated about 100 metres (330 ft) north, close to the northern entrance to the tunnel by Millwall Park. The new station is largely underground; the original elevated station was demolished.