OB Johnson Park — Attraction in Hallandale Beach

Oreste Blake (O.B.) Johnson was former teacher who volunteered as a recreation leader in the City of Hallandale Beach. He was instrumental in convincing the city to build Dixie Park with a pool at Pembroke Road between NW 8th Avenue and NW 7th. He was the city’s first parks director, a position that grew out of his concern and interest for the northwest community he lived in. Johnson organized basketball, swimming, baseball and softball games for the neighborhood children and turned them into state champions. He also started the Hallandale Scholarship Society. Mr. Johnson retired in 1978. In recognition of Mr. Johnson's dedication to the children and residents of the community, the City changed the name of Dixie Park to OB Johnson Park shortly after his death in 1995 at the age of 80.

The gymnasium at O.B. Johnson Park was dedicated to another man who was recognized for his connection to the children in Hallandale Beach. On June 5th, 2001, City Commissioners voted unanimously to designate the gymnasium at O.B. Johnson Park as the Nelson "Butch" Brown Activity Center. Nelson "Butch" Brown was a popular city worker who took care of the children and parks in the community for the 35 years he worked for the City of Hallandale Beach.

This park has a lot of history in this community and has been an important social and recreational gathering place. When James Brown used to perform in the area he could be found at this park playing basketball with the local kids. Boxing champ Floyd Patterson was another icon who also visited the park and signed autographs and shook hands with 4,000 fans.

Today the pool is located in BF James Park but OB Johnson Park still has plenty of great amenities. Upgrades to the park were made in 2016. OB Johnson Park offers a Teen Zone program, senior programs and it has a new computer lab, and fitness gym along with the Nelson Butch Brown Gymnasium. You can play basketball, soccer, and tennis here and there is a shade covered playground. The city has put a lot of thought and money to creating a park that offers as much as possible to the community. It is just the way Mr. Johnson would...

I visit OB Johnson Park regularly, and I'm concerned about its current state of management. Unfortunately, it seems that the park is not being properly maintained, and several issues are affecting the experience and safety of visitors. The bathrooms are consistently filthy and lack basic necessities like toilet paper, soap, and running water There are many minors in the park without any supervision. This lack of oversight leads to frequent altercations among unsupervised children. The garbage cans are often overflowing, contributing to a general sense of neglect and messiness. The park's music sometimes features inappropriate lyrics, which is unsettling for families and children. There are no visible security personnel, and it has become common to see people smoking cannabis openly, which is concerning, especially with children around. Overall, the City of Hallandale needs to address these issues to ensure the park is a safe and pleasant environment...

This location has several amenities for the community and its youth. The employees there are really genuine and want to help out those who visit. The park has a gymnasium, fitness center, human services dept., playground, tennis courts, and a full athletic field that the P.A.L. of Hallandale Beach holds practice/home games for its sports programs. The staff is truly there for the kids and it shows. My family and I have been with the program for a while and will be until kids age out. The city has been making changes in the community for the residents which are noticeable and making a difference. This park is proof of the change that helps our youth by keeping them occupied with healthy activities and not on the streets. They are able to enjoy their youth as where kids on the streets grow up too fast out of necesity. I recommend this park to anyone, also support the center and it has to offer and to the staff who work with...