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[{"id": 1, "title": "Abbott (Robert) Park", "address": "\n 49 E. 95th St. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the Roseland Community Area, Abbott Park totals 25\u00a0acres and features a multi-purpose room and game room. Outside, the park offers four baseball diamonds, basketball, track and tennis courts, swimming pool, and two sprinklers. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose room and game room.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports,\u00a0cheerleading,\u00a0aerobics, senior and teen clubs. On the cultural side, Abbott Park offers dance, music and movement. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer youth can attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.Specialty camps, including Sports Camp, are also offered in the summer.\n\nIn addition to programs, Abbott Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including\u00a0holiday events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired the site of Abbott Park as part of a ten-year plan to increase recreational opportunities in under-served neighborhoods in post-World War II Chicago. \u00a0In 1947, the Citizens Advisory Committee on Park Sites recommended the creation of a park to serve the rapidly growing African-American community near 95th Street and Michigan Avenue. \u00a0The Park District purchased the property southeast of that intersection in 1949 and 1950, and built a swimming pool and recreational facility the following year. \u00a0In 1956, the District sold a portion of the parkland to the Board of Education for use as Harlan High School.\n\nRobert Sengstacke Abbott (1868-1940), for whom the park is named, founded the influential Chicago Defender in 1905. \u00a0Born in Georgia, Abbott received his education in southern schools, and graduated from Chicago's Kent College of Law. \u00a0He was the only African-American in the class of 1899. \u00a0Abbott's lofty goal was to eliminate racial prejudice through his newspaper. \u00a0To promote racial equality, Abbott and his Chicago Defender newspaper urged southern blacks to migrate to Chicago and other northern cities for greater economic opportunity. \u00a0By 1918, the influential newspaper had a national circulation of 125,000, making it the largest-selling black newspaper in the country. \u00a0President of his Abbott Publishing Company, Abbott was also active in civic affairs.\u00a0 He served on Governor Frank O. Lowden's Race Relations Committee in 1919, on the Board of Commissioners of the Chicago World's Fair in 1934, and on the boards of the Art Institute, the Field Museum, and the Chicago Historical Society.\n "}, {"id": 2, "title": "Ada (Sawyer Garrett) Park", "address": "\n 11250 S. Ada St. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Morgan Park Community Area, Ada Park totals 16.65\u00a0acres and features an auditorium, gymnasium, fitness center, and multi-purpose clubrooms. Outside, the park offers a swimming pool, baseball diamonds, basketball/tennis courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our auditorium, gymnasium and multi-purpose clubrooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids, seasonal sports,\u00a0tumbling,\u00a0teen, and senior clubs. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Ada Park hosts fun special events including family holiday themed celebrations throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "Created in 1930, Ada Park provided recreational facilities for the Morgan Park neighborhood's expanding African-American population. Initially, acquisition began in 1930.\u00a0 Acquisition to expand the park was finalized in 1955; streets and alleys were vacated in 1957 to complete the 16.65-acre park.\u00a0 The park was the last of those developed by the Calumet Park District, established in 1903. The Calumet Park District was one of 22 neighborhood park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. By 1931, Ada Park had a swimming pool and a few landscape improvements. After the Chicago Park District took control of the park in 1934, other recreational facilities were installed. The Park District erected a new bathhouse for the swimming pool in 1940, and built \"fieldhouse additions\" to the bathhouse in 1957 and 1990.\n\nUntil 1934, Ada Park was known as Loomis Street Park, for the street running along its west side. Late in that year, the Calumet Park District voted to change the name to Ada Park, for the street on the park's opposite side. The street is named for Ada Sawyer Garrett (1856-1938), who sold the last remaining vacant land in the Logan Square neighborhood, the Logan Square Ball Park, to developers in 1924. Though the Chicago Park District informed the Calumet Park District that it had no authority to rename the site Ada Park, the name has been used ever since.\n "}, {"id": 3, "title": "Adams (George & Adele) Park", "address": "\n 1919 N. Seminary Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Tucked away in Lincoln Park Community Area, Adams Playground is truly a treasure in the community and welcomes neighbors into the park year-round. The park is 0.78 acres and features a small field house that hosts indoor activities for the little ones - from Moms, Pops and Tots to Summer Camps.\n\nThe talented and dedicated staff at Adams Playground invites you to stop by and check out what\u2019s happening at the park.\n\nFor those interested in using the picnic tables on the weekends - a permit is required. Please check with park staff on availability.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Established in 1902, Adams Park bears the name of attorney and Congressman George Adams (1840-1917) and his wife Adele (Foster) Adams. George and Adele gave the City of Chicago use of two-thirds of an acre of property in their Lincoln Park neighborhood as parkland. Placed under the jurisdiction of the City's Special Park Commission, on which George Adams served, Adams Park had playground apparatus, a shelter house, and sand court as early as 1904. In 1910, the Adamses conveyed title to the property to the City. By 1916, the Special Park Commission had added a playing field that was flooded in winter for ice skating. The City transferred Adams Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. In 1997, a new interactive waterplay area, named for retired school teacher Dorothy Melamerson, opened in Adams Park. Ms. Melamerson provided funding for the children's water feature through a bequest in her will.\n "}, {"id": 4, "title": "Adams (John C.) Park", "address": "\n 7535 S. Dobson Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Greater Grand Crossing Community Area, Adams Park totals 1.01 acres and\u00a0is a park location used for passive recreation. Park patrons can relax in this open green space while enjoying the beauty of nature.\n ", "history": "In 1881, the City of Chicago acquired a triangular property in Greater Grand Crossing from the community's original developer, Paul Cornell. A quarter-century later, renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen, a member of the City's Special Park Commission, reported that the triangle had deteriorated into \"a truck garden in a mud hole, surrounded by ditches...into which the sewage emptied.\" He further described it as \"the site of a dog pound, with other sorry-looking shacks for ornament, all bordered by a rotten plank walk on two sides.\" In 1907, Jensen began improving the site with proper drainage, substantial walks, trees, and shrubbery. In subsequent years, the Commission seeded the lawns, planted additional trees, and installed a drinking fountain. Between the early 1920s and the mid-1940s, the depressed lawn was flooded in winter for ice skating. \n\nIn 1957, the City transferred Adams Park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District has maintained it as a greenspace for passive recreation ever since. The origin of the Adams Park name is unclear. Hyde Park historian Steve Treffman believes the park may have been named for John C. Adams, an official of the Cornell Watch Company, which stood across 76th Street from the park around 1900.\n "}, {"id": 5, "title": "Addams (Jane) Memorial Park", "address": "\n 550 E. Grand Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "This small park totals 4.31 acres and is nestled on the edge of our quaint Ohio Street Beach and adjacent to the bustling Near North Community Area, which includes our neighbor Navy Pier.\u00a0 While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to stop by nearby Lake Shore Park to use the outdoor track or workout in the fitness center.\n ", "history": "Between 1914 and 1916, the City created a municipal pier and a neighboring park by filling in submerged land east of Lake Shore Drive and north of Grand Avenue. The new municipal pier was almost immediately pressed into service as a naval training site during World War I, and in 1927, the city renamed the structure Navy Pier in honor of the trainees. The adjacent park also took the new name.\n\nNavy Pier Park, like other City parks was transferred to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. In 1996, the Park District officially re-designated the park Jane Addams Memorial Park in honor of the world-renowned social reformer and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Addams founded one of North America's first settlement houses, Chicago's Hull House, which provided much-needed social services and cultural opportunities to its near west side immigrant neighborhood. Addams also worked tirelessly to promote various legal reforms, including the first juvenile-court law and an eight-hour working day for women.\n\nA six-piece sculptural grouping honoring Addams by Louise Bourgeois called \"Helping Hands\" was originally installed at Addams Memorial Park. Unfortunately, the sculptures were severely vandalized and had to be removed. \"Helping Hands\" was later restored and relocated to Chicago Women's Park and Gardens where it continues to serve as a monument to Addams' work in Chicago.\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 6, "title": "Addams (Jane) Park", "address": "\n 1434 S. Loomis \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "NEW RECREATION CENTER AT ADDAMS PARK\nThe Chicago Park District\u00a0has constructed\u00a0a new fieldhouse at Addams Park. The ComEd Recreation Center is now open for public use. Indoor facilities include an artificial turf football/soccer practice field, a three-lane running track, a gymnasium, and a clubroom. Outside, the\u00a0building there is an artificial turf football/soccer field and an artificial turf baseball field.\n\nThis small park is located in the Near West Side Community Area. The park totals 9.23 acres.\u00a0\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In the late 1940s, Addams Park's Near West Side neighborhood was decaying and congested. The Chicago Park District established the much-needed park in 1946, part of a ten-year plan to increase recreational opportunities in under-served neighborhoods after World War II.\n\nLand acquisition proved problematic, however, and demolition of the site's dilapidated buildings did not begin until 1952. The Chicago Park District acquired the majority of the land for the park from 1952 until 1954.\u00a0 In 2020, the Chicago Park District added a new fieldhouse to the park.\n\nThe park's name honors Jane Addams (1860-1935), the world-renowned social reformer who devoted her life to serving the economic and social needs of the Near West Side's disadvantaged immigrant community. Addams' base of operations was her Hull House on nearby Halsted Street, one of North America's first settlement houses. In addition to her work in Chicago, Addams actively promoted national legal reforms, including tenement-house regulation, factory inspection, and workers' compensation. Addams was awarded the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.\n "}, {"id": 7, "title": "Admin Building", "address": "\n 541 N. Fairbanks Ct. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "The Chicago Park District's administrative offices are located in the city's Streeterville neighborhood.\u00a0 When Board meetings are held at this location, they typically take place in the meeting room on the 8th floor.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 8, "title": "Aiello (John) Park", "address": "\n 2133 N. McVicker Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60602\n ", "description": "This park totals 0.39 acres and is located in the Belmont-Cragin Community Area (one block west of Austin Avenue and approximately 1 \u00bd blocks south of Grand Avenue).\u00a0 Come out enjoy the lovely playground with your kids!\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Riis Park.\n ", "history": "This former City park was transferred to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act in 1957.\u00a0 In 1973, Park 1280 was designated Oak Park. After the sudden death of long-time 36th Ward Alderman John F. Aiello, former constituents suggested that a park should be named in his honor. Aiello was known for his active participation in little league baseball and football programs in the parks within his ward. In 1980, the year of his death, the Park District recognized Aiello's interest in the parks by renaming Oak Park in his memory.\n "}, {"id": 9, "title": "Algonquin Park", "address": "\n 2941 N. Washtenaw Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "This small park totals 0.16 acres and is located in the Avondale Community Area, two blocks east of California Avenue and approximately 1 \u00bd blocks north of Diversey Avenue.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Brands Park.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago created Algonquin Park in 1949, transferring it to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. Initially developed as a small gravel playlot, the site was rehabilitated in 1970, and again in 1990 as part of the Park District\u2019s soft surface playground program. For many years, the property was known as Washtenaw Park, presumably for the street on which it is located. In 1999, the Park District changed the park's name to Algonquin to avoid confusion with a second Washtenaw Park located on Chicago's south side. The Algonquins were a large family of Native American tribes linked by language. At one time, the Algonquins occupied territory extending from the east coast to the Rocky Mountains, a larger area of North America than any other Native American group. A number of Algonquin tribes lived in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. These included the Menominee, Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, Mascouten, Potowatomi, and Miami.\n "}, {"id": 10, "title": "Almond Park", "address": "\n 2234 W. 115th St. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Morgan Park Community Area, Almond Park totals 0.74 acres and\u00a0is a park location used for passive recreation. Park patrons can relax in this open green space while enjoying the beauty of nature.\n ", "history": "The oval-shaped tract of land now known as Almond Park was once the site of the Village of Morgan Park's water works.\u00a0 The Village of Morgan Park acquired half of the property in 1887.\u00a0 After the City of Chicago annexed the Village in 1914, the City transferred maintenance of the property to the Calumet Park District, one of 22 independent park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. The Calumet Park District took control of the water works site in 1920, but never improved it. The property was transferred to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 The Park District officially named the tiny greenspace Almond Park in 1974. The park was one of a number of properties named for trees and plants at this time. The ancient almond tree, mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, had its origins in China. The tree produces the world's most popular nut.\n "}, {"id": 11, "title": "Altgeld (John) Park", "address": "\n 515 S. Washtenaw Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "Located in the East Garfield Park Community Area, Altgeld Park totals 4.77 acres and features a fieldhouse, two gymnasiums, a fitness center, meeting rooms and a kitchen.\n\nOutside, the park offers a swimming pool and and a multi-purpose\u00a0artificial turf athletic field\u00a0for football, baseball, soccer and more. The park also includes a small playground that was renovated in Fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays! playground initiative. Many of these spaces are available for rental, including the ball fields and meeting rooms.\n\nPark patrons visit Altgeld Park to play football, baseball or soccer, and children enjoy the playground. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. In addition to programs, the park\u00a0hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as gymnastics showcases, egg hunts, Movies in the Park and other Night Out in the Parks events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Established in 1873 as Congress Park, the land for this park was originally owned by local real estate developers Frank W. and James L. Campbell and donated to the City.\u00a0 The City conveyed this park to the West Park Commissioners in 1915. The West Park Commissioners expanded the park by acquiring an additional four acres in 1916. The following year the expanded park was named in honor of John P. Altgeld (1847-1902), Illinois' governor from 1893 to 1897, and an early proponent of neighborhood playgrounds. The controversial Altgeld, a strong supporter of labor, is best known for pardoning several of the Haymarket conspirators.\u00a0 Pursuant to the Chicago Park District Act of 1934, this park became part of the Chicago Park District inventory.\n\nThe Altgeld Park Fieldhouse, an English Georgian Revival style building designed by the architectural firm of Michaelson and Rognstad. The fieldhouse was completed in 1929 and included a first-floor community hall with foyer, two gymnasiums, dressing and locker rooms, showers, physical director\u2019s quarters, spectator\u2019s balcony, storage space, bathrooms, offices, and a skaters\u2019 room.\n "}, {"id": 12, "title": "Amundsen (Roald) Park", "address": "\n 6200 W. Bloomingdale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60639\n ", "description": "Tucked away in the Austin Community Area (between Austin & Nagle Avenues, and between Fullerton & North Avenues), Amundsen Park covers 16.24\u00a0acres. Its fieldhouse is equipped with a gymnasium, fitness center, and club rooms. Outside, the park features baseball/softball fields, football/soccer field, volleyball and basketball court, as well as playground with a water spray feature.\n\nAmundsen Park offers a variety of programs for youth, including seasonal sports instruction, day camp, as well as the Park Kids after school program which provides special supervised activities during school holidays.Teens can enjoy socializing with their peers at Teen Club. Adults can keep fit participating in the park\u2019s sports leagues and in the fitness center.\n ", "history": "Amundsen Park is among the thirteen parks created by the Northwest Park District. The Northwest Park District began to purchase land for the park in 1925, on the recommendation of its Committee on Park Sites. By 1928, the Northwest Park District completed the land acquisition for the park and the North Austin Community Club was urging speedy improvement of the property. Before the end of that year, the Park District had acquired the remainder of the park's 13.33 acres, contracted for playground equipment, and approved fieldhouse plans. By 1931, some improvements had been made, but a plea by the North Austin Manor Neighborhood Club to move ahead with the fieldhouse could not be honored due to the District's financial condition. \u00a0\n\nThe Northwest Park District designated the park Roald Amundsen Park in 1933; two years after rejecting a petition to name the park for Norwegian-born football coach Knute Rockne (1888-1931). The Norwegian National League suggested the Amundsen name as a way to honor Norwegian polar adventurer Roald Amundsen (1872-1928). Amundsen led many scientific explorations in the Arctic and Antarctic, but is best known for discovering the South Pole on December 4, 1911. In 1928, Amundsen's plane disappeared near the North Pole as he led a search for a missing Italian dirigible.\n\nIn 1934, the Northwest Park District was one of the 22 park districts that were consolidated into the Chicago Park District, and Amundsen Park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District eventually constructed the Amundsen Park fieldhouse in 1954.\n "}, {"id": 13, "title": "Anderson (Fred) Park", "address": "\n 1611 S. Wabash Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Fred Anderson Park is a new 1.20 acre park in the Near South Side Community Area. The park features two enclosed dog friendly areas, one for small dogs and one for large dogs. Each area is complete with artificial turf, water play fountains,\u00a0tunnel and shade structures, benches, picnic tables, Omega style safety fencing and a dog-friendly drinking fountains.\u00a0\n\nFred Anderson Park also includes a stage area with a seating wall for performances by local artists. The stage areas includes shade structures, electrical service and benches.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Chicago Women's Park.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 2008, the City of Chicago acquired just over one acre of property at 16th St. and Wabash Ave. to provide parkland within a redeveloped area of the Near South Side Community Area. The City of Chicago transferred the park to the Chicago Park District in 2015. The Chicago Park District took over the design, development, and management of the park.\n\nPark District staff members and Altamanu, a landscape architecture and urban planning firm, worked closely with community members to create plans for the park. It includes a dog friendly area, lawn, trees and benches, as well as a stage area with a seating wall for performances by musicians and other local artists.\n\nIn 2011, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners named the new park in honor of Fred Anderson an internationally acclaimed jazz musician who lived only a few blocks away from 2101 South Michigan Avenue and in close proximity to the original site of the Velvet Lounge, Anderson\u2019s bar that became known as one of Chicago\u2019s most important jazz venues.\u00a0 Born in Monroe, Louisiana Fred Anderson (1929 \u2013 2010) began teaching himself to play the piano at the age of five and took up the tenor saxophone as a teenager. He married in 1950, worked various odd jobs to support his family, and played the saxophone in his spare time. Although he did not play professionally until he was in his thirties, audiences and other musicians quickly recognized his great talent.