Picnic tables under shady oak trees around the park offer guests an enjoyable place to relax and eat.
Jan. 19, 2004

There are many shelters such as these, along with numerous paved paths for a brisk walk, roller-skating or biking.

The Macfarlane Park Trail is a five-foot wide asphalt trail that meanders 1.2 miles via a loop system around the perimeter of the park.

The rear of the facility faces the park.
 

After the war he attended the University of Tampa on the G.I. Bill. While studying for his physical education major, he returned to the city recreation department, working as an umpire at the North Boulevard Recreation Center. He met his future wife Frances, who was the center's playground director.

Barksdale graduated from the University of Tampa in 1950 and married in 1952. By 1955 he worked his up to director of the recreation department. He oversaw construction of nine recreation centers, eight public swimming pools and 50 tennis courts. He also co-founded the Tampa Sports Club and helped organize the first Gasparilla Distance Classic.

Barksdale retired in 1982 and spent his retirement staying active with his church, playing tennis, and working for his friend George Levy, the trophy maker. In 1993 the North Boulevard Recreation Center was renamed the David Barksdale Senior Center.

The next year, Barksdale died of cancer at age 67. The city proposed renovating his namesake building. But the University of Tampa offered to buy it, paving the way for a new senior center at MacFarlane Park in West Tampa.

Last June the $1.5-million David M. Barksdale Senior Center opened to hundreds of seniors, who packed the place as a big band played '40s hits.

From an article by Michael Canning, Times Staff Writer, St. Petersburg Times, published March 14, 2003