[1] The park contains a baseball field, playground, and barbecue areas, in addition to the Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center, which holds classes and events.

[7] The original design was highly symmetrical and did not include any trees or paths, believing they would be used "for clandestine purposes by people of bad character."

[13][14] Artist William Merritt Chase, a resident of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was a frequent visitor of the park and painted it at least five times in the 1880s, creating some of the earliest color representations of the neighborhood.

[8][21] After years of lobbying from the Tompkins Park Association, a new recreation center was constructed in the former place of the library, opening on March 13, 1973.

Built at a cost of $1.5 million, the facility contained an outdoor sunken amphitheater, a lounge, an information center, and an indoor auditorium named after local musician Eubie Blake.

The auditorium features a mural by Akwesi M. Asante depicting African American leaders including David Dinkins and Frederick Douglass.

"[8] Von King was a building contractor who became involved in political and economic redevelopment programs for the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, serving on the local PTA, the Police Civilian Committee, the Magnolia Tree Earth Center, and the New York chapter of the John Brown Memorial Association.

[19][15] In 2022, the Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center reopened after a $7 million renovation, with repairs and accessibility features added to the Eubie Blake Theater.

[29][30][31] In the late 2010s and early 2020s, Food Not Bombs operated a foodshare program located in Herbert Von King Park.