Building Trades Park

Building Trades Park was first known as the "Second Street Park." The park land had been owned, sequentially starting in 1895, by the Henley Stone Company, Oolitic Stone Company and South Side Stone Company; it was once the site of a limestone mill and became a City park in 1949. The park is named Building Trades Park because it was established with help of local union workers. A Master Plan to guide the future development of Building Trades Park was presented to the Board of Park Commissioners May 21, 2024.

Quick Park Information

• Features: two acres, asphalt basketball courts with five goals, open grassy area, benches and picnic tables, drinking fountain (open seasonally), bike parking on the northwest side of the park near the vehicle parking lot, asphalt and concrete surface trail around the perimeter of the park. 
• Restroom: open seasonally.
• Property rules and hours of operation for Bloomington's city parks
• Parking: One asphalt parking lot off Howe Street with nine vehicle parking spaces and one designated handicap accessible parking space. 

Picnic Shelter

• Reserve a picnic shelter
• List of all reservable picnic shelters in city parks.
• Shelters are available for rent April 1 through October 31. Rental times are 6 a.m. until 11 p.m.
• Building Trades Park Shelter has no electricity and three picnic tables. It is approximately 212' from the designated handicap accessible parking spot to the picnic shelter via concrete sidewalk and asphalt path. Maximum 25 people.

History

Building Trades Park was first known as the "Second Street Park." The park land had been owned, sequentially starting in 1895, by the Henley Stone Company, Oolitic Stone Company and South Side Stone Company; it was once the site of a limestone mill. South Side Stone left the land around 1920. Neighbor and area historian Don Shiflet said the quarry holes were still present on the property, although there were no buildings, in 1927.

In about 1949, businessmen Ralph Rogers and John R. East helped fill in and smooth the site. East used clinkers from his coal business. The park is named Building Trades Park because it was established with help of local union workers. Records show the parcel was purchased from the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce on July 26, 1949 for $1.

The multiple-use concrete slab area was completed in August 1967. New playground equipment was installed in 2003. The shelterhouse was renovated in 1981 and rehabbed in 2009 by the Labor and Trades Union, and was demolished in 2025 when further renovations and repair became impractical.

Following the demolition of the former IU Health Bloomington Hospital across Second Street from Building Trades Park in 2022, Parks and Recreation embarked on a Master Plan process for the park. Beech Grove, Ind.-based landscape architect Mader Design was selected to develop the Master Plan. Feedback from members of the public was collected during in-person public input sessions and online, and a final Master Plan was formally accepted by the Board of Park Commissioners in May 2024.

Parks and Recreation implemented the first phase of the Master Plan by removing outdated infrastructure, including a wooden boardwalk and picnic shelter, in early 2025. Phase one also included:

• Curb cuts in the parking area for better accessibility.
• Removing the wooden ramp on the east side of the park and installing a new 10' wide, concrete path from Howe Street and the parking lot south to Second Street. The path terminates at the location of a planned future bus stop and mid-block pedestrian crossing to the Hopewell neighborhood.
• Removing the existing picnic shelter on the park’s east side and building a new picnic shelter just south of the parking area along the new accessible path.