From Pasture to Park

In the early 1950s, developers built the first subdivision in the Rivergrove Neighborhood to the east of where the park was created. In 1955, the Lions Club began working with the city to transform 17 acres of pasture and swampland into Lions Park. Three years later, the city and volunteers constructed Derby Downs, a soapbox derby track down this hillside that that hosted hosted the state championship until the late 1960s. Though uses of the park have changed, it has long been a place of recreation and relaxation.

PROYO DAILY HERALD SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 1963

SOAPBOX SPEEDSTER – Ron Staker, Mt. Pleasant soapbox racer, Saturday proved too tough for the close to 40 other racers in the Utah edition of the Soapbox Derby. Racing on Derby Downs hill in Lions Park, young Staker staved off attempts by all other heat winners to win top honors and a trip to Akron, Ohio, to race against other state winners.

This plaque is located in Lions Park at 1280 North 950 West in Provo, Utah