Odessa’s first park was McKinney Park (Pool Road and Crane Avenue), which was developed in June 22, 1927. Soon after in September 1927, Crump Park (15th Street and Washington Avenue), was developed. It was purchased from Albert Smith for the sum of $1,500 and was 1.04 acres in size. In 1936, it was selected as the site for the first city hall. The original building is still in use today.

The first community park was Floyd Gwin Park, developed in 1940. This park, located at West 10th Street and West County Road, contained the “Ector County Auditorium,” built in 1940, and it served as the first Ector County Coliseum. The auditorium is still utilized by the Police Athletic League.

The first aquatic facility was developed in 1945 at Floyd Gwin Park. The swimming pool remained operational until the 1980s, when it was renovated. It remains in operation today. Three other aquatic facilities were developed in the early 1950s, including McKinney Park Pool, Woodson Park Pool (Murphy Street and College Avenue), and Sherwood Park Pool (44th Street and Dixie Boulevard).

In 1954, Sherwood Park, a second community park was developed. Sherwood Park contained Prairie Pete Playland Park, a playground developed by the Rotary Club, and a prairie dog town. Freedom Park (Lakeview Drive and Byron Avenue) was developed by the Oasis Foundation in 1976. In 1986, Comanche Trails Park (West County Road and Clements Street) opened and it contained the area’s first major hike and bike trail system. Noel Plaza (Fifth Street and Lincoln Avenue) was developed in 1991, in honor of Mr. W.D. Noel.

AND NOW…

In 1995, the city implemented a Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Urban Landscapes Master Plan. This comprehensive Master Plan identified the needs of the Parks and Recreation System and specified future park development. In 1996, the Odessa Downtown Lioness Club developed a park for the physically challenged at Progressive Park (Seventh Street and Tom Green Avenue). An athletic park was developed on the campus of the University of Texas Permian Basin and this athletic facility is currently under a third phase of construction. The features of UTPB Park include athletic facilities for soccer, baseball, softball, disc golf, horseshoes, basketball, tennis, sand volleyball, playgrounds and picnic facilities.

Memorial Gardens (42nd Street and Parkway Boulevard) is Odessa’s newest park. The Memorial Gardens Park site is a passive recreation park site that includes a hike and bike trail, a xeriscape demonstration garden and Pioneer Plaza. This year, the Heritage Ranching Foundation dedicated a bronze steer at Pioneer Plaza in the park that was donated by the original ranching families that settled the West Texas Area.

The park system now contains over 600 acres of dedicated park land at 34 park site locations. The maintenance and operations of the parks consists of an employee force of 40 fulltime employees, 52 part-time employees and a budget of $2,788,106. Support facilities for the system include a 110’ x 30’ greenhouse and a 10- acre tree farm that contains approximately 3,000 trees. The Parks tree program has entitled Odessa to be a Tree City USA as identified by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

Currently, two new Family Aquatic Centers (one located at Sherwood Park and the other at Woodson Park) are under construction and scheduled to open in the early summer of 2002. These two new aquatic centers are replacing the original swimming pools, and will feature amenities for all ages, which include a bathhouse with a concessions stand, shade structures, sand volleyball, sand playground, and a beach entry pool that contains lap lanes. Also featured are water slides, vortex, swim channel, lily pad walk, floor geysers, water volleyball, water playground equipment, frog slide and mushroom fountain.