In 1921, Ivan Vazov died at the age of 71. Thousands of Sofians and people who had come specially to pay their respects to the great poet and writer gathered at his funeral. That same year saw the beginning of a neighbourhood that is now one of the most sought-after places to live in Sofia – the Ivan Vazov district. The land on which South Park now stands was rich in high-quality building clay for the production of bricks and tiles. Immediately after the Liberation, dozens of workers’ homes sprang up near the brickworks.

The area was developed and improved after the end of the First World War, when, like other neighbouring districts, the local council allocated affordable plots of land to landless citizens, mainly soldiers who had served in the Bulgarian army.

On 28 October 1926, 13 enterprising local residents founded a community centre, which chose the prominent Renaissance figure Dr Petar Beron as its patron. Just a few months later, the community centre library opened its doors with a catalogue of donated books. For decades, a cinema of the same name also operated within the community centre.

In the years that followed, tram No. 6 was also introduced – the longest tram line of its time, connecting the Ivan Vazov and Nadezhda districts via Central Station. Near its final stop stands a bust of Ivan Vazov, probably created by the sculptor Andrey Nikolov. It was erected in this spot in the 1950s. A charming little garden has been laid out around the monument and is carefully maintained.