University Park features numerous vistas and it’s very Worcester with small rolling hills and surrounded by three deckers.This park is located in Main South right off from Main Street near Clark University. Although many Worcester natives call it Crystal Park, that name was never made official.

This is another of Worcester’s older parks, the land being purchased in 1887 and 1889 from Sarah Anderson, Sylvia Gates, William D. Gates and Alonzo Whitcomb.

University Park was a popular community gathering space during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Organized activities for children were offered at the park, such as arts and crafts and swimming lessons. It was a destination for swimming in the summer, ice-skating in the winter, picnicking, and fishing.

Those water based activities would have taken place in Crystal Pond. If you’ve seen this small pond located in the middle of the park lately, you definitely know that it’s not used for swimming.

Upon the park’s initial design and historically, the park was used for passive recreation, but over time active recreational amenities were added, such as a swimming pool, basketball court, volleyball/tennis court, and playground.

The swimming pool was removed, but the basketball courts are probably some of the best in the city and named after Worcester Native and Celtics star Bob Cousy. Also new volley ball courts have been installed and are widely used.

There are plans to build a spray park – to replace the pool – near the playground. Although, the spray park won’t have any above ground water features, so that it can also be used as a patio. The master plan also stipulates that security cameras will be installed throughout the park.