\n\nIn the mid 1960s, Anderson was one of the original Chicago members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. He and his band played in the first AACM concert. Anderson soon made a recording, \u201cSong For\u201d on Delmark Records, which proved to be the first of more than thirty albums he recorded. Around this time, he became known as the \u201cLone Prophet of the Prairie,\u201d in part because of the fact he played with such a unique and distinctive style.\n\nMaking his first trip to perform in Europe in 1977, Anderson gained quick popularity, travelling and performing throughout the US as well as Austria, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland. Despite his widespread fame, he maintained strong ties with Chicago. In 1982, he began to help a sick friend run the Velvet Lounge at 2128 \u00bd South Indiana Avenue. When his friend died, Anderson took over the bar and transformed it into internationally renowned venue for creative music.\n\nFred Anderson mentored many younger musicians, performed at numerous Chicago Jazz Festivals, and contributed to the vitality of Chicago for decades. He was always true to his motto of \u201cpatience, sincerity, and consistency.\u201d\n "}, {"id": 14, "title": "Anderson (Louis) Park", "address": "\n 3748 South Prairie Avenue \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "Located in the Douglas Community Area, Anderson Park totals 1 acre.\u00a0The park is named for attorney Louis B. Anderson, who served as 2nd Ward alderman from 1917 to 1933.\u00a0\n\nAnderson Park offers indoor and outdoor basketball courts and a playground that was recently renovated as part of the Chicago Plays! playground initiative.\n\nThe park\u00a0sits adjacent to the Mayo Elementary School and Ida B. Wells Preparatory Elementary School campus and shares a baseball field with these schools. In the fieldhouse, the park offers a gymnasium and a meeting room. Many of these spaces are available for rental for children's parties, community meetings and other events.\u00a0\n\nAfter school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. The park also hosts special events throughout the year including Night Out in the Parks and Movies in the Park events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Anderson Park takes its name from attorney Louis B. Anderson (1870-1946), 2nd Ward alderman from 1917 to 1933. The Chicago City Council purchased the site of Anderson Park from the Olivet Baptist Church in 1926, and the City's Bureau of Parks began to develop the property the following year. In 1957, the property was transferred to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. In 1994, the City acquired property adjacent to the park. In 1996, the City transferred this property to the Park District for the expansion of the park. The Park District replaced a small recreational building constructed by the City with a new fieldhouse in 1981.\n "}, {"id": 15, "title": "Andersonville Park", "address": "\n 5233 N. Ashland Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "This quaint park totals 0.19 acres and is\u00a0located in the Edgewater Community Area (on Ashland Avenue, one block north of Foster Avenue). The playground was renovated in Spring 2015 as part of the Chicago Plays! renovation program.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs offered at nearby Winnemac Park.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago owned the property at 5233 N. Ashland, and in 1950 acquired the adjacent property, and then established Ashland Playlot. By the end of that year, the new park had a sandbox and a playfield that could be flooded for ice-skating in winter. Not long after, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation installed slides, swings, a merry-go-round, and a jungle gym. \u00a0In 1957, the park was transferred to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. The Park District rehabilitated the playground in 1964, and again in 1992. \n\n\u00a0\n\nKnown for years as Ashland Playlot for the adjacent street, the property was officially renamed Andersonville Park in 1993, at the request of neighborhood residents.\u00a0 Andersonville Park is named for the Andersonville section of the Edgewater Community Area. The neighborhood began to develop rapidly in the early 1900\u2019s, when the City's elevated trains first reached the area. Around World War I, large numbers of Swedish immigrants moved north to Andersonville from earlier \"Swede Towns\" on Chicago's Near North Side and Lake View Community Areas. After World War II, many early Andersonville residents moved on to the Rogers Park Community Area and northern suburbs, but the community still celebrates its Swedish heritage with ethnic shops and restaurants, and a Swedish American museum.\n "}, {"id": 16, "title": "Arcade Park", "address": "\n 11132 S. St. Lawrence Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the Pullman Community Area, Arcade Park totals 1.25 acres and\u00a0is a park location used for passive recreation. Park patrons can relax in this open green space while enjoying the beauty of nature and a garden-like setting.\n ", "history": "Arcade Park is one of two parks donated to the town of Pullman by its founder, George M. Pullman (1831-1899). (The other is nearby Pullman Park.) The City of Chicago acquired Arcade Park in 1910. George Pullman vastly improved the comfort of long distance rail travel when he introduced the sleeping car that bears his name. In 1877, George Pullman began to purchase 3,500 acres on the western shore of Lake Calumet on which to build his new Pullman Palace Car Works. In 1880, he began construction of the enormous plant and surrounding company town. Pullman hired architect Solon S. Beman to design the town's buildings and Nathan F. Barrett to plan the landscape. The designers placed Arcade Park, with its formal \"carpet bed\" plantings, directly opposite the Arcade, an enormous iron and glass structure housing shops, a post office, a library, and a theater. Though its namesake park remains, the impressive building was demolished in 1926. The City transferred Arcade Park to the Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\n "}, {"id": 17, "title": "Archer (William Beatty) Park", "address": "\n 4901 S. Kilbourn Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60632\n ", "description": "Located in the Archer Heights Community Area, Archer Park totals 14.06 acres and features a gymnasium, kitchen, and fitness center. Outside, the park offers an interactive water spray feature, baseball fields, a basketball court, an athletic field for football and soccer, a horseshoe area and a playground.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental for private parties or sports activities.\n\nPark-goers can play baseball, football and soccer sports at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. In addition to programs, Archer Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Movies In the Park.\n ", "history": "Archer Park takes its name from the surrounding Archer Heights community. The community and its main artery, Archer Avenue, are named for Col. William Beatty Archer (1793-1870), a Commissioner for the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which paralleled the road in the 1800s. Archer, an abolitionist as well as a civil engineer, nominated Abraham Lincoln for Vice President in 1856. The Chicago Park District acquired land from 1949-1950 and established Archer Park to provide green space in an area then experiencing significant industrial development. The new park was part of a ten-year, district-wide program to increase recreational opportunities in underserved neighborhoods in post-World War II Chicago. Archer Park provided solely outdoor recreational facilities until 1970, when the Park District constructed a small fieldhouse.\n "}, {"id": 18, "title": "Armour (Philip) Square Park", "address": "\n 3309 S. Shields Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Located in the Armour Square Community Area, Armour Square Park totals 8.98 acres. Many Chicagoans know Armour Square as the park across the street from the Chicago White Sox stadium. The fieldhouse features a fitness center, two gymnasiums and an auditorium, along with meeting rooms.\n\nOutside, the park offers junior and senior baseball fields, an athletic field for football and soccer, tennis courts, a playground and an outdoor pool. The playground was renovated in Fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays! playground initiative. Many of these spaces are available for rental.\n\nPark-goers come to Armour Square for baseball or volleyball or to exercise in the fitness center. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. In addition to programs, Armour Square Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as egg hunts, holiday parties and Movies in the Park.\n ", "history": "The South Park Commissioners acquired the land for this park in 1904.\u00a0 Development of the park included a fieldhouse, with four clubrooms, two gymnasiums, an assembly hall, and large lobby.\u00a0 Outdoor amenities such as lawns, walks, and plantings were installed and recreational facilities included an outdoor swimming pool, baseball and football fields, handball and tennis courts, and a children\u2019s playground.\u00a0 The development was completed in 1905 and there was a dedication of the park that same year.\u00a0 In 1906, the year after Armour Square opened to the public, President Theodore Roosevelt described the square and nine other related properties as \"the most notable civic achievement in any American city.\" \u00a0The South Park Commission created the ten new innovative parks to improve the difficult living conditions in Chicago's congested tenement districts. Nationally renowned landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers and architects Daniel H. Burnham and Co. designed the entire system.\u00a0 The South Park Commission was one of 22 independent park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. \n\nThe first ten included five squares smaller than ten acres in size, and five parks larger than ten acres. In addition to Armour Square, these were Mark White, Russell, Davis\u00a0and Cornell Squares, and Ogden, Sherman, Palmer, Bessemer and Hamilton Parks. These properties soon influenced the development of other parks throughout the nation.\n\nAn ordinance was passed on August 17, 1904 to name the park Armour Square to honor Philip D. Armour (1832-1901), Chicago's \"captain of industry.\" Owner and operator of the largest meatpacking company in the world, Armour donated a large amount of his fortune to charitable and educational institutions. These included a settlement house, the Armour Mission, and a school known as the Armour Institute of Technology, later renamed the Illinois Institute of Technology.\n "}, {"id": 19, "title": "Armstrong (Lillian Hardin) Park", "address": "\n 4433 S. St. Lawrence Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "This small park totals 9.27 acres and is located in the\u00a0Grand Boulevard\u00a0Community Area. The park features baseball diamonds, basketball courts and a playground that was renovated in Fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Kennicott Park for recreation.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "Park No. 492 became part of the Park District\u2019s park portfolio in 1993. The park was renamed Lillian Hardin Armstrong Park in 2004 as part of an effort by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to recognize the contributions of Chicago women.\u00a0 \n\nArmstrong (c, 1898 \u2013 1971) was a jazz musician, composer and bandleader. A member of the Chicago band known as the New Orleans Creole Band in the 1920\u2019s, she met and married trumpeter Louis Armstrong in 1924. After separating from Louis in 1931, she led two all-women bands, played piano on many recordings, and composed many songs, including \u201cJust a Thrill,\u201d which became a hit for Ray Charles. Throughout the rest of her life, she played a major role in Chicago\u2019s music scene. She died in Chicago in 1971 during a tribute concert to Louis Armstrong, who had passed away the month before.\n "}, {"id": 20, "title": "Arrigo (Victor) Park", "address": "\n 801 S. Loomis St. \n Chicago, IL 60607\n ", "description": "This\u00a0park totals 7.23 acres and is located in the Near\u00a0West Side Community Area.\u00a0\u00a0It is a passive\u00a0community park adjacent to the University of Illinois campus.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Sheridan Park for recreation on the\u00a0artificial turf baseball field\u00a0and get in shape in the indoor pool.\n ", "history": "Arrigo Park, known as Vernon Park for much of its history, dates to 1859, when real estate developer Henry D. Gilpin donated the property to the City of Chicago. The City soon created a shaded \"breathing spot\" with an artificial lake and a few benches.\n\nIn 1871, the modest residences surrounding Vernon Park fell to the flames of the Chicago Fire. Commercial institutions and transient rooming houses took their place. The park had deteriorated into a boggy mess as surrounding streets and structures were raised up to improve sewage removal and prevent flooding.\n\nWhen the City transferred control and maintenance of Vernon Park to the West Park Commission in 1885, rehabilitation began immediately. To alleviate the drainage problem, the Commission filled the artificial lake and raised the ground level of the entire site with additional fill. In 1893, the Commission undertook extensive landscape improvements and electrified the park. In 1934, with the consolidation of the 22 park districts into one, the Chicago Park District, Vernon Park came under the control and management of the new District. In 1957, the Chicago Park District acquired title to the property pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. \u00a0In 1972, the City of Chicago conveyed adjacent property to the Chicago Park District for expansion of the park. \n\nIn 1974, Vernon Park was officially renamed Arrigo Park in honor of Victor Arrigo (1908-1973). A vocal advocate for the Italian-American community, Arrigo served as Illinois State Representative for Chicago's near southwest side from 1966 to 1973.\n\nArrigo was instrumental in bringing sculptor Moses Ezekiel's statue of Christopher Columbus to the park in 1966. First exhibited in the Italian pavilion at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, the bronze figure later graced a second-story alcove on State Street's Columbus Memorial Building.\n\nAfter the building came down in 1959, the statue went into storage. Arrigo argued that Columbus should find a new home in the City's oldest continuously Italian-American neighborhood, which was then experiencing wrenching transformation due to the construction of the University of Illinois' Circle Campus.\n "}, {"id": 21, "title": "Ashe (Arthur) Beach Park", "address": "\n 2701 E. 74th St. \n Chicago, IL 60649\n ", "description": "Located in the South Shore Community Area, Ashe Beach Park totals 2.31 acres and is an ideal location for family gatherings, and\u00a0to enjoy nature.\u00a0Ashe Beach Park has a playground and outdoor tennis courts.\n ", "history": "Ashe Beach Park lies along Lake Michigan in Chicago's South Shore Community Area. The Chicago Park District purchased the park site in 1979 with the help of Community Development Block Grant funds, and developed the park during the 1980\u2019s through an Illinois Department of Conservation grant. In October 1993, the Park District officially designated the park Arthur Ashe Beach and Park in honor of tennis champion Arthur Ashe (1943-1993), who had died earlier that year of complications due to AIDS. The South Shore community believed that the name change would inspire young people to use the park.\n\nAt the top of his tennis game, Ashe ranked No. 1 in the world and won three of four Grand Slam tournaments, the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and the Australian Open. As captain of the Davis Cup team, he recorded 13 wins, leading the U.S. to consecutive victories in 1981 and 1982. Ashe also served as chairman of the Black Tennis and Sports Foundation, a non-profit group devoted to assisting black athletes and sports organizations. In addition, he was active in creating inner-city youth tennis camps in Chicago and elsewhere.\n "}, {"id": 22, "title": "Ashmore Park", "address": "\n 4807 W. Gunnison St. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "This tiny park totals 0.16 acres and is located in the Forest Glen Community Area (one block north of Lawrence Avenue, on Cicero Avenue, west of the Edens Expressway). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Jefferson Park.\n ", "history": "Early in 1970, residents of Chicago's Forest Glen community contacted the \"Action Line\" of the Chicago Today newspaper to garner support for a new playlot in their neighborhood. \u00a0In 1972, the Chicago Park District responded by selecting and acquiring a vacant Forest Glen lot as one of 16 City properties slated for park development. The Park District acquired the .16-acre site four years later with the help of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Playground equipment, an outdoor game table, and assorted plantings were installed during 1977. \n\nIn 1986, the park was officially named Ashmore Park.\u00a0 This park is one of a small number of Chicago parks named for long-time Park District employees. Co-workers of John V. Ashmore, who worked for many years at the Montrose Service Yard, suggested the name.\u00a0 In 1989, the Park District rehabilitated the park, constructing a soft surface playground featuring a redwood play structure.\n "}, {"id": 23, "title": "Aspen Park", "address": "\n 4237 S. Wabash Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "Aspen Playlot Park totals 0.23\u00a0acres is located in the\u00a0Grand\u00a0Boulevard\u00a0Community Area. The park was renovated in 2016 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Fuller Park.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this park site in 1969, and officially named it Aspen Park in 1974. Aspen Park was one of a number of properties the Park District named for trees and plants at this time. The District's park naming committee felt that neighborhood children could relate well to park names chosen from nature.\n\nThe Aspen tree, with its brilliant white bark, provides an especially appropriate name for this park, given its Wabash Avenue location. Wabash means, \"gleaming white\" in the Sioux language. Before the Chicago Fire, the stretch of Wabash Avenue extending into the Loop was a much-admired, tree-lined avenue of beautiful homes owned by wealthy Chicagoans.\n "}, {"id": 24, "title": "Aster Park", "address": "\n 4639 N. Kenmore Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "This small park totals 0.18 acres and offers community residents a playground with a water spray feature. It is located in the Uptown Community Area (one block west of Sheridan Road, 1 \u00bd blocks south of Lawrence Avenue).\n\nAs part of the ChicagoPlays! playground renovation program the playlot received a new colorful playground. It's a great place for the kiddos and families to hang out and play!\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Chase Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired tiny Aster Park in 1969 to provide the densely populated Uptown neighborhood with much-needed recreational facilities. Officially, designated Aster Park in 1975, the site was one of a number of park properties named for trees and plants at this time. The word aster is Latin for \"star,\" a reference to the flower's star-like shape. Originally a North American plant, the aster's range spread to Europe when botanist John Tradescant the younger brought it back across the Atlantic Ocean from Virginia in 1637.\n "}, {"id": 25, "title": "Athletic Field Park", "address": "\n 3546 W. Addison St. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "Located in the Irving Park Community Area - just off the Kennedy Expressway at Addison and Drake. Athletic Field Park totals 4.30 acres and\u00a0contains an ADA accessible soft-surface playground and spray feature, outdoor basketball and tennis courts, and ball fields as well as a field house and a ceramics building.\n\nFilled with activities from cultural to sports programs and early childhood classes Athletic Field Park is the place to be year-round. The ceramics classes remain one of Athletic Field Park's most popular programs at the park. In the summer, youth attend our popular and always affordable 6-week day camp\u2026filled with tons of fun.\u00a0Teens should check out the new DJing program!\n\nSeasonal special events are very well attended by the community. During the summer season the park is host to the popular Summer Dance series and in the fall there is the annual halloween bash.\n ", "history": "Created by the Irving Park District, Athletic Field Park takes its name from the recreational facilities it provides. In 1923, Irving Park District began acquiring land in the southeastern part of its community, a lovely tree-lined neighborhood of apartment buildings, bungalows, and fine homes.\u00a0 The land acquisition for the park was completed the following year.\u00a0 Clarence Hatzfeld, architect of several nearby Villa District residences as well as many north- and northwest-side park fieldhouses, designed three structures for Athletic Field Park.\u00a0 Constructed in 1926, these included an attractive Spanish Revival-style fieldhouse, a smaller locker and game room building, and a children's playground shelter. The four-acre park also had an athletic field with grandstands, a junior baseball field, separate boys' and girls' playgrounds, a wading pool, a sand box, and horseshoe and tennis courts. Four years after Athletic Field Park opened, due to a lack of use of the junior baseball field, and an increasing demand for tennis courts, the Commissioners replaced the ballfield area with additional tennis courts.\n\nAthletic Field Park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s inventory in 1934, when the Great Depression necessitated the consolidation of the City's 22 independent park agencies. In the early 1960\u2019s, the Park District converted the park's locker and game room into a ceramics studio. In 1969, further improvements were made to the ceramics building, including the installation of additional kilns.\u00a0 Ceramics classes remain a popular program at Athletic Field Park.\n "}, {"id": 26, "title": "Auburn Park", "address": "\n 406 W. Winneconna Pkwy. