When purchased in 1913, it was known as the Chestnut Street Park and served as a playground for that park of South Nashville. The Board renamed it the Louise and Rebecca Dudley Park in 1914 in memory of the two daughters of Park Commissioner Robert M. Dudley, who died when a train hit the family car at Glidden, Iowa. A swimming pool, bathhouse, bandstand and ball diamond were built in the park in 1920, and it became a site of the annual park baseball championship tournaments during the 1920s. The Works Progress Administration renovated the park during the 1930s and completed there the second community center with a gymnasium built in the park system, using materials donated by city government from wrecked public buildings. In addition to a community center, the park added ball diamonds and tennis courts.
