|
Robb Park was created in 1949 when a 26-acre tract of land situated between Robb Ave. and Oconnor St. was donated to
the City of Lima by the Breckenridge and Galvin families. The original plan was to make it into an "arenatorium"-an arena,
ice skating rink, and basketball court, but this never came to pass. Instead, it simply became a rather stark play area. The
"arenatorium" was not the last grand plan for Robb Park that fell through, though. In 1964, a planning study was done on the park. James Bassett was the landscape architect and site planner. The study was done in order to "outline the requirements and possibilities for the development of Robb Park" and then to mesh them with a detailed Master Plan to improve it. Mr. Bassett had a rather grand vision. The new updated Robb Park was to contain 2 baseball fields, 5 softball and little league baseball fields, 3 football fields, 4 tennis courts, 2 basketball courts, 1 neighborhood playground, 1 tot lot, and 1 swimming pool. There was also to be off street parking for 240 cars, 2 restroom buildings, 2 picnic areas and shelters, passive game areas, a service building, and massive landscaping. Very little ended up being done, however, mainly due to budget considerations. The baseball fields were improved some, and little things were added here and there, but the park really did not change that much over the next 30 years. That would change in the late 1990's, though. |