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Greater Grand Crossing Community Area, Auburn Park totals 5.35 acres and is a tranquil oasis in the heart of the city. This park offers a lagoon, a waterfall and benches. In this green space, popular activities park patrons and their families participate in are fishing and picnics.\n ", "history": "Created as part of a speculative real estate development, Auburn Park lies within an area once known as Cummorn. William B. Ogden, Chicago\u2019s first mayor and early real estate promoter, owned much of the property in this area. A marshy area, the land originally drained seven miles southeast into the Calumet River. The first railroad line was constructed in 1852, and by the early 1870s, three other railroads ran through the community. Railroad workers began building homes in the area, and in 1872, the Auburn settlement was platted. Eggleston Mallette, purchased the area in the 1870s and Brownell real estate speculators, who subdivided, drained, and began developing the land. Within several years, a second group of real estate developers, Sanford McKnight, Henry Mather and Alfred Manning, purchased the property. Sometime between the 1870s and 1890s, one of the two groups of developers created Auburn Park, an 8-acre landscape with a meandering lagoon, a remnant of the site's original wetlands. The park helped to establish the area as an attractive and desirable community. In 1887, the Auburn Park Subdivision created this private park.\u00a0 In 1889, the Auburn community was annexed with Chicago. The following year, the City began maintaining the park, although it was still privately owned. Local residents wanted the site to become a public park. Between 1911 and 1913, the Auburn Park Improvement Association acquired and transferred the park to the City. The deed included covenants requiring that the land will forever be used as a park; the park and lagoon will always be maintained; and the name Auburn Park will never be changed. Considered the \"beauty spot of Auburn,\" the park has long provided a calm refuge from the \"weary\" City. Auburn Park was transferred from the City to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. The Chicago Department of Transportation restored the parks historic bridges in the late 1990s.\n "}, {"id": 27, "title": "Augusta (Carpenter) Park", "address": "\n 4433 W. Augusta Blvd. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "Located in the Humboldt Park Community Area, Augusta Park totals 1.05 acres and features a small\u00a0fieldhouse for children and community gatherings. Outside, the park offers a playground area and baseball field.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental for community meetings and small birthday parties.\n\nAfter school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the fall and spring as well, including winter and spring break camps.\n\nIn addition to programs, Augusta Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as egg hunts, Earth Day clean-ups and\u00a0Movies in the Park screenings.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago purchased the property for Augusta Park in 1932. The City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation operated the park until 1957, when it was transferred to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\n\nAlthough there is no clear record of this park's naming, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation often used adjacent street names for purposes of identification. Augusta Boulevard apparently takes its name from Augusta Carpenter, daughter of Philo Carpenter (1805-1886), Chicago's first druggist. Carpenter traveled from Chicago to Troy, New York by mail coach and Indian canoe in 1832. Upon arrival, he opened a drug store near the river on what is now Lake Street. By 1834, he had made a fortune investing in real estate. Carpenter later became a vocal advocate of abolitionism and temperance, and served as a director of the Chicago Theological Seminary. The Chicago Park District has recognized Carpenter's role in the City's early history by naming another park for him.\n "}, {"id": 28, "title": "Austin (Henry) Park", "address": "\n 5951 W. Lake St. \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "This small park totals 4.67 acres and is located in the\u00a0Austin Community Area. The park features a water feature and a playground that was renovated in Summer 2016 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Austin Town Hall Park.\n ", "history": "In 1865, Henry W. Austin (1828-1889) purchased 280 acres of poorly drained prairie land in Cicero Township. Within the next few years, Austin subdivided the area, laid out streets, and planted trees, calling the new development Austinville. Twenty years later, in December 1885, Henry Austin and his wife Martha donated three large lots to the Town of Cicero for use as a public park.\n\nAustin Park became Chicago's responsibility in 1899, after the area was annexed to the City. In 1906, noted landscape architect and Special Park Commission member Jens Jensen drew up a plan for the long, narrow site along the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad embankment. The park's most notable landscape feature was a meandering lagoon, with boys' and girls' wading pools and a wooden bridge at one end, and small wooded islands at the other. In 1908, the Special Park Commission added a dressing room facility with a 10-foot pergola and electric lights for night swimming.\n\nThe lagoon was heavily used from the first. In 1910, the Special Park Commission invited underprivileged children from the City's settlement houses to use the wading pools, providing them with free bathing suits. Fifty-five thousand children used the wading pools during the summer of 1915. By 1930, attendance had increased to nearly 90,000. In the wintertime, children also ice skated on the frozen lagoons.\n\nThe City transferred Austin Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. By this time, the lagoon had deteriorated, and the Park District soon filled in the eastern section. At the lagoon's west end, the Park District transformed the boys' and girls' wading pools into a wading pool and spray pool, and constructed a new changing facility. In 1992, the Park District installed the first soft surface playground where the eastern portion of the lagoon once lay.\n "}, {"id": 29, "title": "Austin Foster Park", "address": "\n 6020 W. Foster Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "This park totals 4.97 acres and contains a junior baseball field, softball field, and playground. It is located in the Jefferson Park Community Area, right at the juncture of Austin and Foster Avenues.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Dunham Park.\n ", "history": "In 1934, the Board of Education acquired land at Austin and Foster Avenues, which would eventually become a park.\u00a0 As early as 1960, residents of the Jefferson Park Community Area expressed the need for a playground and softball field in their community. In 1965, the Chicago Park District began leasing an almost 5-acre site in the neighborhood owned by the Board of Education. Playground equipment and a ball diamond were installed the following year. In early 1991, the Board of Education formally transferred the site to the Chicago Park District, which promptly constructed a new soft surface playground. Installation of new trees and plantings followed in subsequent years. For nearly three decades, the site was known only as Park No. 285. \n\nIn 1993, the Park District officially designated the property Austin-Foster Park, a name commonly used by area residents. The name makes reference to the two adjacent streets, Austin Avenue and Foster Avenue. Austin Boulevard recognizes Henry W. Austin (1828-1889), who purchased prairie land west of Chicago in 1865 and laid out the town of Austinville (later the City's Austin community) not long thereafter. Foster Avenue honors John H. Foster (1796-1874), a physician and landowner who arrived in Chicago around 1835. Foster served on both the Chicago and Illinois Boards of Education.\n "}, {"id": 30, "title": "Austin Town Hall Park", "address": "\n 5610 W. Lake St. \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "Located in the Austin Community Area, Austin Town Hall Park and Cultural Center totals 3.69\u00a0acres. The park features a a fieldhouse with an indoor swimming pool, two kitchens, a gymnasium, a performance theater/auditorium and a fitness center. Outside, the park offers a basketball court and children\u2019s playground.\u00a0Many of these spaces in the Cultural Center and on the park grounds are available for rent for activities such as theater\u00a0productions, family reunions or community meetings.\n\nMajestic in design, the Austin Town Hall Park and Cultural Center was once the town hall of the Village of Cicero, Illinois. Today, the space is used for park activities including a variety\u00a0of dance, music and theater classes, music production and more.\u00a0\n\nAfter school programs are offered throughout the school year at Austin Town Hall Park, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the fall and spring, and recreational opportunities are also available during winter and spring break camps.\n\nIn addition to programs, Austin Town Hall Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, including gym showcases, children's theater productions, dance recitals, Earth Day celebrations, SummerDance,\u00a0and other Night Out in the Parks special events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1865, businessman and real estate speculator Henry W. Austin created a lovely 280-acre subdivision in Cicero Township. Austin's development included wide, tree-lined streets and a small park, originally known as Holden Park. The township selected Austin as its seat of government, and in 1870 constructed a brick town hall building, with a cupola and eclectic details, in the center of Holden Park.\n\nIn 1898, residents of Austin, having a majority on Cicero's town council, used political influence to allow the extension of the Lake Street elevated line into their community. This infuriated residents of other areas within Cicero Township, such as Oak Park and Berwyn, who retaliated the following year by holding a joint election to force Austin's annexation to the City of Chicago. Much to the dismay of local residents, this effort succeeded and Austin became part of Chicago in 1899. The City took over the Cicero Town Hall and began using it as a library and police station as well as for other public functions.\n\nThe City passed an ordinance that granted control of Holden Park to the West Park Commission in 1927. This was subject to a 99-year lease the City granted to the Chicago Public Library and also required the West Park Commissioner to build a community building in Holden Park. Because the old town hall had housed a branch library for several years, the West Park Commissioners agreed to the construction of a new public library in the park, designed by architect Alfred S. Alschuler. This public library is still operating today. At the same time, the West Park Commission also built a fieldhouse for the newly renamed Austin Town Hall Park. The large brick Georgian Revival-style building was influenced by Philadelphia's Independence Hall.\u00a0 The structure was designed by architects Michaelsen and Rognstad, who were also responsible for other notable park buildings including the Garfield Park Gold Dome Building, the Humboldt and Douglas Park Fieldhouses.\u00a0 The construction of the Austin Town Hall fieldhouse was completed in 1929.\n\nIn 1934, with the Park Consolidation Act, the 22 park districts were merged into one, the Chicago Park District, and Austin Town Hall Park came under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Park District.\u00a0 The City transferred Austin Town Hall Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. \n "}, {"id": 31, "title": "Avalon Park", "address": "\n 1215 E. 83rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Avalon Park Community Area, Avalon Park totals 27.91\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium, fitness center, multi-purpose room, and game room. Outside, the park offers picnic groves, a swimming pool, playground, track, volleyball and tennis courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, multi-purpose room, and game room.\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids, Seasonal Sports,\u00a0Kick Boxing, Senior/Adult/Teen Fitness,\u00a0Teen Club, Dance,\u00a0and Arts & Crafts. Afterschool programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\u00a0\n\nIn addition to programs, Avalon Park hosts special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as Night Club at Noon and Western Round Up Square/Line Dances.\n ", "history": "In 1889, when Chicago annexed the Village of Hyde Park, it included an area with a city dump, swamps, and \"Mud Lake,\" a popular spot for fishing and hunting. The mosquito-infested swampland remained largely unsettled until after the installation of a sewage system in 1900. At first called Pierce's Park, the area became known as Pennytown for a general store owner named Penny who sold homemade popcorn balls. In 1910, Avalon Park Community Church members successfully led an effort to rename the community Avalon Park. The church, community, and a local street pay homage to the English Isle of Avalon, believed to be the burial place of legendary King Arthur.\n\nIn 1923, Avalon Park civic groups began asking for the creation of a park in their neighborhood. Due to funding limitations, the South Park Commission was slow to respond. The commissioners agreed to begin identifying potential sites in 1927. Finally, in 1930 the South Park Commission acquired the land for Avalon Park. The following year, in-house landscape architect Robert Moore created a plan for Avalon Park that was inspired by the earlier South Park designs of the nationally renowned Olmsted Brothers firm. Due to the Great Depression, however, the South Park Commission was unable to move forward with improvements. In 1934, the city's 22 independent park commissions were consolidated into the Chicago Park District, and federal relief funding soon allowed work to begin on Avalon Park. Only partially realizing Moore's plan, the Park District installed playfields, a running track, tennis and horseshoe courts, and a combination shelter and comfort station. After needing a more substantial fieldhouse for years, the Park District constructed an attractive modern brick building in 1958.\n "}, {"id": 32, "title": "Avondale Park", "address": "\n 3516 W. School St. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "Located along by the Kennedy Expressway (north of Belmont Avenue and west of Kimball Avenue) in the Avondale Community Area, this 1.24 acre park contains an outdoor swimming pool and spray pool, a playground with sandbox, as well as a field house with four clubrooms, two kitchens, a gymnasium, and a gymnastics center.\n\nWith an emphasis on youth gymnastics, Avondale Park is home to one of the park district\u2019s 9 gymnastics centers.The gymnastics center, offers quality instruction for beginners to advanced competitors year-round.\n\nAvondale Park offers a large selection of programming for patrons of all ages and skill levels. The park boasts an active roster of after-school programs for children ages 6-12. Choose from a list of available seasonal activities\u2014fitness, floor hockey, arts & crafts, flag football, basketball, recreational tumbling, track & field, volleyball and baseball skills to name a few.\n\nIn the summer, youth attend our popular and always affordable 6-week day camp\u2026filled with tons of fun. Plus, community residence can take advantage of the outdoor swimming pool \u2013 what a great way to cool off!\n\nThroughout the year, the park offers the adult population indoor soccer and volleyball. We invite you\u00a0to come out and check out all that Avondale Park has to offer!\n\nCheck out the offering of our Arts Partner - NOUMENON dance ensemble. For additional info and class schedule click here.\n ", "history": "Created by the Irving Park District, Avondale Park takes its name from the surrounding Avondale neighborhood. An early racially integrated suburb, Avondale became part of Chicago when the City annexed the Town of Jefferson in 1889. European immigrants began settling there and residential construction boomed in the 1920s. \u00a0The Irving Park District board responded by making plans for the park. Land acquisition was initiated in 1925 and completed in 1930, improvements began immediately. By the end of 1930, the Park District had constructed an attractive brick fieldhouse designed by Clarence Hatzfeld. Lawn, shrubbery, trees, and flowers soon graced Avondale Park's landscape. By the early 1930s, the park included a playfield, separate boys' and girls' playgrounds, a wading pool, a sand box, and tennis courts. Avondale Park became part of the Chicago Park District in 1934, when the Great Depression necessitated the consolidation of the City's 22 independent park agencies. \n\nTwenty-five years later, the park's size was reduced to just over one acre when its entire northeast portion was taken to make way for the Kennedy Expressway. Eliminating Avondale Park's playfield and tennis courts, the Park District redesigned the site to incorporate volleyball and basketball courts and a swimming pool. In the early 1990s, the Park District installed a new soft surface playground in Avondale Park, and replanted its landscape.\n "}, {"id": 33, "title": "Back of the Yards Park", "address": "\n 4922 S. Throop St. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the New City\u00a0Community Area. The park totals 1.07 acres and features a playground with a water spray feature,\u00a0swings, and a\u00a0basketball court.\u00a0 It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Davis Square\u00a0Park.\n ", "history": "Previously known as Throop Park, Back of the Yards Park is one of many small City parks created to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. The City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation developed this Lower West Side park in the late 1940s, improving it with a gravel-surfaced playground and a spray pool. Within a few years, a basketball court was added.\n\nThe City transferred Back of the Yards Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. In 1976, the Park District thoroughly rehabilitated the site, building a shelter, enhancing the plantings, and constructing bleachers around the resurfaced basketball court. Subsequent improvements included a soft surface playground and ornamental fencing. In 1998, the Park District enlarged the park by expanding into an adjacent vacant lot.\n\nIn 1999, the Park District renamed this site Back of the Yards Park to avoid confusion with a second Throop Park to the north. Back of the Yards was the name historically used for what is now known as the New City Community Area. The area was so named because it lay east, south, and west of the enormous Union Stock Yards, which provided jobs for the neighborhood's many immigrant residents. Opened in 1865 and paid for by nine Chicago railroads, the Union Stock Yards and Transit Company consolidated the city's four major stockyards in one location. In 1871 alone, the Yards received over 500,000 cattle and nearly 2,400,000 hogs.\n "}, {"id": 34, "title": "Baraga (Frederick) Park", "address": "\n 2434 S. Leavitt St. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Baraga Playlot Park totals 0.55 acres and\u00a0is located in the\u00a0Lower West Side\u00a0Community Area. The park features a playground, swings and a basketball court. The playground\u00a0was renovated in Summer 2014\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Harrison Park.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "Baraga Park stands on the former site of a Chicago Transit Authority car barn in the Lower West Side Community Area. The Chicago Park District began leasing the property from the Transit Authority in 1967. After CTA demolished the car barn, the Park District installed swings, a sand box, and a basketball court. The Transit Authority sold the property to the Park District in 1973.\n\nIn 1990, the park was rehabilitated with a soft surface playground featuring a redwood play structure. The Park District designated the site, Lilac Park in 1975, as part of a citywide program to name parks for trees and flowers. Within three years, however, the park was renamed in honor of Frederick Baraga (1797-1868), a Slovenian immigrant and the first Catholic Bishop of Marquette, Michigan. Furthering his missionary efforts, Baraga worked to educate the Native Americans of the Upper Midwest during the mid-19th century. He authored the first dictionary and grammar books in the Ojibwa language.\n "}, {"id": 35, "title": "Barberry Park", "address": "\n 2825 W. Arthington St. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "This small green space totals 0.47 acres and is located in the East Garfield Park Community Area.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Altgeld Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this land in 1969 and transformed this once-vacant lot to parkland, improving it with playground equipment, a sand box, and a spray pool. Officially, designated Barberry Park in 1974, the park was one of a number of properties named for trees and plants at the time. An ornamental bush often used for hedges, the barberry has impressive vibrant fall foliage and long-lasting red berries that provide color throughout the winter. Historically, Arabs used the berries for sherbet, and probably knew the plant as berberys, meaning \"shell,\" for its hollowed leaves. Barberries are also associated with the Berbers, who cultivated them on Africa's Barbary Coast. In 2012, the City transferred City-owned parcels that were located adjacent to the park to the District for the expansion of the park.\n "}, {"id": 36, "title": "Barnard (Amy L.) Park", "address": "\n 10431 S. Longwood Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Beverly Community Area, Barnard Park totals 2.36 acres and\u00a0is a recreational destination enjoyed by neighborhood families. This park offers a playground with swings, slides, climbing apparatus, benches to relax and a space for picnics. Park patrons engage in a variety of activities including baseball and soccer.\n ", "history": "On October 12, 1900, the Chicago Tribune reported that Erastus A. Barnard, an early settler of the Beverly community area, had donated approximately two acres of land to the city for a small park. At the time, this lovely area of rolling hills and large, stately homes had a small population. It was expected, however, that the area's recent annexation to Chicago would spur significant growth. The City of Chicago acquired the land from Barnard and his wife in 1902.