Goble Playground

This playground honors George S. Goble, who ran an ice pond and icehouse in the Bronx during the 1860s. Adjacent to the playground is Macomb’s Road, named after the merchant and landowner, Alexander Macomb. In 1813, his son Robert Macomb erected a dam that held back the Harlem River at 160th Street. The construction enraged local residents since it blocked large boats sailing the river, and in 1838, a group of disgruntled Westchester farmers tore down the dam with axes.

What was here before?

In addition to swampland, this site was once occupied by an ice pond and icehouse owned by the park’s namesake George S. Goble during the 1860s. After Goble died, the land was auctioned off in 1884. His holdings included four cottages, the ice pond property, stables, several houses and lots, and an establishment called Sibberns Club-house operated by German-born Augustus Sibberns.

A one-time City Marshall, Sibberns opened a roadhouse and hotel for equestrians on Harlem Lane (now St. Nicholas Avenue) and West 130^th Street. The establishment was relocated to the Bronx on Jerome Avenue and East 174^th Street, where it was popular with the wealthy and fashionable horse crowd, including Cornelius Vanderbilt. Sibberns died in 1893 at the club house. By the 1940s, the surrounding area was developed and contained several automotive shops.

How did this site become a playground?

Parks acquired the land for Goble Playground in two parts in 1936, the first section through purchase and the second through condemnation. Having been an unnamed property since it opened in the 1930s, the park was named Goble Playground in 1987.

A park upgrade in 1997 added new play equipment, safety surfacing, handball courts, and landscaping. In 2025, the playground was rebuilt, including the play equipment, swings, basketball and handball courts, drainage and water systems, landscaping and park security lighting.