Landscape Information
Located south of the Trinity River in The Bottom—a historically African American neighborhood founded as a freedman’s town in the 1860s—this approximately three-and-a-half-acre relatively flat park extends north and south of Reverend CBT Smith Street. The northern section occupies a triangular parcel whereas the southern parcel is rectilinear and includes a recreation center. Originally named Oak Cliff Negro Park, it was established by the city on four-and-a-half acres in 1915 to serve the African American community. Its proximity to the river made it prone to flooding, as memorialized by Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker in the song “Trinity River Blues” (1929). Raised in the community, Walker began his career performing at the park.
In 1928 an earthen levee was constructed, as proposed earlier by landscape architect George Kessler in A City Plan for Dallas (1911), reducing the park’s acreage and limiting views of downtown. The following decade the National Youth Administration constructed a comfort station, and by the 1940s the park included a triangular athletic field edged by an arcing path and recreational amenities. The park was a popular destination hosting dance socials and athletic events. Following desegregation, its name was changed to Oak Cliff Park, and again in 1987 for Eloise Lundy, a local African American community leader. In the mid-to-late twentieth century, many amenities were removed and the park suffered from neglect; it was rehabilitated by the city in 2025.
North of Reverend CBT Smith Street, the park includes a baseball diamond, framed by the arcing pathway that retains its historic alignment. At the base of the levee is a tennis court, playground, and parking area, between which are irregularly shaped lawns shaded by two mature ash trees. The park’s western and southern perimeter is marked by a sidewalk and a verge with mature oak trees; on the southern edge is Eternal Angelic Flame (2000), a sculpture by artist Jerald Don Evans.