\u00a0 The City agreed to make landscape improvements, install children's playground equipment, and name the park in honor of Mr. Barnard's deceased daughter, Amy L. Barnard. The nearby Alice Barnard School had previously been named for Amy Barnard's aunt, a teacher and local historian. By 1909, Barnard Park included playground equipment, tennis courts, a drinking fountain, a large wading pool, and a tool shed. For many years, the park's landscape was flooded for ice-skating in the winter. During the 1930s and 1940s, between 2,000 and 5,000 skaters used the park each winter. The City transferred Barnard Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. By 1966, the Park District had replaced the original wading pool with a smaller spray pool, demolished the tool shed, installed new playground equipment, and planted additional trees.\n "}, {"id": 37, "title": "Barrett (Charles) Park", "address": "\n 2022 W. Cermak Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the Pilsen neighborhood in the Lower West Side Community Area.\u00a0The park totals 0.68 acres and features a basketball court, a playground that was renovated in Fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays! program, and a vibrant mural created by After School Matters students in partnership with\u00a0Yollocalli Arts Reach.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Harrison Park.\n ", "history": "Barrett Park dates to just after 1900, when the surrounding Lower West Side neighborhood was home to thousands of newly arrived southern- and eastern-European immigrants. The park began as a playground leased and operated by the Gad's Hill Center, a local social welfare settlement house. The City of Chicago's Special Park Commission took over the lease in December 1907, furthering its goal of operating playgrounds and small parks in the city's most densely populated neighborhoods. That spring, the commission installed playground equipment and constructed an attractive frame building with a kindergarten room and toilets.\n\nIn 1910, the park was named for reformer and physician Dr. Walter Christopher (1859-1905), in recognition of his lifelong service to children. By the following year, the park's frame structure had been equipped with gymnastics apparatus and was being used as a fieldhouse. Staff provided physical training for children, as well as for young men and women. Annual attendance at Christopher Playground reached an impressive 200,000 patrons in 1914.\n\nThe City of Chicago the park property in 1926. By this time, the Special Park Commission no longer existed, and the Bureau of Parks and Recreation had taken over. In 1928, the City renamed the park in honor of Charles V. Barrett (1882 - 1932). Born and raised near this West Side Park, Barrett worked as a teamster through high school and went on to attend law school at the University of Illinois. He became a prominent leader in the Republican Party and served on the Cook County Board of Review. Barrett was active in social and civic affairs, and was known as a strong supporter of athletics for West Side youth.\n\nThe Bureau of Parks and Recreation replaced the makeshift fieldhouse with a new brick recreation building in late 1952. The City of Chicago transferred Barrett Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. Ten years later, the Park District installed new playground equipment, which was updated in the 1980s and again in 1990. A new junior soccer field and a basketball court were added in 1993.\n "}, {"id": 38, "title": "Bartelme (Mary) Park", "address": "\n 115 S. Sangamon St. \n Chicago, IL 60607\n ", "description": "Formerly the site of an old infirmary, Mary Bartelme Park\u00a0is a 2.71 acre park in the Near West Side Community Area that features\u00a0elements combining a sense of history with modern, innovative design. Three strong, diagonal paths intersect in this one-block park to create distinct, programmed zones. These zones include a fountain plaza, a children\u2019s play area, a sunken dog park, an open lawn area, a viewing hill and enclosed seating area.\n\nAt the fountain plaza, park patrons are greeted with five stainless steel gates at the northwest entry acting as a gateway to the park. Using only three gallons a minute, each of the gates emit a fine mist of vaporized water on hot Chicago days, cooling off families while immersing the area in a cloud.\n\nThe children\u2019s play area offers ADA accessibility that allows for inventive, non-linear play without traditional play equipment. Meanwhile, dogs can enjoy their uniquely sunken dog park that is complete with a continuously filling, over-sized dog bowl, ramps, ledges, steps, and artificial canine grass to provide an exercise area.\n\nThe viewing hill is up to six feet high and provides a stunning view of the entire park with a backdrop of the Chicago skyline. The enclosed seating area is surrounded with native landscaping that provides a contemplative space for the community, alongside the park\u2019s largest planter beds raised up by weathering steel walls. Embedded within the linear seat walls are architectural terracotta artifacts salvaged from the original building, referencing the history of the site. The park has been designed to capture its stormwater\u00a0by the main permeable paver paths and this water is\u00a0stored on site.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Union Park.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this land for parkland from the University of Illinois in 2006.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0In 2010, the District officially named this new park in honor of Mary Bartelme (1866 \u2013 1954), the first woman judge in Illinois, who devoted her life to reforming the treatment of children and women in the court system. Born near Fulton and Halsted Streets, Bartelme was a Chicago Public School teacher who decided to become one of the City\u2019s first women lawyers.\u00a0 Admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1894, Bartelme was appointed as Public Guardian of Cook County three years later, and helped establish America\u2019s first juvenile court in 1899. Sixteen years later, she was chosen to assist the presiding judge, allowing girls in the juvenile court system the opportunity to appear before a female judge for this first time. She went on to be elected as a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1923.\n\nBartelme donated her own house in Chicago to establish a \u201cMary\u2019s Club,\u201d a group home where girls could be safe and learn important life skills. In all, she established three \u201cMary\u2019s Club\u201d homes, including one for African-American girls. Nicknamed \u201cSuitcase Mary,\u201d she formed a program to provide suitcases filled with proper clothing and toiletries to young women coming out of the court system to help them establish as respectable life.\u00a0 The City acquired the property adjacent to Bartelme Park and in 2011 transferred it to the Park District for the expansion of the park.\n "}, {"id": 39, "title": "Battle of Fort Dearborn Park", "address": "\n 1801 S. Calumet Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "This park totals 0.47 acres and is located in the Near South Side Community Area.\u00a0\u00a0It is a passive area with benches and greenspace.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs offered at nearby Chicago Women's Park\u00a0and Gardens.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 2006, the developers of Central Station, a Planned Urban Development, conveyed an improved 1/2 acre passive park at 18th and Calumet the Chicago Park District. Community members and civic groups including the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance (PDNA) had many meetings to select a name for the park. They decided to name the site Battle of Fort Dearborn Park in honor of an extremely significant historical event that happened very near to what is now the park.\u00a0 The park was named in 2009. \n\nDuring the War of 1812, some Native Americans in this area were allied with the British. After the British captured the American garrison at Mackinac, General William Hull ordered the evacuation of Fort Dearborn, which was located at the juncture between Lake Michigan and the Chicago River. As approximately 500 Potawatomi gathered at the fort, its commander, Captain Nathan Heald prepared to abandon his post. On August 15, 1812, a procession soldiers and settlers including women and children left the fort, and began an attempt to walk to Fort Wayne. After walking a mile-and-a-half south of the fort, the Native Americans attacked the group. More than 50 soldiers and settlers were brutally killed and the others were taken as prisoners to sell to the British. (Friendly Potawatomi, such as Black Partridge saved some).\n\nA number of the victims died after they were taken prisoner and others were released. The Native Americans burned Fort Dearborn down, and it remained unoccupied until it was rebuilt by the US military in 1816. Over the next couple of decades, the US government began forcibly removing Native Americans from the region and relocating them to areas west of the Mississippi River. Also known as, the Fort Dearborn Massacre, the Battle of Fort Dearborn has been depicted in some early works of public art including a bas-relief sculpture on the Michigan Avenue Bridge.\n "}, {"id": 40, "title": "Bauler (Mathias) Park", "address": "\n 501 W. Wisconsin St. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "This park is located in the Lincoln Park Community Area (one block south of Armitage Avenue, three blocks west of Lincoln Avenue). It contains a playground with a playslab on 0.81 acres. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs at nearby Adams or Oz Park.\n ", "history": "On July 1, 1970, the Chicago Park District acquired this .81-acre property for park development from the City of Chicago through the Lincoln Park Urban Renewal Project. Initially named Ash Park as part of a citywide program to name parks for plants and trees, the site was renamed Bauler Park in 1980. The new name honors Mathias \"Paddy\" Bauler (1890--1977), a colorful and controversial figure in Chicago politics. Bauler used his tavern business to create a political organization that propelled him to a 34-year (1933-1967) run as alderman and Democratic ward committeeman for the 43rd Ward. Bauler's name had been applied to another small park in his ward in the 1950s. This park property, at Armitage and Burling Streets, was redeveloped in the Orchard Mall project after 1979.\n "}, {"id": 41, "title": "Beehive Park", "address": "\n 6156 S. Dearborn Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn Community Area, Beehive Park totals 0.26 acres and is an idyllic location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors and nature.Park amenities include a playground with swings, slides, and climbing equipment.\n ", "history": "In 1969, the Chicago Park District acquired this property in the struggling Woodlawn community, using funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The park district soon transformed the vacant lot into a playground with a small spray pool, upgrading it with a new soft surface playground in the early 1990s. In 1999, the Park District designated the site Beehive Park, in recognition of the old Beehive jazz club, which was located at 55th Street and South Harper Avenue, less than one mile from the park site. Opened in 1948, the Beehive closed its doors a brief eight years later. Regulars at the short-lived, but popular, club included Art Hodes, Lester Young, and Charlie Parker.\u00a0 The City of Chicago transferred a City-owned parcel in 2012 to Chicago Park District for the expansion of Beehive Park.\n "}, {"id": 42, "title": "Beilfuss (Albert W.) Park", "address": "\n 1725 N. Springfield Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Located on a 1.40 acre lot, Beilfuss Playlot contains a playground\u00a0and a multi-purpose field. It is located in the Humboldt Park Community Area (two blocks east of Pulaski Road and 1 \u00bd blocks north of North Avenue).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Mozart Park.\n ", "history": "In the early 1900s, Chicago's Park Commissions began building natatoriums, facilities with showers, indoor swimming pools, and gyms, to provide public bathing and recreational opportunities to the City's increasingly crowded neighborhoods. By 1915, Mayor Carter H. Harrison II and the Special Park Commission had hit upon the idea of building natatoriums adjacent to city pumping stations to take advantage of excess steam generated there. The Springfield Avenue natatorium, adjacent to the pumping station in the rapidly growing Humboldt Park neighborhood, was one of three such facilities under construction in that year. The others were the Roseland (later Griffith, in Block Park) natatorium and the Jackson natatorium on Central Park Avenue. On March 29, 1915, at the suggestion of Mayor Harrison, the Special Park Commission named the new Humboldt Park facility located on Springfield Avenue in honor of late ten-term Republican Alderman A.W. Beilfuss (1854-1914). A native of Germany and a printer by trade, Beilfuss was serving as Special Park Commission Chairman at the time of his death. Beilfuss Natatorium was so popular that by 1935, it drew more than 300,000 patrons. During World War II, boys at Beilfuss published a local-interest newspaper that was circulated to former patrons serving in the military around the world. During the same period, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation installed a playground adjacent to the natatorium, as well as an athletic field that was flooded for skating in winter. Pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957, the Chicago Park District began to lease the Beilfuss Natatorium and the adjacent parkland from the City. The Park District replaced the original play equipment with a new soft surface playground in 1992. In 1998, the outmoded 1915 natatorium was razed.\n "}, {"id": 43, "title": "Bell (George, Jr.) Park", "address": "\n 3020 N. Oak Park Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60634\n ", "description": "Located in the Montclare Community Area (on Oak Park Avenue, midway between Belmont & Diversey Avenues), Bell Park covers 4.36\u00a0acres and has a small fieldhouse. Outside, the park features two junior baseball fields, a volleyball court, two tennis courts, and a playground with a spray feature.\n\nRecreation includes dodgeball, flag- or Frisbee-football, Foosball, gymnastics, kickball, seasonal sports, and soccer. Cultural programming includes Fun with Food, arts & crafts, jewelry-making, paper craft, and water color painting. Socialization skills / friendship-building includes Pre-Teen Club and Table Games.\n\nTot / preschoolers can enjoy a variety of fun, educational, and recreational programs\u2014which includes the only summer play camp (for ages 4-5) in the Montclare area. From Fun & Games, Play Group, Preschool, and Storytime to Kids Fitness, seasonal sports, soccer, t-ball, and tumbling. The 3-yr.-old preschool is also offered with a 3-yr.-old playgroup. There is even a Mom & Tot arts & crafts class (for ages 18-36 months with their parent/caregiver).\n\nThe six-week summer camp is a big hit with youth (ages 6-12). The teen art camp designed a mural, which is on the east side of the fieldhouse, showing the different seasons at Bell Park.\n ", "history": "Bell Park takes its name from Major General George Bell, Jr. (1859-1926), who led American troops in the Spanish American War and in the Philippine Insurrection of 1903. Bell also commanded the 33rd, or Prairie Division of the Allied Expeditionary Force during World War I, and won the Distinguished Service medal for his efforts. The Northwest Park District acquired land for the park in 1928 at the request of the Mont Clare Boosters Improvement Association, which hoped to raise land values in the surrounding neighborhood. Bell Park is among the thirteen parks created by the Northwest Park District. The Northwest Park District established in 1911, the District was one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. As part of the development of the park, citizens petitioned for the installation of a fieldhouse. They had a long wait. Although the Northwest District built a playground, shelter house, and wading pool before 1930, a fieldhouse was not constructed until 1954, almost 25 years later.\n "}, {"id": 44, "title": "Beniac (John \"Beans\") Greenway Park", "address": "\n 3925 E. 104th St. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "John \"Beans\" Beniac Greenway Park\u00a0is 7.68 acres and is located in the East Side Community\u00a0Area.\u00a0 This is a great\u00a0destination for families to spend their time enjoying nature and the city. \u00a0\n ", "history": "In the late 1990s, the Chicago Park District participated in a unique partnership with the City of Chicago, Cook County, suburban communities, State of Illinois, and CorLands (the real estate affiliate of the Open Lands Project of Chicago) to create linear park in Chicago\u2019s East Side Community Area. The goal was to transform an abandoned stretch of Penn Central Railroad Company right-of-way into a greenway with a bicycle path. Decades earlier, John \u201cBeans\u201d Beniac (1926- 1994), who lived across from the railway property, had become frustrated by the site\u2019s unkempt appearance. After Beniac recovered from open-heart surgery in the 1970s, he needed to keep busy, so he began cleaning up the site. He mowed the knee-high grass, pulled weeks, and removed wheelbarrows filled with old tires, junk, and debris. Later, he added benches, trees, and a bocce court. Neighbors began joining him with the work, and they soon held cookouts and other community gatherings there. In 1997, the Chicago Park District officially acquired the 7-acre property, including the stretch tended by Beniac.\u00a0 This became a one-mile portion of a new 10-mile trail system that stretches from Calumet Park to forest preserves and parks in the south suburbs. The long-term goal is to have this 10-mile area to serve as a link in the 475-mile Grand Illinois Trail. In 2010, the City of Chicago acquired parcel of land adjacent to the park and that same year transferred to the Chicago Park District for the expansion of the park.\n\nAlthough the site was nicknamed the \u201cBurnham Greenway\u201d because Chicago\u2019s famous planner Daniel H. Burnham included greenways in his 1909 Plan of Chicago, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners decided to name the park in honor of its long-term steward in 2013. Today, John \u201cBeans\u201d Beniac Greenway Park has a multi-use trail edged by native plantings and shade trees.\n "}, {"id": 45, "title": "Berger (Albert) Park", "address": "\n 6205 N. Sheridan Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60660\n ", "description": "Located on Sheridan Rd in the Edgewater Community Area, the 3.46 acre park overlooks beautiful Lake Michigan. As an early proponent of developing street-end beaches on Chicago's north side, Berger Park Cultural Center has now become a neighborhood icon.\n\nGreat for fun learning and excitement, events such as Concerts and Movies in the Park and the Annual Jewelry and Ceramics Show have contributed to the cultural fa\u00e7ade of Chicago\u2019s north shore area. Boasting programs that include a variety of cultural programs such as Jewelry Making, Acting, Guitar, Tap, Modern, Flamenco, Senior Line Dance and much more. The Cultural Center is currently home to one of the most popular ceramics program within the Chicago Park District.\u00a0 Proud partner to some of Chicago's finest arts organizations, Berger\u00a0offers patrons the unique opportunity to study with 3 Cat Productions, Ultimate School of Guitar and Soul and Duende Flamenco Dance.\n\nFor those looking to get a little exercise we offer Low Impact Aerobics and Conditioning. If you have little ones - check out the Play School program and Mom's, Pop's, & Tot's both crazy fun activities. Need\u00a0something that\u00a0keeps your children engaged after school?\u00a0 We have our popular Park Kids program\u00a0.\u00a0 We can't forget our seniors...we have Bridge and Senior Craft Club, plus more.\n\nThis quaint historic landmark mansion features hardwood floors, original woodwork and antique light fixtures among other charming details--it could be the ideal place for your next special event.\n\nThe mansion also boasts a magnificent outdoor\u00a0space along Lake Michigan with breathtaking\u00a0 views. Located just minutes from downtown, this unique space offers many opportunities for special event and meeting rentals including three rooms that can be\u00a0used individually for intimate gatherings or together for functions that can accommodate up to 100 guests.\n\nIn July 2005, a new state-of-the-art playground was dedicated. The 8,000-square-foot playground has an ADA-accessible drinking fountain and ADA-accessible equipment. In addition, the new playground features a play area shaped like a pirate ship, new drainage, soft surface tiles and rubber surfacing, new walkways, new concrete curbing, trash cans, benches--including a mosaic art bench--and new landscaping.\n ", "history": "Berger Park honors Albert E. Berger (1900-1950), a native Chicagoan and Edgewater Community Area resident. Berger, who lived with his family in one of the large homes that lined the Sheridan Road before 1950, was a tax consultant and real estate developer, and a member of numerous philanthropic and civic groups. He was also an early proponent of developing street end beaches on Chicago's north side. Such beaches met the summertime recreational needs of Edgewater residents who lived beyond easy reach of the Lincoln Park beaches. By 1937, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation was operating 27 street-end beaches, including one at the end of Edgewater's Granville Avenue, near Berger's home. Pursuant to the City and Park District Exchange of Functions Act, the City transferred Granville Beach and Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957. By this time, many of Edgewater's fashionable Sheridan Road homes had given way to modern high-rises. In an attempt to address the recreational needs of the many apartment dwellers, the City in 1976 constructed a playground along the northern right-of-way of Granville Avenue, leasing it to the Park District. Residents of the crowded Edgewater community still needed more parkland.