South Roebuck Park

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South Roebuck Park (sometimes called East Side Park) is a former public park which is now incorporated into the Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve. The former park is located at the southern terminus of Dogwood Drive and just east of the Shadywood subdivision in the Roebuck Springs-South Roebuck neighborhood. The back of the park is bounded by the roadbed formerly used by the Birmingham Mineral Railroad's Gate City Branch Extension to Trussville.

The park first opened in the 1950s and featured athletic fields used by Little League baseball and Youth League football teams. Its swimming pool was constructed in 1963 with funds raised by selling $200 bonds to neighborhood residents. Homer and Doris Shannon led those efforts. Mr Shannon joined with Lawson Corley, Roy Amberson, J. B. McGuire, J. M. Pender, James E. Greene, James David and James Gustin to incorporate the Eastside Swim Club in July 1963. Bondholders enjoyed free admission to the pool, with swim club fees and concession stand sales helping to pay for lifeguards. One lifeguard, David Langner, later earned fame for returning two punts for touchdowns in the 1972 Iron Bowl.

The park was closed in 1995 and the property fell into disrepair and was left abandoned. Neighborhood president Frank Hamby helped lead efforts to restore the park through the "Take Back South Roebuck Park Task Force" and the "Friends of South Roebuck Park." Eventually the athletic fields were acquired by Walter Energey and five acres of the former park was turned over to the adjoining Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve .

Plans developed in 2007 to relocate the Redmont School (later renamed the Alabama Waldorf School). to the property. Ruffner Mountain set aside a five acre parcel for AWS before 2010. Architect Chris Giattina was consulted on the planning of a new school campus, which was originally budgeted at $1 million

With permission from the AWS board of trustees, Katherine Murray and Matt Smith began cultivating vegetables on part of the property as part of their Magic City Gardening project in 2013. After AWS selected another site, the former park was returned to Ruffner Mountain, which has since taken steps to clear debris and invasive plants and to develop plans for redevelopment of the park as a neighborhood green space and entranceway to the nature preserve.

References

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