Overview: Construction of the Dell Roberts Gymnasium in Riverside recently reached a major milestone with its topping-out ceremony. Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson celebrated the progress, highlighting the facility’s importance to the Bordwell Park community. Meanwhile, residents are preparing to honor community leader Dell Roberts with a public 90th birthday celebration. This upcoming event will feature various local and national officials to recognize Roberts’ lifelong service.
Earlier this month, a major milestone was reached for the Dell Roberts Gymnasium during its topping-out ceremony, marking the placement of the structure’s final steel beam.
Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson spoke at the ceremony, declaring that she was proud to join the community in celebrating this exciting step forward. She emphasized that the gymnasium will be a place for the Riverside community to connect and grow for many generations to come.
For decades, Eastside Riverside residents had pushed for a gymnasium at Bordwell Park, yet it remained the only Riverside city park without a gymnasium.
Roberts, a longtime youth advocate, who has worked for over 30 years to transform the park into a community hub, led the fight for the building of a gym at the park. It was universally agreed the gym be named in his honor.
Lock Dawson described it as decades in the making. “Dell has advocated for this building forever, it’s the only park [in the City of Riverside] without a gym,” she said, emphasizing the need for the building.
Lock Dawson further expressed gratitude for the construction firm, RC construction, the Riverside Parks and Recreation team and everyone else who helped bring the project to life.
But most of all she thanked Dell and Carmen Roberts. ”They are true gems in our community.”
Roberts’ mark on the city, dates back to the 1960s, when he began working for the Riverside Parks and Recreation Department as a lifeguard and weight trainer. At Poly High School, he founded the Black Student Union and the Multicultural Council before becoming Special Assistant to the Principal, where he oversaw discipline and student engagement. In 1989, he took on district-wide discipline and security for Riverside Unified School District.
Roberts retired in 2003, but this didn’t slow his community work. For over 30 years, he’s helped transform Bordwell Park into a true community hub, playing a key role in establishing its Black History Parade, now in its 46th year, along with Snow Day and the Eastside Backpack Giveaway. He currently serves as President of the Bordwell Park Advisory Board and founded the Adrian Dell & Carmen Roberts Foundation, which awards scholarships for academic achievement and encourages young people to give back to their community.