\u00a0 In 1974, the Park District purchased land from the Clerics of St. Viator and in 1981 purchased additional land from the Clerics of St. Viator to expand the park. The property included two of the few remaining Sheridan Road mansions, the south one designed by William Carbys Zimmerman and the north one by Myron H. Church. In 1988, the Park District rehabilitated the homes, which are used as a recreational building and a cultural center, respectively. Berger Park offers many activities, including senior aerobics; computer, jewelry making, and writing classes; and theater and music programs for children and adults.\n "}, {"id": 46, "title": "Bessemer (Henry) Park", "address": "\n 8930 S. Muskegon Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the South Chicago Community Area, Bessemer Park totals 20.27 acres and features two gymnasiums, a boxing gym, and multi-purpose rooms. Green features of our facility include two gardens. Outside, the parks offers an artificial soccer field, handball court, a swimming pool, picnic groves, softball & baseball fields, a track, and tennis courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasiums, fields, and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids, seasonal sports, playschool activities, Therapeutic Recreation, and Teen Club. Afterschool programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include\u00a0Special Recreation Camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Bessemer Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family\u00a0including holiday events.\n ", "history": "The South Park Commission acquired land in 1904 for the creation of Bessemer Park.\u00a0 This park was part of what proved to be a nationally influential neighborhood park system. At the time, vast numbers of immigrants were arriving in Chicago with hopes of achieving the \"American dream.\" Instead, many found intolerable living and working conditions. The City\u2019s existing parks were too far away to offer any relief. Superintendent J. Frank Foster conceived a new type of park for these areas. The innovative parks not only provided beautifully landscaped \"breathing spaces,\" but also public bathing, the City\u2019s first branch libraries, classes and vocational training, inexpensive hot meals, health care, and a variety of recreational programs. Nationally renowned landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers and architects Daniel H. Burnham and Co. designed the whole system of new parks. In addition to Bessemer Park, the neighborhood park system included Ogden, Sherman, Palmer, and Hamilton Parks, and Mark White, Russell, Davis, Armour, Cornell Squares.\u00a0 Bessemer Park development included a fieldhouse that housed an assembly hall, lockers and showers for both men and women which were located on opposite sides of the building, and six clubrooms. The outdoor amenities were walks, lawns, an outdoor swimming pool, a wading pool, tennis courts, and athletic fields. The official opening of the park to the public took place with a dedication on September, 10, 1905. The 22 park districts were consolidated in 1934 to create the Chicago Park District and Bessemer Park became part of the Park District\u2019s portfolio.\u00a0 Streets were vacated in 1957 to complete the 20.27-acre park.\n\nIn 1907, Bessemer Park was named for Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-1898), an Englishman who perfected the process of making steel, which revolutionized the steel industry worldwide. The name is especially appropriate because the park is located a mile away from South Chicago's once-thriving steel mills.\n "}, {"id": 47, "title": "Beverly Park", "address": "\n 2460 W. 102nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60655\n ", "description": "Located in the Beverly Community Area, Beverly Park totals 13.56\u00a0acres and features a multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers five baseball diamonds, playground, and tennis courts. Visit the park for availability of these spaces.\n\nPark-goers can participate in preschool activities, T-ball, Cubs Care baseball and arts & crafts. Afterschool programs are offered throughout the school year,\u00a0and special camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Lil\u2019 Campers.\n\nCheck the \"Events Calendar\" for any special events at Beverly Park.\n ", "history": "Beverly Park lies in the western portion of the lovely Chicago community area from which it takes its name. The community's rugged, wooded hills are said to have reminded an early settler of the terrain around Beverly, Massachusetts. Perched above the rest of Chicago on a glacial ridge, Beverly was only sparsely settled until 1872, when the Rock Island Railroad established commuter service into the city. The railroad called its 91st Street station Beverly Hills, well before its better-known California counterpart got its name. Much open space remained in the westernmost part of Beverly until after World War II, when residential building surged. To meet the area's increasing recreational needs, the Chicago Park District acquired land for this new park in 1949 and completed the land acquisition in 1953. Park District landscape architect Bart Austin designed a plan for the 13.2-acre park in 1952. Austin placed intensive-use recreational activities such as playgrounds and tennis courts on either side of a of a long, open meadow designed for ball games and passive recreation. The Park District erected a small fieldhouse for indoor activities. The long vista down the meadow frames a view of a church south of the park. In 1979, the Park District dedicated one of the Beverly Park baseball diamonds in honor of John Wieczorek. When Wieczorek died at the early age of 23, he had already distinguished himself through his dedication to local youth. His efforts helped to ensure the success of the Beverly Park baseball program.\n "}, {"id": 48, "title": "Bickerdike (George) Square Park", "address": "\n 1461 W. Ohio St. \n Chicago, IL 60642\n ", "description": "Bickerdike Square Park is 0.71 acres and is located in the\u00a0West Town\u00a0Community Area. It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Eckhart Park.\n ", "history": "In 1856, early lumber mill owner and real estate speculator George Bickerdike (1806-1880) transferred a small rectangular property to the City of Chicago as parkland. Fifteen years before Chicago's Great Fire, Bickerdike and other developers were already conscious of the potential for fire to spread quickly through the City. Bickerdike Square provided some fire protection within the developer's 84-acre subdivision, a rapidly growing area in what was then the City's northwest side.\n\nIn 1899, the City formed the Special Park Commission to study Chicago's open space needs and to create playgrounds. Within a few years, the Commission also began managing all of the City's existing parks. In 1906, renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen, serving as a member of the Special Park Commission, developed improvement plans for a number of City parks. The area around Bickerdike Square had become run down, and the park was considered a \"loafer's garden.\"\n\nJensen's plan for Bickerdike Square called for a circular fountain as the centerpiece, flanked by two rectangular lily pools. Jensen placed shrubs and trees around the edges, and enclosed Bickerdike Square with an ornamental fence and flower vases. Work was completed within the next few years.\n\nBickerdike Square remained a City park until 1957, when it was transferred to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. In the following decades, the park's lily pools were removed and the fountain was converted to a planter. \n "}, {"id": 49, "title": "Big Marsh Park", "address": "\n 11555 S. Stony Island Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Big Marsh Park is an approximately 300-acre park in the South Deering Community Area on the southeast side of the city. It is part of an area commonly known as the Calumet Area Reserve.\u00a0Once an active industrial property, the site was acquired by the Park District in 2011 and opened to the public in 2016. From fort-building and bug-catching, to birding and BMX bike jump lines, there is something for all ages, interests, and abilities. Roughly 45 acres are developed for eco-recreation opportunities including BMX single track courses, pump tracks, and paved bike trails. Other acreage is reserved for more passive recreation such as birding and nature observation. All acreage is being developed to protect or further enhance the overall natural habitat of the park property including sensitivity to flora, fauna, and wetlands.\n\nThrough much planning, investment, and local stakeholder input, Big Marsh is now a safe, open, and inviting park space for Chicago and the neighboring communities.\n\nBig Marsh Park features\n\nFord Calumet Environmental Center (FCEC)\n\tAsphalt and gravel biking and walking trails\n\tBMX jump lines, pump track and single track courses\n\tPicnic and grilling area\nFor more information on scheduling school field trips, community outings, and volunteer events, please contact the Ford Calumet Environmental Center at 312.590.5993.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "Once the site of a waste and slag dumping ground from surrounding industrial operations since the late 1800s, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District teamed up in early 2000s to restore this area to a healthy habitat and eco-recreation park. \u00a0The Chicago Park District acquired the site in 2011 and began the park planning, environmental assessment, and community input process. \u00a0A Framework Plan for the park was completed in 2014. \u00a0Design for the bike park feature in the southwest section of the park began in 2014 and developed for eco-recreation opportunities including hiking, adventure courses, and off-road biking.\u00a0 Other acreage is reserved for more passive recreation, including bird watching and nature walking.\u00a0 The bike park opened in 2016. \u00a0The northwest section of the park also opened to the public in 2016 with a new walking trail and parking lot. \u00a0In 2018, the park was named Big Marsh Park.\n\nOnce the site of a waste and slag dumping ground from surrounding industrial operations since the late 1800s, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District teamed up in early 2000\u2019s to restore this area to a healthy habitat and eco-recreation park. Big Marsh Park is also the site for the Ford Calumet Environmental Center, which opened to the public in 2021.\n "}, {"id": 50, "title": "Birch Park", "address": "\n 425 E. 45th St. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "Birch Playground is 0.16 acres and is located in the\u00a0Grand Boulevard\u00a0Community Area. This small playground was renovated in 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! program. The new playground includes swings, slides, a seesaw and climbing apparatuses. \u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Taylor\u00a0Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired and transformed this once-vacant lot to parkland in 1969, and officially named it Birch Park in 1973. The park was one of a number of properties named for trees and plants at this time.\n\nWorldwide, there are roughly 50 species of birch trees and shrubs. Birch trees may be easily recognized by their papery bark. Birch bark is sometimes used to make boxes, baskets, and other small articles. Certain Native American tribes also fashioned canoes from the bark of the white birch\n "}, {"id": 51, "title": "Bixler (Ray) Park", "address": "\n 5641 S. Kenwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Hyde Park Community Area, Bixler Playlot is a 1.01 acre recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families. This park's amenities include a playground with swings, slides, climbing equipment, and a spray\u00a0feature for those hot summer days.\n ", "history": "In 1880, the South Park Commissioners acquired land from Cook County.\u00a0 In 1946, the Chicago Park District transferred land to the Board of Education.\u00a0 By 1950, the City of Chicago's Department of Parks and Recreation was operating this Board of Education property as a playground. In 1957, the City transferred management of the site to the Chicago Park District. The park was expanded in 1963 with the vacation of a portion of the east half of S. Kenwood Avenue.\u00a0 The Park District continued to lease the property until 1991. In that year, the Board of Education transferred the property to the Park District.\n\nIn 1950, the City named the park for Chicago educator Ray Bixler (1890-1947), who served as the school's principal for many years. Having earned a master's degree from the University of Chicago, Bixler began his career in the Chicago school system in 1925, teaching chemistry and other science classes at Harper, Hirsch, and Tilden High Schools. In 1931, he became principal of Barnard High School. Four years later, he was named principal of Ray School, serving there until 1947, the year of his death. \n "}, {"id": 52, "title": "Blackhawk Park", "address": "\n 2318 N. Lavergne Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60639\n ", "description": "Located in the Belmont Cragin Community Area (just south of Fullerton Avenue, between Cicero and Laramie avenues), Blackhawk Park\u2019s fieldhouse sits on 6.88 acres, and features an indoor pool, a gymnasium, several meeting rooms, plus a kitchen.\n\nOutdoors, the park offers a quarter-mile walking path, two junior baseball fields, a softball field, a combination football/soccer field, five tennis courts, a basketball court, plus a playground with a spray pool.\n\nBlackhawk Park offers both fitness classes and aquatic programs for patrons of all ages. Teens can also enjoy basketball. Men can also join volleyball and basketball leagues.\n\nDepending on age and season, a large variety of programs are offered for youth/pre-teens: soccer, football, cheerleading, basketball, wrestling, tumbling, T-ball & Little League baseball.Our signature programs are available at Blackhawk Park, such as: the Park Kids after school program, Spring- & Winter-Break Camps, as well as our 6-week fun-filled affordable Day Camp (and Extended Camp).In August, we offer a 2-week Gymnastics\u2019 Camp.\n\nParents gather at Blackhawk Park with their preschoolers for classes such as: Art & ABC\u2019s, Play Group, Preschool, and Storytime.\n\nWe invite you to stop by and check out the offerings at Blackhawk Park!\n ", "history": "The Northwest Park District began acquiring land for a new park known as the Cragin site in 1916.\u00a0 In 1921, renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen, designer of much of the West Park system, developed a plan for the park. Early improvements to Blackhawk Park included a wading pool, a playground, tennis courts, and electric lighting.\u00a0 Land acquisition for the park was completed in 1922.\u00a0 Also, in 1922, the Northwest Park District named the park to honor the 86th Division, a World War I Army unit known as the Blackhawk Division of the Allied Expeditionary Force. Composed of volunteers and draftees from Illinois, the Division took its name from the Sac Chief Black Hawk (1767-1838). In 1832, Black Hawk led a group of Sac, Fox, and Kickapoo Indians west across the Mississippi into Illinois in a futile attempt to reclaim their ancestral lands, from which they had been forced in the 1820s. Though his forces were beaten back and fell to final defeat on August 2, 1832, Chief Black Hawk has long been revered for his bravery and perseverance. \n\nIn 1926, a small brick field house with a gambrel roof was built in the park. Architect Albert\u00a0Schwartz designed the building. Altogether, he produced six field houses for the\u00a0Northwest and Old Portage Park Districts. Two years after the completion of the original field house, architect Walter W. Alschlager designed a major addition to the building that included an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, locker rooms, offices, and a boardroom. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The fieldhouse offered many indoor activities like swimming, gymnasium activities, social dancing, music, crafts, dramatics, cooking classes, and citizenship lessons.\n\nIn 1934, Blackhawk Park became part of the Chicago Park District system when the twenty-two park districts were consolidated into one, the Chicago Park District\n "}, {"id": 53, "title": "Blackwelder (Gertrude) Park", "address": "\n 11500 S. Homewood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Morgan Park Community Area, Blackwelder Park is a 5.18 acre\u00a0recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park features a soft-surface playground, basketball court and a softball field. Park patrons engage in a variety of activities at Blackwelder Park include basketball and softball.\n ", "history": "In 1969, local resident Mary A. Riggins wrote to the Chicago Park District concerned that neighborhood children were forced to play in the streets. Riggins suggested creating a park on an under-used Little League ball field, the last large tract of vacant land within the community. Using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funds, the Park District acquired the property in 1972.\u00a0 A few years later, the Park District began grading and resodding the site, and installing playground equipment and athletic fields. \n\nIn 1979, the park was named for Gertrude Blackwelder, a former resident of the Village of Morgan Park. In 1844, Englishman Thomas Leeds Morgan began buying thousands of acres of land south of Chicago. After the Civil War, Morgan's homestead became the site of Morgan Park, a new residential suburb incorporated in 1882. Among Morgan Park's early residents were Isaac S. and Gertrude B. Blackwelder, whose home at 10910 Prospect Avenue quickly became a social center for the community. Isaac Blackwelder was the president of the Village of Morgan Park prior to its annexation to Chicago. Gertrude Blackwelder was a founder of the Morgan Park Women's Club, and a member of the community's school board. She is also said to have been \"the first woman to cast a ballot in the State of Illinois.\" Morgan Park's annexation to Chicago brought improvements and services, spurring residential development after 1900. The community's population more than doubled between 1930 and 1960, with growth continuing through the following decade, as increasing numbers of African-Americans moved into the integrated neighborhood\n "}, {"id": 54, "title": "Block (Eugene H.) Park", "address": "\n 346 W. 104th St. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the Roseland Community Area, Block Park is a 2.96 acre park location used for passive recreation. Park patrons can relax in this open green space on benches while enjoying the beauty of nature.\n ", "history": "When the City of Chicago purchased property for a pumping station in the Roseland Community Area in 1912, it donated the excess land to the Special Park Commission for the creation of a park and natatorium. Mayor Carter H. Harrison established the Special Park Commission in 1899 at the urging of members of the Municipal Science Club. The year before, reformer Jacob Riis, speaking before the club, had made an impassioned plea for playground development in crowded immigrant neighborhoods. Harrison created the commission to study the City\u2019s needs for small parks and playgrounds. The commission soon began working with civic groups to promote park creation, and even accepted donations of land for playground development. By 1915, the commission had jurisdiction over more than 100 properties, with 46 additional playgrounds under construction. At three of these properties, including the Roseland site, the commission was building natatoriums with swimming and changing room facilities. All three adjoined pumping stations to take advantage of surplus steam generated there. Mayor Carter H. Harrison II suggested that the Roseland natatorium be named for 25th Ward Alderman Robert Griffith (1848-1900), an active promoter of the Special Park Commission and its first chairman. The new natatorium opened to the public the following year, equipped to serve 1,500 swimming patrons per day. A gymnasium was added sometime during the following decade. \n\nBy 1930, the Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Special Park Commission, considered the lawns surrounding the natatorium as a separate site, Roseland Park.\u00a0 Around 1940, the city renamed the small park for Eugene H. Block (1865-1938), alderman for the 33rd and 9th wards between 1910 and 1917. Block also served as chairman of the Special Park Commission and later became the first chairman of the City Council Committee on Parks, Playgrounds, and Recreation. In 1957, the Chicago Park District began leasing Block Park and Griffith Natatorium from the City of Chicago Water Fund.\u00a0 The two properties were later consolidated into a single site known as Block Park. The outmoded 1915 natatorium building was demolished in 1998, and its site converted to greenspace.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District continues to lease this park from the City of Chicago\u2019s Department of Water Management.\n "}, {"id": 55, "title": "Bloomingdale Trail Park (Park No. 572) ", "address": "\n 1600-3750 W. Bloomingdale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Located on the city\u2019s Northwest Side, Park No 572 is known as the Bloomingdale Trail and it is 15.60 acres. Stretching between Ashland Ave (1600W) and Ridgeway (3750W) at Bloomingdale Ave (1800N), the Bloomingdale Trail is part of the new 606, an innovative elevated green space. The 606 is a transformative project that turned an old railroad embankment into a recreational trail and park system. Several ground-level parks--- Churchill Field Park, Walsh Park, Park No. 567, and Julia de Burgos Park are included in the system. Above the street, the trail accommodates walkers, runners, and bikers. An observatory for spectacular views of the sunset over our city was made possible by a grant from the Exelon Corporation. The trail also includes various art installations, educational programming, and other amenities. Serving as a community connector for some of Chicago\u2019s most densely populated neighborhoods including Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square and Humboldt Park, the 606 has turned the physical barrier of old railroad embankments into a unifying park and elevated trail system. In addition to serving more than 100,000 people who live within walking distance, the 606 has captured the excitement of the entire city. We look forward to sharing The 606 with you and your family.