The park was originally the site of Woodvale House, which was located in southern portion of the grounds adjacent to Woodvale Road. The house and grounds were sold to the
Belfast Corporation by Reverend Glover in 1888. The corporation planned to open the park to the public under the name "Shankhill Park", but this was changed to "Woodvale Park" shortly before it opened. The park opened to the public on 18 August 1888. It was scheduled to be opened by local dignitaries at 3pm. There was a delay in the representatives arriving and at 3.35pm a park ranger unlocked the gates and opened the park to a large waiting crowd. The park's
bandstand was granted protection as a listed structure in March 2016. That October a statue was unveiled in the park to commemorate Shankill's contribution to boxing history. In 2017 the council, in conjunction with the
Northern Ireland Housing Executive opened elf-themed children's trails within the park. An accompanying puzzle booklet was also produced. In July 2018 the park hosted the first Woodvale Festival, a free event featuring pop music, fairground amusements and traditional local dancing and music. In September 2018 a sculpted metal bench was placed in the park as a memorial to those lost to suicide and to encourage people to talk about their mental health. == War memorial ==