73MicheleP
I have lived in Oberlin most of my life and am still amazed by the amazing job the college and city do keeping it beautiful. While many areas around us are covered with trash from the melting snow Tappan Square is well kept. It is a great place for a walk with the kids and dog.
872charlesa
28 acres in the middle of Oberlin the town and campus. A dendrologists delight with a well maintained collection of trees, surrounded by open lawn. Great place to play frisbee, walk the dog or your partner, sunbathe, people watch, and occasionally catch a concert on the bandstand. Every town should have such a great open space at its center!
nmashburn
Take a stroll and look for the squirrels. Sit on a bench and soak in the college town. Grab a blanket and enjoy the park.
PDL_12
Get some lunch from Treehuggers and hang out under all the huge old trees. Plenty of room for kids and dogs to roam and explore. Quiet and breezy too
Boho-Mamo
Tappan Square is a spacious, shady park & community gathering spot in 'downtown' Oberlin. There's often music provided by the talented students of Oberlin College. A great place for a picnic or just relaxing in this historic, small town. Lots of great eateries & bike routes nearby, including the North Coast Inland Trail.
KommissarKen
You can't get much more Middle America than Tappan Square. I've been visiting Oberlin for over 40 years. The square is always an anchoring spot -- big, bucolic, sort of in slow motion. There's Gibson's Bakery -- with a facade from the 1950s -- STILL turning out the best donuts anywhere. (Get a "whole wheat cake glazed" and see if you don't agree.)There's still a Ben Franklin five & dime store, for Pete's sake! The one anomaly, but a good one, is that on Main Street sits Allen Memorial Art Museum. It's hard to think that another town of 8,000 has a museum as impressive as this, with pieces spanning the Renaissance to Monet to Chuck Close.There's a memorial arch from a century ago and a newer, but nicely distinctive, bandshell. There are encroachments, of course: the college bookstore is now just another Barnes & Noble. And there are some yuppified restaurants near the square -- but good ones.But if you need to get back in touch with your inner, mid-century not-so-modern self. Park your car and spend 30 minutes walking around Tappan Square. It'll cool your jets in the very best way.
TampaFLRuthy
Quiet, soothing and lovely. After a lot of walking around, we sat on a bench and listened to the bells chiming on the hour and watched other people enjoying themselves. Lovely.
JBW15217
Tappan Square is centrally located, with variety of benches, structures (bandstand, treeswing), wonderful trees... a delightful hub of this college town. Bring a picnic lunch, enjoy summer concerts and festivities, just relax. Pretty sweet to find something like this these days!
Vdubfixer
Nice big open park downtown Oberlin. They have music in the Summer and a cool swing. Free parking and a great place for a picnic.
MBernha267
Tappan Square is the heart of the city of Oberlin. 13 acres of open space that is just perfect for relaxing - drinking coffee or reading a book or just lounging. Look for outdoor events periodically scheduled here as well.