\n ", "history": "Official plans for converting the Bloomingdale Line into a public space date back to the late 1990s, when it was included in the City\u2019s Bike Plan. \u00a0In 2003, the City\u2019s Department of Planning and Development held a series of public meetings to determine how to bring new open space to the City\u2019s underserved Northwest side, forming the basis of what would become the 606. \u00a0The 2004 Logan Square Open Space Plan called for an ambitious reuse of the former industrial rail corridor. \u00a0This spurred the formation of the Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail, a group of residents who would champion the project for the next decade, dedicated to making the vision become a reality. \u00a0Knowing the Trust for Public Land\u2019s work creating Haas Park in Logan Square, members of the Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail reached out to the national non-profit, which helped bring together a coalition of city and civic organizations to move the project forward. \u00a0From industrial beacon to impromptu nature trail to innovative public space and alternative transportation corridor for the next generation, the Bloomingdale Line has been the site of innovation since its inception.\u00a0 In 2013, the Chicago Park District entered into a lease agreement with the City to operate Bloomingdale Trail Park. \u00a0\n "}, {"id": 56, "title": "Bogan (William) Park", "address": "\n 3939 W. 79th St. \n Chicago, IL 60652\n ", "description": "Located in the Ashburn Community Area, Bogan Park totals 13.99\u00a0acres and features two gymnasiums and a multi-purpose club room. Outside, the parks offers a baseball diamond, three softball diamonds, playground, basketball and tennis courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasiums,multi-purpose clubroom and fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids, seasonal sports including track & field and flag football. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Bogan Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "Bogan Park and neighboring Bogan High School honor William J. Bogan (1870-1936), Superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools from 1928 until his death in 1936. Born on Mackinac Island, Michigan, in 1870, Bogan began his career in the Chicago school system in 1893, teaching at Washington Elementary School until he was named principal there in 1900. Between 1905 and 1924, he served as principal at Lane Technical High School, and then was promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Schools, overseeing high schools and night schools. Bogan became Head Superintendent in 1928. A leading authority on vocational education, Bogan placed special emphasis on educating non-college-bound students - those he termed \"the forgotten 90 percent.\" \n\nThe Chicago Park District began planning and acquiring land for Bogan Park in 1954, in the face of a dramatic southwest-side building boom, the land acquisition was finalized in 1957 with the vacation of the rights-of-way within the park boundary. Actual improvements did not begin until 1959 because several property owners were reluctant to sell, and some buildings needed to be removed from the site before work could begin. A small fieldhouse with three club rooms, an artcraft shop, and a music room was constructed in 1961.\n "}, {"id": 57, "title": "Bohn (Henry) Park", "address": "\n 1966 W. 111th St. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Morgan Park Community Area, Bohn Park\u00a0is a 1.63 acre park location used for passive recreation. Park patrons can relax in this open green space while enjoying the beauty of nature.\n ", "history": "Bohn Park is a small triangle of land bordering the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific rail line and depot in Chicago's Morgan Park Community Area. Set aside as parkland by real estate developers just after the Civil War, the site was initially known as Depot Park, and sometimes also called \"The Common.\" In 1905, the Village of Morgan Park passed an ordinance transferring control of Depot Park to the Calumet Park District, ownership was not transferred, and remained with the Village of Morgan Park. In 1914, upon the annexation of the Village of Morgan Park to the City of Chicago the City became the owner of the park.\u00a0 \n\nCalumet Park District retained noted landscape architect, Jens Jensen to design a plan for the park. At the time, Jensen was superintendent to the West Park Commission and ran a thriving private practice as well. In 1933, the Calumet Park District designated the site Henry J. Bohn Memorial Park. Henry Bohn, was a publisher was the Calumet Park District's first president, serving from 1903 through 1908. The Chicago Park District took control of Bohn Park in 1934, when the 22 park districts were consolidated into a unified district, the Chicago Park District. In 1957, ownership of the property was transferred to the Chicago Park District from the City of Chicago pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. \n "}, {"id": 58, "title": "Boler (Leo Roscoe, Sr.) Park", "address": "\n 3601 W. Arthington St. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the East Garfield Park\u00a0Community Area. The 1.91 acre park features a playground, swings and\u00a0benches and green space.\u00a0It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Homan Square\u00a0Park.\n ", "history": "Founded in 1886, Chicago's Sears, Roebuck & Company capitalized on the City's status as the nation's railroad hub and achieved great success in the mail order shipping business. By 1906, Sears had become the world's largest mail order shipping company and needed a new plant to efficiently fill its customers' orders. Sears hired the architecture firm of Nimmons & Fellows to design a massive new four-building complex, complete with tower, on South Homan Avenue in the North Lawndale community.\n\nAfter moving its operations to suburban Hoffman Estates in the early 1990s, Sears was ready to abandon the Homan Avenue facility, providing a unique opportunity for positive change in struggling North Lawndale. Working closely with the City and The Shaw Company, a real estate developer, Sears made plans to redevelop the property as Homan Square. Some of the original structures would be rehabilitated, while others would be replaced with new homes. Sears agreed to donate nearly two acres to the Chicago Park District for development as parkland.\n\nThe Chicago Park District acquired the property in 1995 from the West Side Affordable Housing Limited Partnership.\u00a0 The Park District prepared an inventive park design featuring an enormous interactive sundial on a central plaza. Shade trees, picnic gardens, and playground equipment surrounded the plaza. Commonly known as Sears Park and Homan Square Park, in 1997, the Park District officially named the site in honor of Leo Roscoe Boler, Sr. (1922-1994).\n\nBoler arrived in Chicago from Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1946. After graduating from the Blackstone School of Law, he became an educator, and with his wife, Joyce Adamson Boler, founded the Boler and Boler Agency, a real estate and insurance brokerage firm. A resident of North Lawndale for nearly 50 years, Boler was active in many west side political and civic groups.\n "}, {"id": 59, "title": "Bosley (William) Park", "address": "\n 3044 S. Bonfield St. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Located in the Bridgeport Community Area, Bosley Park totals 2.38 acres and features a small fieldhouse with a meeting room. Outside, the park offers a basketball court, an athletic field for football and soccer, a community garden, a playground and an interactive water spray feature.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers come to Bosley Park to play 5-on-5 soccer, flag football, basketball and other seasonal sports at the facility. The park is also popular for seniors and parents and young children who enjoy arts and crafts activities together. After school sports programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\u00a0\n\nIn addition to programs, Bosley Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as \"Mommy and Me\" painting parties, egg hunts and other Night Out in the Parks special events.\n ", "history": "In 1899, Mayor Carter Harrison formed the Special Park Commission to study Chicago's open space needs and establish playgrounds in densely populated neighborhoods. Two years later, the commission created Bosley Park.\n\nOriginally known as Holden Playground, the new park provided breathing space in the overcrowded Bridgeport neighborhood as well as a playground for nearby Holden Elementary School. Recognizing that, at less than one acre, this small playground could not meet all of the community's recreational needs, the Special Park Commission began efforts to enlarge the park. In 1902, the City began leasing adjacent property from the University of Chicago and a private owner, with the option to buy the land in the future. Then in 1907, the City extended the lease agreement with the University of Chicago to include additional property, expanding the park to more than two acres in size.\n\nAfter its expansion, Holden Park included a small recreation building, sand boxes, playground equipment, and a playfield. During wintertime, the playfield was flooded for ice skating and a toboggan slide was erected.\u00a0 In 1916, Mr. William F. Bosley donated $9,000, allowing the City to purchase the leased property. In gratitude for this generous donation, the City renamed the site for Bosley.\u00a0 After initial improvements, the park remained largely unchanged until 1939, when the city installed a wading pool at one end of the rectangular site. In the early 1950s, the wading pool was converted to a spray pool and basketball courts were installed. In 1957, the City transferred Bosley Park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 The City of Chicago acquired additional land adjacent to Bosley Park; this property was transferred to the Park District in 1991 to expand the park.\u00a0 Thirty years later, the park received a new soft surface playground and its landscape underwent a major re-planting.\n "}, {"id": 60, "title": "Boswell (Arnita Young) Park", "address": "\n 6644 S. University Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn Community Area, Arnita Boswell Playground is 0.33 acres and is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing apparatus.\n ", "history": "Arnita Young Boswell Park lies in the south side Woodlawn neighborhood, a once-thriving community that sprang to life with the construction of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in nearby Jackson Park. \u00a0By 1940, the Woodlawn neighborhood had begun to deteriorate.\u00a0 The downward slide continued through the late 1960s, when the neighborhood became a Mid-South Model Cities Target Area for urban renewal efforts. About the same time, the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Woodlawn Urban Progress Center improved two adjacent vacant lots on University Avenue with a gravel-surfaced playground. The Chicago Park District identified the site for park development in 1968. \u00a0In 1969, the Chicago Park District acquired the property with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.\u00a0 A few years later, the Park District named the park Chokeberry Park.\u00a0 The Park District soon replaced the gravel-surfaced playground with two basketball courts, a volleyball court, playground equipment, and a shelter house. A soft surface playground was added in 1990. \n\nKnown previously as Chokeberry Park, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners renamed the site in 2004 as part of an initiative to recognize the achievements of significant Chicago women. Arnita Young Boswell (1920 \u2013 2002) was an accomplished social worker, educator, and activist. Born in Detroit and raised in Kentucky, Arnita was the daughter of Whitney M. Young, Sr., president of the Lincoln Institute and Laura Ray Young, one of the nation\u2019s first African-American postmasters. Arnita worked as a professor of social work at the University of Chicago from 1961 to 1980, and later became director of social services for special needs children at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She also served as the director of Family Resources Center at the Robert Taylor Homes and was the first national director for project Head Start and for the social workers of the Chicago Public Schools. Along with her renowned brother, Whitney Young, Jr., Arnita Young Boswell played an important role in America\u2019s Civil Rights Movement. When Rev. Martin Luther King led a major civil rights march in Chicago in 1966, Young Boswell directed the women\u2019s division of the demonstration. She founded Chicago\u2019s League of Black Women and the National Hook-up of Black Women. She also served on the Women\u2019s Board of the Chicago Urban League. Dr. Arnita Young Boswell worked from an office at 5217 S. University, approximately two miles from the park.\n "}, {"id": 61, "title": "Bradley (Josephine) Park", "address": "\n 9729 S.Yates Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the Jeffery Manor section of the South Deering Community Area, Bradley Park totals 4.24\u00a0acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers a playground, tennis courts, ball diamonds, and basketball courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose room and fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, fitness Sports Club. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Bradley Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "In 1943, developers of the Jeffery Manor section of the South Deering Community Area dedicated four acres on South Yates Avenue to the City of Chicago for use as a public park. For a time, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation maintained the park as an unimproved playfield. In 1950s, the Bureau drew up plans for a new playground with a small brick recreational building, and construction began. In 1957, the City transferred the park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange Functions Act. The Park District rebuilt the playground and installed new tennis courts in 1975.\n\nFor years, the site was known as Bensley Park for a nearby street. In 1989, at the request of the United Neighborhood Organization of Southeast Chicago, the Park District renamed the site Bradley Park in honor of local resident and community activist Josephine Bradley. One of UNO's founders, Bradley worked closely with the organization to meet various needs in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood. Bradley secured use of the Luella School gym for after school youth programs. She helped her community deal with its flooding problems, and showed an active interest in the area's parks. Bradley also served as president of her parish outreach team.\n "}, {"id": 62, "title": "Brainerd Park", "address": "\n 1246 W. 92nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Washington Heights community area, Brainerd Park totals 9.56 acres and features a gymnasium, and four multi-purpose rooms. Green features of our facility include a front entrance flower bed. Outside, the parks offers four baseball fields, basketball, volleyball and tennis courts, a spray pool, playground, football/soccer field. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, fields, and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids, seasonal sports, and Senior and Teen Clubs. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Teen Camp and Basketball Camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Brainerd Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "During the decade between 1920 and 1930, the population of the fashionable Beverly Community Area grew by nearly 80%. To meet the area's increasing recreational needs, the Ridge Park District, one of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934, began to develop a new park in Beverly's Brainerd neighborhood. In 1932, the Ridge Park District attempted to purchase some Chicago Board of Education property in the neighborhood; however, financial difficulties delayed the transaction. By the time the Chicago Park District was created in 1934, the Ridge Park District had made only an initial down payment on the property. Three years later, in 1937, a delegation from the Brainerd Improvement Association approached the Chicago Park District commissioners, urging them to acquire and develop the park. \u00a0The Chicago Park District finalized the land purchase the following year and acquired the property from the Chicago Board of Education. The Chicago Park District quickly began improvements, installing outdoor athletic facilities and constructing a small fieldhouse. In the 1970s, a larger fieldhouse took the place of the original. \n\nThe park was named Brainerd Park in 1941. The Brainerd Park name derives from that of Mr. Brainerd, one of five founders of the Rock Island Railroad for whom Beverly area streets were named. Though Brainerd Street became 91st Street when the City of Chicago annexed the northern portion of Beverly in 1890, the neighborhood designation survived, and was passed on to this park.\n "}, {"id": 63, "title": "Brands Park", "address": "\n 3285 N. Elston Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "Located at Elston and Henderson in the Avondale community, Brands Park totals 5.73\u00a0acres and features a large gymnasium and couple clubrooms. Outdoors, the park features an ADA accessible playground, tennis and basketball courts and ballfields.\n\nBrands Park is known for their Early Childhood Recreation, Basketball, and after-school programs.\n\n\u00a0\n\nYoung park-goers can participate in activities such as, Cubs Care Baseball, Teen Club, Table Tennis, Indoor Soccer and Mightyfitkidz at the facility. \u00a0Brands Park offers summer fun, youth attend day camp, and enjoy the open green space and playground.\n ", "history": "Brands Park bears the name of the German-American family that owned the site for many years. Formally established as a park in the 1920s, the property was used as a picnic grove for years before. The Brands grove had local notoriety as the site of many Clan-na-gael, Schwabenverein, and old settlers' picnics. Shortly after the 1917 with the formation of the River Park District, (one of 22 independent park commissions later consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934), residents of the Avondale neighborhood petitioned the new park board to purchase the Brands Picnic Grove site.\u00a0 In 1925, the River Park District initiated acquisition of the property, but negotiations with the property owner proved difficult, and land acquisition was not completed until 1927. \n\nImprovements began in 1928, following plans developed by the Chicago Landscape Company.\u00a0 The new facilities included a playground; basketball, horseshoe, and tennis courts; and an athletic field that was flooded for ice-skating in winter. These recreational features were set in an attractive landscape of lawn and trees. The River Park District adapted an existing building on the site for fieldhouse purposes. Shortly after the Chicago Park District took over Brands Park in 1934; Chicago architect Clarence Hatzfeld enlarged and remodeled the fieldhouse to include club, game, and shower rooms; a workshop; and a community hall. In the mid-1970s, the park district demolished the old brick structure, which had deteriorated significantly. In its place, the district built a new, larger fieldhouse, redesigning the surrounding landscape. More recent improvements included rehabilitating the playground, tennis courts, and plantings.\n "}, {"id": 64, "title": "Brighton Park", "address": "\n 3501 S. Richmond St. \n Chicago, IL 60632\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Brighton Park\u00a0community. The 0.94 acre park features a playground, benches and a basketball court.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at is location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Kelly Park.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this property in 1974 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The park was officially named Brighton Park in 1998. Brighton Park takes its name from the community area in which it is located.\n\nIncorporated in 1851, the Village of Brighton Park was annexed to Chicago in 1889. Brighton Park was also the name of an early racetrack located in what is now the adjacent McKinley Park neighborhood. \"Long John\" Wentworth (1815-1888), a teacher, lawyer, congressman, and Chicago mayor, built the racetrack in the 1850s. The opening of the nearby Union Stock Yards forced its closure in the following decade. In 1901, the South Park Commissioners developed the nearby site of the long-abandoned racetrack as McKinley Park.\n "}, {"id": 65, "title": "Broadway Armory Park", "address": "\n 5917 N. Broadway \n Chicago, IL 60660\n ", "description": "Located along Broadway and Thorndale Avenues in the Edgewater community, Broadway Armory Park totals 2.33 acres and is the Chicago Park District's largest indoor recreational facility. Officially purchased in 1998 after being no longer needed by the National Guard for military purposes, the massive, 87-year-old park facility today houses five gymnasia and 13 rooms. Broadway Armory's open space makes it ideal for Chicago Park District's special sporting events such as citywide 3 on 3 soccer and volleyball. Outside organizations and families use the park regularly for their own permitted events and parties.\n\n\n\tThe newly remodeled energy-efficient facility offers the community array of amenities. The park boasts an active after-school program for children ages 6-12, who create their own afternoons by choosing from a list of available activities such as dance, fitness, floor hockey, arts & crafts, and homework time.\n\tBroadway Armory is home to a Teen Center,\u00a0 designed specifically for teens to socialize, play a video game or just hang out with their friends in a safe environment.\u00a0\n\tIn addition, the facility is home to one of the park district\u2019s 9 gymnastics centers. The gymnastics center offers quality instruction for beginners to advanced competitors year-round.\n\tFlying high on the flying trapeze! Check out the Trapeze School of\u00a0NY in\u00a0Chicago\u00a0located at Broadway Armory.\u00a0 For classes click here.\n\n\nCommunity residents looking for a location for their special event or party are invited to check out the newly renovated community room. Skylights on the second-floor room have been restored to allow more daylight into the building. A new sustainable bamboo floor was also installed in the second-floor community room. Call the park for room availability.\n\nThe park is also home to the Department of Aging Senior Center and National Guard.