South Bluff Park is a 7.5 acre park situated at the corner of Tancahua and Park Avenue.
The park was established in 1910 when wealthy landowner and rancher William Hoffman donated the first acre of land.
For many decades this park was one of the city's most heavily used, highest rated, and best equipped parks. South Bluff was the city's first supervised playground park, run by a paid recreational director.
In the 1940s and 50s, this is the park that my parents took us kids to the most often...for play and always for those formal photos in our Sunday's best. I loved climbing in all of those massive, old, twisted mesquite trees….and the huge swing sets, merry-go-round, and slides there were the best in the city.
There were lighted tennis courts at the park, but on certain nights, kids were allowed to roller skate on the concrete courts.
The park was always packed on Easter Sundays when we went there for our Easter egg hunts. Schools and church groups often had picnics in the park, band concerts were routinely staged there, and South Bluff has hosted countless family reunions, birthday parties, art jamborees, etc.
At one time, during the 1930s, the city zoo was located at South Bluff Park. The featured attraction was a pair of bear cubs named Dr. Giles (after mayor H.R. Giles) and Joe Simon (city councilman), and a grizzly bear named “Doc”, donated to Corpus Christi by the San Antonio zoo. The zoo was moved to Ben Garza Park in 1938 and eventually eliminated in 1946. The old bear house at South Bluff was converted into a public restroom!
A softball field once located in South Bluff hosted numerous city league games, and horseshoe pits in the park always attracted a large number of participants.
In the 1930s, there was even a formal area for playing the ancient game of "quoits" (a game similar to horseshoes, but using metal or plastic rings).
South Bluff also had well-maintained shuffleboard courts and a croquet field.
Almost since its beginning, the park has had a city-owned tennis court. Today, ten courts make up the Al Kruse Tennis Center.
The historic 1936 Centennial Museum building in the park (one of nine such museums in the state built originally to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Texas) housed the city’s Art Museum for many years. In recent years, the building has been used as a police-sponsored youth boxing gym. The building received a state historical marker in 2018.
The elevated basketball court is still there, but not very well maintained. Most of the park’s playground equipment and amenities are now gone, and the park doesn't seem to have as many of the grand old trees that I once remembered.
But, it's still a beautiful place. As with many of the older parks close to the downtown area, South Bluff has become popular with transients.
If you're a long-time Corpus Christi resident, I'm sure that you have your own special memories of South Bluff Park.
Robert Parks is a special contributor to KRIS 6 News. Parks was a history teacher at Carroll High School for 19 years and is now retired. His knowledge of Corpus Christi history makes him a unique expert in the subject.