\n ", "history": "Subdivided by John Lewis Cochran in the 1880s and 1890s, Chicago's far north Edgewater neighborhood grew rapidly after 1900, as single-family homes filled the area west of Broadway and handsome apartment buildings sprang up just west of Lake Michigan. In 1916, architects Carpenter & Weldon designed the enormous Winter Garden Ice Skating Rink as a recreational amenity for the thriving community. It is unclear whether the ice rink, located at Broadway and Thorndale Avenue, ever opened for business. By the end of World War I, however, the State of Illinois had modified the new structure for use as an armory. For years, the Illinois National Guard used the building for drilling and training. The Broadway Armory simultaneously offered various recreational opportunities to the community, including ice skating, roller-skating, and tennis. After World War II, Edgewater became increasingly crowded, as large homes and apartments were carved into smaller units, and a long string of high-rises rose up along the lakeshore. There were few recreational facilities in the densely populated neighborhood. \n\nIn the mid-1970s, the Edgewater Community Council began advocating the development of an indoor recreation center at the Broadway Armory. In 1979, the Chicago Park District signed a 25-year lease with the State for the use of a portion of the structure. After obtaining more than $2 million in state and federal funding for capital improvements, the Park District opened the new Broadway Armory indoor recreation center in 1985. The facility soon offered many popular programs, including pre-school and pre-kindergarten classes, performing arts, photography, and aerobics. Late-night basketball leagues began making use of the enormous drill hall, large enough to hold five gymnasia. The Park District purchased the armory in 1998 from the State of Illinois Department of Military Affairs, after the State decided the facility was no longer needed for military purposes.\u00a0 The park was officially named Broadway Armory Park in 2013.\n "}, {"id": 66, "title": "Bromann (Charles) Park", "address": "\n 5400 N. Broadway \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "Located in the Edgewater Community, Bromann Park\u00a0is 0.30\u00a0acres and features a new ADA accessible playground for the little ones to enjoy!\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Broadway Armory Park.\n ", "history": "The affluent Edgewater neighborhood began to experience decline in the years following World War II. Landlords subdivided large homes and apartments into many smaller units. Edgewater's population increased by 10,000 between 1960 and 1970. In 1971, the Chicago Park District worked with the Lakewood Balmoral Residence Council to establish a playlot on North Broadway to meet the growing community's recreational needs. The Park District acquired the property in 1974 with the help of a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Improvements began three years later, with the demolition of a small building that stood on the site. In 1978, the Park District named the new park for life-long Edgewater resident Charles H. Bromann (--1971). Bromann, who served as the executive secretary of the Illinois Retailers Association for thirty years was very devoting to improving the Edgewater community. He organized the Balmoral Zonal Center after World War II, which later became known as Lakewood Balmoral Residence Council, and he worked tirelessly to solve community problems and plan for the neighborhood's future.\u00a0 In 2008, the City of Chicago acquired property from the Corporation of Open Lands and in 2009; the City of Chicago transferred this property to the Chicago Park to complete Bromann Park.\n "}, {"id": 67, "title": "Broncho Billy Park", "address": "\n 4437 N. Magnolia Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "This small park totals\u00a00.51 acres and is located in the Uptown community (1/2 block north of Montrose Avenue, approximately four blocks east of Clark Street). It contains a water spray feature, and a soft surface playground.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Gill Park\n ", "history": "In 1993, the Chicago Park District acquired property from the City of Chicago and additional property in 1994 from the Board of Education.\u00a0 Until the park's creation, its densely populated Uptown Community Area was lacking in recreational space, especially when compared to neighborhoods to the east, with easy access to the lakefront. The park now includes a playground, a spray pool, and basketball courts. The Park District officially designated the property Broncho Billy Park in 1999.\n\nBroncho Billy was the screen name of silent film star Gilbert M. Anderson (1882-1971), who founded Essanay Studios, located at 1333 Argyle in Uptown, near what is now the park site. Anderson (formerly Max Aronson), had his start in the 1903 Western The Great Train Robbery. In 1907, Anderson, together with Chicagoan George Spoor, formed Essanay Studios. The following year, Anderson made The Life of Jesse James. In search of more realistic backdrops, Anderson took his film crews west to shoot further cowboy adventures, establishing the Essanay Western Company at Niles Canyon, California. Anderson created the much-loved Broncho Billy character in 1911, and went on to star in 376 Broncho Billy films. Essanay Studios closed its doors in 1917.\n "}, {"id": 68, "title": "Brooks (Gwendolyn) Park", "address": "\n 4542 S. Greenwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "Formerly known as Hyacinth Park, Brooks Park is a\u00a0small park totaling 2.56 acres and\u00a0is located in the\u00a0Kenwood community. The park features a playground that was renovated in Fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays! program, and a bust honoring the park's namesake,\u00a0poet Gwendolyn Brooks.\n\nThe park is a popular spot for children\u00a0and families who come to the park for the\u00a0playground,\u00a0Movies in the Park screenings and other Night Out in the Parks special events.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Kennicott Park.\n ", "history": "Originally known as Hyacinth Park, Gwendolyn Brooks Park was renamed in 2004 as part of an effort by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to recognize the contributions of Chicago women. The Park District first established the site in 1970, acquiring just over an acre of land in the Kenwood Community Area. Between 1995 and 1998, additional land doubled the park's size.\n\nGwendolyn Brooks (1917 \u2013 2000), one of Chicago\u2019s most acclaimed and beloved poets, received many awards and honors including a Pulitzer Prize. Born in Topeka Kansas, Gwendolyn and her family moved to Chicago when she was an infant. She exhibited a talent for writing at a young age, and published her first poem in Childhood Magazine in 1930. After graduating from Englewood High School, she attended Wilson Junior College.\n\nBrooks was a prolific writer of poetry\u2014 by the mid-1930s, she had already published more than one hundred poems, many appearing in the Chicago Defender, where Gwendolyn served as adjunct staff member. She met prominent writers such as Langston Hughes who encouraged her writing career. She also received support from a group of writers affiliated with Poetry: A Magazine of Verse.\n\nIn 1943, Brooks won the Midwestern Writers Conference Award, and two years later, she published \u201cA Street in Bronzeville,\u201d her first book of poems. Other books soon followed. In 1950, Gwendolyn became the first African American in history to win a Pulitzer Prize. In 1967, she wrote a special ode for the unveiling of Chicago\u2019s Picasso sculpture, and a commemorative poem written for the dedication of a mural considered \u201cThe Wall of Respect,\u201d at 43rd and Langley streets in the Bronzeville neighborhood. The National Endowment for the Humanities appointed Gwendolyn Brooks as the Jefferson Lecturer in 1994.\n\nThe Chicago Park District renamed Hyacinth Park for Gwendolyn Brooks, because it is 1 mile (or less) from her childhood home at 4332 S. Champlain.\n "}, {"id": 69, "title": "Brooks (Oscar) Park", "address": "\n 7100 N. Harlem Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60631\n ", "description": "Located in the Edison Park community on Harlem Avenue, just south of Touhy Avenue, Brooks Park totals 9.16 acres\u00a0is the most northwestern park in the Chicago Park District. At nearly nine acres, the park features a number of sports and recreational activities, including an established boxing program for youth, teens, and adults.\n\nThe athletes compete in an annual boxing show each November at the park. Youth can choose from basketball, volleyball, floor hockey, and dodgeball. Or, they can participate in art classes. Brooks Park also serves a large population of young preschoolers in its Edison Park community area, with sports, playgroup, preschool, and moms, pops and tots programs that include parents. Adults stay active in pickleball, boxing and basketball programs at Brooks Park, or popular softball or basketball leagues.\n\nBrooks Park contains two baseball fields, one soccer/football field, two tennis courts,\u00a0horseshoe pits, a water spray feature, and playground.\n ", "history": "Brooks Park is among the four parks created by the Edison Park District, one of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Established in 1913, the Edison Park District was still developing parks in the early 1930s. During the preceding decade, the population of the Edison Park neighborhood had increased from 950 to over 5,000 people, but the area's fine homes were still interspersed with farmland. In 1931, the Edison Park District purchased a 2.7-acre tract of open land in the eastern portion of its territory. Also, in 1931 the park site was named Brooks Park in honor of Edison Park District President Oscar E. Brooks (1869--), a prominent local resident and general contractor, who had served as village trustee for five years before becoming a park board member in 1920. By the fall of 1932, improvements were under way at Brooks Park. The site soon had tennis courts, a wading pool, a playground, a trellis-like pergola, and a lawn area that could be flooded for ice-skating in winter. \n\nWithin a few short years, the park became part of the newly created Chicago Park District. \u00a0The Chicago Park District continued acquiring land for this park from 1949 until 1957 as additional land east of the original park site was acquired and the streets within the park boundary were vacated and incorporated into the park, this land acquisition nearly tripled the park's size. Improvements followed in subsequent years. These included ball fields, a small recreation building, a spray pool, and bocci courts. The Park District constructed a new fieldhouse at the east end of Brooks Park in 1979, replacing the original recreation building near the west end. A new soft surface playground was installed in 1992.\n "}, {"id": 70, "title": "Brown (Sidney) Memorial Park", "address": "\n 634 E. 86th St. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Chatham neighborhood, Brown Memorial Park is a wonderful recreational destination enjoyed by\u00a0families and community members.\u00a0This 6.81 acre park features a tennis court, softball diamonds as well as open space for picnics and more.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased nearly seven acres for this Chatham Community Area park in 1983. When park development began, angry residents, who had expected a park double the size, picketed the site. Though the Park District was unable to acquire the additional land, improvements went forward. In 1990, the Park District named the site for Sidney Brown (1951-1983), the first African-American firefighter to die in the line of duty in Chicago. Brown, who began his career as a firefighter in 1978, served with Engine Company 75 on the City's south side. As a \"hydrant man\" who connected hoses to fire hydrants, he was often the last firefighter to enter an engulfed building. Brown died on August 9, 1983, when he rushed into a burning house, hoping to save three children believed to be trapped there.\n "}, {"id": 71, "title": "Brynford Park", "address": "\n 5636 N. Pulaski Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "This tiny \"hidden gem\" playlot totals 0.15 acres and is\u00a0located in the North Park neighborhood (on Pulaski Road, \u00bd block north of Bryn Mawr Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Peterson Park. In Summer 2014\u00a0the playlot received\u00a0a new playground as part of the Mayor Emanuel's Chicago Plays! initiative.\n\nIt's a great place for neighborhood kids to get active and get to know each other and for the community to come together.\n ", "history": "In 1949, the City of Chicago purchased this small site along North Pulaski Road, using Playground Bond funds. The City's Department of Parks and Recreation soon developed the site as a playlot with a sand box, spray pool, and play equipment. The park was for years known as Pulaski Park for the adjacent street, which was named for Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski (1748-1779). \u00a0\u00a0In 1957, the park was transferred from the City of Chicago to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 In 1981, after the City had transferred the park to the Chicago Park District, a local community association suggested renaming the site Brynford Park. Brynford derives from two local street names, Bryn Mawr and Crawford Avenues. Though Crawford Avenue has long since been renamed Pulaski Road, local residents sometimes still refer to street by its former name.\n "}, {"id": 72, "title": "Buena Circle Park", "address": "\n 1049 W. Buena Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60613\n ", "description": "This 0.45 acre park is located in the Uptown community (approximately four blocks north of Irving Park Road, one block east of Graceland Cemetery). It contains a playground and is adjacent to the\u00a0dog-friendly area at Challenger Park.\u00a0 During the summer, the community hosts concerts in the park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Gill Park.\n ", "history": "In 1908, the Buena Avenue Citizens Association gave the City of Chicago a small elliptical park with trees and lawn, a large ornamental fountain, and two drinking fountains. Real estate speculator James B. Waller established the area as a suburb in 1860, building his own stately home and naming it Buena, possibly in honor of a borough in his native New Jersey. The city annexed the Buena Park neighborhood in 1889, and by the turn of the century, it was a fashionable district of tree-lined streets and fine homes and apartment buildings. When the citizens association gave the park to the City, they stipulated that it would always be known as Buena Circle Park, would forever be used as a public park, and would always remain free of any buildings whatsoever. In 1957, the City transferred Buena Circle Park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. Playground equipment was added in the early 1960s, and a few years later, the Park District briefly considered constructing a swimming pool in the park. In 1991, the park received major improvements including a new accessible playlot, lighting, and plantings as part of an initiative to transform nearby vacant land into the new Challenger Park.\n "}, {"id": 73, "title": "Buffalo Park", "address": "\n 4501 N. California Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "Buffalo Park is one of many park properties used only for passive recreation. This small tranquil park is 0.23 acres and is set in the beautiful Ravenswood Manor community at California/Sunnyside/Manor.\n\nVisit nearby Horner Park for programming options.\n ", "history": "By an overwhelming majority, residents of the Ravenswood Manor and Ravenswood Gardens neighborhoods voted to create their own independent park district in 1914. Although these were comfortable, middle-class neighborhoods, the Ravenswood Manor Gardens Park District had limited financial resources because it could collect no more than 3% of the assessed property valuation within its 1/4-mile territory. The new park district could only afford to create very small parks, which emphasized landscape improvements, rather than recreational facilities. In 1915, the Ravenswood Manor Gardens Park District acquired the land and began creating a .07-acre park on a triangular property between Sunnyside and California Avenues and Manor Drive. The following year, Charles J. Nilson, a local contractor and cement finisher was hired to create a fountain in the tiny new park. Because Nilson's circular fountain included three ornamental buffalo heads, the site soon became known as Buffalo Park. Buffalo Park became part of the Chicago Park District in 1934, when the Great Depression necessitated the consolidation of the City's 22 independent park agencies. In the late 1930s, Park District improvements included a fanciful perennial garden, which surrounded the fountain. Unfortunately, the fountain soon suffered from severe deterioration and by the early 1950s, both the fountain and garden had been removed. \n "}, {"id": 74, "title": "Burnham (Daniel) Park", "address": "\n 1200-5700 S. Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lake Shore Drive \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Burnham Park totals 654 acres and sits on Chicago\u2019s Lakefront just south of Grant Park. The park was named for Chicago's famous architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham, who envisioned a south lakefront park with a series of manmade islands, linear boating harbor, beaches, meadows, and playfields, as published in his seminal The\u00a0Plan of Chicago of 1909.\n\nToday, Burnham Park features the naturalistic Promontory Point designed by Alfred Caldwell, multiple natural areas, and a popular skate park at 31st Street. Several beaches are located within Burnham Park at 12th St., 31st St. (Burroughs), 41st St. (Oakwood), and 57th St.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In the mid-1890s, Chicago's famous architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham began sketching a magnificent park and boulevard system that would link Jackson Park with downtown. As Chief of Construction for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, Burnham (1846- 1912) had transformed sandy, wind-swept, Jackson Park into the glistening White City. After the fair, Burnham began imagining a more beautiful, orderly, and functional Chicago. Burnham's vision, including a south lakefront park with a series of manmade islands, linear boating harbor, beaches, meadows, and play fields, was published in his seminal 1909 Plan of Chicago. The Plan included lakefront parkland and five islands off the lakeshore. Unfortunately, the five islands were not realized only Island No. 1 was constructed, now known as Northerly Island.\n\nThe South Park Commissioners began acquiring property for the new park in 1885, it took time to complete. There was land acquisition from private parties and drawn out disputes with the Illinois Central Railroad over riparian rights.\u00a0 Pursuant to a City 1919 ordinance, the South Commissioners Park came in possession of approximately 60 acres of reclaimed land, the ordinance also granted the City\u2019s 10 acre \u201cEast End Park\u201d.\u00a0 Additional property rights and government approvals were finally secured in 1920, and voters approved a $20 million bond issue to create the park. \u00a0The land creation by landfill took several years.\u00a0 By the time, the park was named in honor of Daniel Burnham Park in 1927, only the northern part of the site had been filled.\n\nDuring this period, the South Park Commissioners planned for a stadium on the lakefront.\u00a0 In a letter dated, August 11, 1919 \u201cThe South Park Commissioners of Chicago invite you to enter a limited competition for the commission to prepare working plans and specifications for the construction of a stadium on the Lake Front\u201d.\u00a0 Their decision, as a committee, was announced December 1, 1919, having selected the plans drawn by Holabird and Roche as the best design submitted.\u00a0 By virtue of this award, Holabird and Roche were employed to design Soldier Field.\u00a0 The building is \u201cU\u201d shaped, of gray Benedict cast stone executed in early Greek style of architecture.\u00a0 Soldier Field was formally dedicated on November 27, 1926.\n\nBurnham Park became part of the Chicago Park District, in 1934 by virtue of the Park Consolidation Act. In 1933 and 1934, the Century of Progress, Chicago's second World's Fair took place in Burnham Park. In the mid-1930s, the newly created Chicago Park District used federal funds from the Works Progress Administration to complete landfill operations and improve Burnham Park, including the naturalistic Promontory Point landscape by renowned designer Alfred Caldwell. \u00a0In 1935, Mayor Edward J. Kelly began pursuing the idea of a permanent fair in Burnham Park. To facilitate this, the State passed a bill creating the Metropolitan Fair and Exposition Authority. \n "}, {"id": 75, "title": "Burnside (Ambrose) Park", "address": "\n 9400 S. Greenwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Burnside community, Burnside Playlot Park totals 5.50 acres and is\u00a0an ideal location for families to spend the day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park offers a soft-surface playground with swings, slides, and climbing equipment as well as basketball courts and baseball fields.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired Burnside Park in 1970 with the help of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1998, the park was renamed Burnside for its location in the community area of the same name. When Colonel W.W. Jacobs subdivided the territory in 1887, he named it in honor of General Ambrose E. Burnside (1824-1881), who commanded Union troops in the Civil War and served as treasurer of the Illinois Central Railroad. His heavy side whiskers also prompted the coining of the term \"burnsides,\" later corrupted to \"sideburns.\"\n "}, {"id": 76, "title": "Buttercup Park", "address": "\n 4901 N. Sheridan Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "Buttercup Playlot Park recently reopened to the public after undergoing a total renovation. The 1.41 acre park features a mini splash pad for\u00a0your kiddos to cool off and\u00a0of course parents too!\u00a0Baby swings, slides, climbing structures and more!\u00a0 The soft-surface area is ADA accessible and there is plenty of shade to just relax. Visit nearby Margate Park for structured programs year-round.\n ", "history": "In 1972, the Chicago Park District purchased this property from the City of Chicago's Department of Urban Renewal, which had cleared the lot two years before. Development of the new park would benefit children attending McCutcheon School immediately to the south, as well as senior citizens in a neighboring Chicago Housing Authority building. Officially named Buttercup Park in 1974, the park was one of a number of parks named for trees and plants at this time. The buttercup's name derives from English dairy farmers' former belief that if their cows ate these flowers, the animals would produce butter of the same bright, rich yellow. In fact, feeding on buttercups did improve the quality of the butter because the flowers grow only on good pastureland.\n "}, {"id": 77, "title": "Butternut Park", "address": "\n 5324 S. Woodlawn Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located in the Hyde Park neighborhood, Butternut Park totals 0.41 acres and is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families. The park offers a playground with swings, slides, climbing apparatus, and a sandbox.\n ", "history": "In the 1940s, the south side Hyde Park neighborhood saw increasing signs of urban decay. In the following decade, local residents, the University of Chicago, and city agencies organized to stem the tide of deterioration and promote urban renewal. To better serve the community's recreational needs, the City of Chicago purchased this small property on South Woodlawn Avenue. This City park was then transferred the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange Functions Act of 1957. The Chicago Park District, soon improved it with playground equipment and a sand box. The Park District rehabilitated the park by installing a new soft surface playground in 1991. \n\nIn 1973, the park district officially named the site Butternut Park. At the time, the District\u2019s park naming committee felt that neighborhood children could best relate to park names chosen from nature. The butternut, or white walnut, found throughout eastern North America, is a low, broad tree with a short, thick trunk. The wood of the butternut tree is light and easily worked. Also prized for its beauty, it was often fashioned into elegant carriage interiors in prior centuries. The butternut produces thick-hulled nuts enclosed in sticky, spiny husks. These husks yield a yellow dye that was used by Confederate soldiers to dye their homespun uniforms. The southern troops thus gained the nickname \"Butternuts.\"\n "}, {"id": 78, "title": "Byrnes (Marian R.) Park", "address": "\n 2200 E. 103rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "At over 140 acres, Marian R. Byrnes is one of the largest natural areas in Chicago. The site, situated in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood, contains marsh, wet prairie, prairie, savanna, and woodland habitats. It is a great place to observe wildlife including frogs, snakes, birds, and deer. This park was previously known as Park No. 562 and Van Vlissingen Prairie.\n\n\u00a0\n\nAfter undergoing extensive ecological restoration, the park now provides community members with a safe space to relax and connect with nature. A paved multipurpose trail runs the length of the park, giving visitors access to multiple habitats and unique views.\n\n\u00a0\n\nAt one time the heart of Chicago and global industry, the Calumet region is a surprising host to many uncommon species of wildlife; bald eagles, black-crowned night herons and Blanding\u2019s turtles are all endangered or protected animals which call the area home for some or all of the year. Additionally, forty percent of Illinois endangered plants can be found in parks, preserves and open land within Calumet. The area holds great potential to become a regionally and nationally recognized place for wildlife habitat restoration and wildlife conservation. Its grand open spaces and historic wetlands are also promising for the development of land and water trails unparalleled in an urban setting. \u00a0These elements together form the basis for creating the Calumet Open Space Reserve, a plan bringing together state and local agencies to protect and enhance 3,900 acres of important wetland, forest and prairie habitat. An emphasis of the Reserve is connectivity \u2013 both in the form of trails for human use, and greenway corridors allowing wildlife to safely cross wider swaths of land without the risks posed by roadways and industrial plants. The Chicago Park District owns and manages over 800 of these acres while the remaining land is split between the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.\n\n\u00a0\n\nCalumet features not only the Chicago Park District\u2019s largest landholdings, but some of its most impressive displays of biodiversity. Habitat variety spans marshes, prairies and woodlands that are host to over 200 species of birds, 20 species of fish, and rare mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Currently the Park District is working alongside sustainable development and conservation experts in addition to community members and other landholders in the region. The Calumet vision is to increase local recreation opportunities while connecting the region to the larger natural landscape to the north, south and west. Community economic development projects are also a priority of the Park District. Perpetuating the Calumet region\u2019s legacy as a hub of production in line with societal needs through contributing to the renewable energy sector and other sustainable businesses is a focus for the present and years to come. \u00a0 \u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 2011, the City transferred this large site to the Chicago Park District for a park. In 2018, Park Number 562 was officially named in honor of Marian Byrnes. The preservation of this park as an open space is largely thanks to the work of the late Marian Byrnes. A teacher turned community organizer, Marian\u2019s preservation work began in 1979 with a diverse neighborhood coalition to block construction of a CTA bus garage that would demolish half the prairie. The campaign was successful, and Marian became well-known for her environmental advocacy within the Southeast Side community for more than 25 years. We have her tireless efforts to thank for ensuring that we\u2019re able to enjoy this land today.\n\nWhere now exists industrial plants and retired landfills once laid a vast network of rivers and swales meandering between marshes, lakes and seasonal ponds. (The word \u201ccalumet\u201d is believed to have come from a Potawatomi word for \u201clow body of deep, still water\u201d). Low ridges accommodated drier prairies, but most of the area was flat and grassy at the time of Joliet and Marquette\u2019s expedition through the region in the late 1600s.\n\nAs predicted by prominent planners in the area such as Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett, Calumet in the post-Civil War era became a national epicenter for manufacturing \u2013 most notably of steel. The vast landscape surrounding the inland Lake Calumet (at that time almost twice its current size and no more than six feet deep at its lowest point) contained all of the elements necessary to become a tremendous hub of production: fresh water for cooling during the manufacturing process, plentiful cheap land, and numerous waterways to connect producers to growing markets. Starting as early as the 1860s, coal from southern Illinois was shipped in large quantities north to Chicago, soon met by iron ore shipped south down the great lakes from Michigan\u2019s Upper Peninsula. The first mill in the region was John Brown\u2019s Iron and Steel Mill at 119th Street, and it was followed by many to come.\n\nThe Illinois and Michigan Canal, completed in 1848, served as the first direct connection between the Great Lakes and international waters through the Gulf of Mexico, precipitating a huge boom in business and population. At its height, the steel industry employed over 200,000 people who moved from across the country and the world to work in the plants. (Even today, with steel production falling by 30 to 40 percent, the amount of steel produced in southeast Chicago and northwest Indiana greatly overshadows any other steel producing region in the nation). The steel that built the Chicago skyline also drove the construction of the railroad, further raising the area\u2019s status as a shipping capital. In fact, as of a 2001 city report, Chicago was the United States\u2019 largest center for intermodal freight shipping \u2013 over 9 million containers are shipped in and out of Calumet annually, twice the amount of any other metropolitan region in the country, and third only to Hong Kong and Singapore.\n\nBy the 1970s, the demand for steel began to drop as massive urban building and infrastructural projects were largely completed, and aluminum and plastic began to replace steel in popular products such as cans and auto interiors. By 1982, the steel industry in Chicago was only a skeleton of what it once was, and thousands of people lost their jobs. This industry crash affected workers in diverse sectors that either relied on the steel plants for business or served the employees of the steel plants and their families. Aside from mills and processing plants, stores, restaurants and country clubs all went out of business, leaving vacant lots, industrial grounds and many open spaces that remain today.\n\nWhile its industrial roots are important in understanding the current state of the Calumet region, it is also important to recognize the area\u2019s rich cultural and natural history. \u00a0Throughout the 19th century, Calumet remained so sparsely populated that it maintained a reputation for excellent hunting, fishing and recreation. Many local residents practiced subsistence hunting, while businessmen took a one-hour train ride from downtown Chicago to hunt at private hunting reserves. While several of these reserves, such as Woodman\u2019s Tavern and Douglas\u2019s Duck Pond have since been taken over by industry (the Acme Coke plant in South Deering), others like the Southeast Sportsmen\u2019s Club in Hegewisch remain today. Chicagoans from the North Side often vacationed in Calumet, spending the summer at the many hotels or summer homes established around Lake Calumet, which hosted sailing and crew regattas in the summer as well as skating and ice sailing on the lake in the winter.\n\nLocal and statewide efforts to identify and protect Calumet\u2019s natural resources have been in motion since the later part of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1970s, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) determined a plot of 3,000 acres to be a natural area of statewide significance. In 1998 the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County adopted City Space: An Open Space Plan for Chicago. As a result of this project, Lake Calumet was identified as the most important wetland and natural area within the city and in urgent need of protection.\n\nThe Calumet area has attracted federal interest as well, starting with $200,000 given to several local partners by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1999 to develop a sustainable land use plan for nature and industry. In the acquisition and restoration of land, the Chicago Park District and its partners have acquired grants from federal and state agencies as well as private business fulfilling mitigation requirements.\n "}, {"id": 79, "title": "California Park", "address": "\n 3843 N. California Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "California Park is a 14.81 acre park located on California Avenue between Addison Street and Irving Park Road, just west of the Chicago River.\n\nHousing the Chicago Park District's only indoor ice rink and indoor tennis courts, California Park's McFetridge Sports Center (MSC) offers a unique sports experience for athletes of all ages and skill levels. Full of activity 18 hours a day, seven days a week, MSC welcomes more than 2,000 patrons each week for its year-round competitive and recreational ice skating, hockey and tennis programs, as well as special events.\n ", "history": "California Park, which takes its name from adjacent California Avenue, is one of six parks created by the River Park District. The River Park District was established in 1917, Northwest Chicago residents formed the River District to provide recreational opportunities along the North Branch of the Chicago River and the North Shore Channel and to prevent commercial encroachments there. Soon after its formation, the River Park District began to purchase more than 13 acres south of Irving Park Road, between California Avenue and the North Shore Channel.\u00a0 Acquisition of parkland began in 1917 to 1931 as the River Park District acquired land from different property owners.\u00a0 Although land acquisition dragged on until 1931, development began in 1920, when Leesely Brothers prepared a landscape plan. Improvements were confined largely to plantings until 1927, when the River Park District began construction of an outdoor swimming pool that was, for a time, Illinois's largest. An athletic field, baseball diamonds, and playgrounds followed in 1928, as did a small brick fieldhouse designed by Chicago architect Clarence Hatzfeld.\u00a0 In 1934, the District was one of 22 independent park systems consolidated into the Chicago Park District.\n\nIn the 1970s, the Chicago Park District demolished the original fieldhouse and erected a new changing facility in its place. The Park District also constructed an impressive new indoor sports complex, the first of its kind for the District. The structure contains a year-round ice rink for figure skating and hockey, as well as six tennis courts. This facility was officially designated the McFetridge Sports Complex in 1974 for William L. McFetridge, who served as park district president in 1968, and as vice-president for the preceding 22 years.\u00a0 In 2017, the park was expanded with additional property adjacent the River. \n "}, {"id": 80, "title": "Calumet Park", "address": "\n 9801 S. Avenue G \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the Eastside community, Calumet Park totals 181.70\u00a0acres and features two gymnasiums, fitness center, Lake Shore Model Train exhibit, gymnastic center, sewing and upholstery studios, woodshop, and multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers a beach, boat launch, an artificial soccer turf, picnic groves, playground, softball, football, and soccer fields. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, fields, and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nCalumet Beach offers beach goers a chance to escape the heat by enjoying the cool waters of Lake Michigan during the summer months. Beach season begins the Friday before Memorial weekend and ends on Labor Day. Beach hours during the season are from 11am - 7pm, unless otherwise posted.\u00a0 Amenities include restrooms and food concessions. \u00a0There is an ADA accessible beach walk available. \u00a0Distance swimming at the beach is available from the south end of beach (10 yards north of Taylor Pier), and parallel to shore. \u00a0\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, gymnastics, sewing, woodshop, and dance. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Gymnastic Camp and Nature Camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Calumet Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Envisioned in 1903 as part of the South Park Commission's revolutionary neighborhood park system, Calumet Park developed slowly.\u00a0 The South Park Commissioners began acquiring land in 1880 and continued to acquire more property for the park until 1943 when streets and alleys were vacated to expand the park.\u00a0 The park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio in 1934 when the 22 park districts were consolidated. \u00a0The Commission conceived the innovative parks to provide social services and breathing spaces to overcrowded immigrant neighborhoods. Landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers created plans for 14 new parks; however, four were delayed, including Calumet Park. Opened in 1905, the first ten included Russell, Mark White, Davis, Armour, and Cornell Squares, and Bessemer, Ogden, Sherman, Palmer, and Hamilton Parks.\n\nThe Commissioners acquired 40 acres to develop Calumet Park in 1904, but they decided to delay construction. The area's population began a period of rapid growth as European and Mexican immigrants settled in nearby South Chicago to work in the steel mills and railyards. Recognizing this population trend as well as the site's unique Lake Michigan frontage, the Commissioners decided that Calumet Park should be much larger than they had originally planned. Initial temporary improvements allowed people to use the beach and some new playfields. Meanwhile, the Commissioners began slowly enlarging the park through additional property acquisition and landfill. The park slowly evolved to approximately 180 acres in size. The South Park Commission constructed a monumental, classically designed fieldhouse in 1924. After the South Park Commission was consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934, additional improvements were made, including substantial work on the park's infrastructure and landscape. In 1993, the Chicago Park District acquired more land to expand the park.\n\nThe park's name pays tribute to the Calumet region, which encompasses numerous south side community areas and comprises the basin of the Calumet River. The name Calumet comes from the Norman-French word for pipe, \"chamulet.\" Early French explorers who traded with local Native Americans used the term in reference to their \"peace pipes.\"\n "}, {"id": 81, "title": "Canal Origins Park", "address": "\n 2701 S. Ashland Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Canal Origins Park commemorates the creation of the Illinois & Michigan Canal as it connected the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River drainage basin. The 2.99 acre park includes historical interpretation signage and sculpture depicting pre-settlement conditions and life on the canal after it was completed in 1848.\n\nThe park also offers a \u201ccanal cut,\u201d which provides patrons with views of what it would have been like to float down the canal on a canal boat. Other amenities in the park include native plantings, a fishing station and walkways. Because of the site's historic significance, Canal Origins Park was designated as a Chicago Landmark in 1996.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Park No. 571.\n ", "history": "Canal Origins Park represents the beginning point of the historic Illinois and Michigan (I & M) Canal, a 96-mile long manmade waterway that was built to provide a link between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River.\n\nAs explained by authors Blanche Shroerer, Grant Peterson and S. Sydney Bradford, \"Just as the Erie Canal secured New York City's position as the most important shipping center on the East Coast, the Illinois and Michigan Canal guaranteed Chicago's place as the key transportation center in the Middle West.\"\n\nThe United States Congress made its initial land grant to Illinois in 1822, and ground was finally broken for its construction in 1836. The canal opened in 1848, and its impact on Chicago's growth was soon apparent. The city had only 4470 residents in 1840, when the canal was being built. In 1850, the city had a population of nearly 30,000 and four years later, it had more than doubled to 74,500 residents.\n\nThe Illinois and Michicgan Canal reached its peak in 1882 when hundreds of boats used the waterway to transport over a million tons of cargo. Although the I & M Canal was rarely used to transport cargo after the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal opened in 1900, it continued to be used by recreational and excursion boats.\n\nThe United States Congress established the Illinois and Michigan Canal Heritage Corridor in 1984.\u00a0 The City of Chicago landmarked the Illinois and Michigan Canal Chicago Origins site in 1996.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired Canal Origins Park from the State of Illinois in 1999.\n "}, {"id": 82, "title": "Canalport Riverwalk Park", "address": "\n 2900 S. Ashland Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Canalport Riverwalk Park is a 5.14 acre park located in the Lower West Side community. It features a fishing station and a walking path.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Park No. 571.\n ", "history": "Completed in 1848, the Illinois and Michigan Canal helped Chicago quickly become one of the nation\u2019s most important and fastest growing cities. It provided a link between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes, which made Chicago a major trade center. In 1881, boats carried over a million tons of cargo along the canal.\n\nIn 2000, the City of Chicago developed a 5.14-acre passive park in the Lower West Side Community Area west of Canal Origins Park. Using funds from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources the City improved the site with a linear walking path and fishing stations. The City of Chicago named the site Canalport Riverwalk Park because of the historic significance of its site and the recreational opportunities provided because of its relationship to the Chicago River today.\u00a0 The City of Chicago transferred the Canalport Riverwalk Park to the Chicago Park District in 2001.\n "}, {"id": 83, "title": "Carmen Park", "address": "\n 1224 W. Carmen Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "This 0.16 acre park is\u00a0located in the Uptown neighborhood (slightly west of Broadway Street, two blocks south of Foster Avenue). Local children and families enjoy the playground equipment. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs at nearby Broadway Armory Park.\n ", "history": "Chicago's post-World War II housing shortages brought dramatic change to the Uptown community. Many of the area's large homes and mansions were divided into multiple units, while others were replaced with modern apartment buildings. To better serve the growing population, the City of Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation acquired property in 1950 and created a small municipal playground in 1951. Named for the street on which it is located, Carmen Park makes reference to French composer Georges Bizet's famous opera, Carmen. The City transferred Carmen Park over to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange Functions Act. Re-planting the landscape and adding new playground equipment in the 1960s, the Park District made further improvements in the early 1990s.\n "}, {"id": 84, "title": "Carpenter (Philo) Park", "address": "\n 6153 S. Carpenter St. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Carpenter Park totals 0.29 acres and is a pleasant location for families to spend the day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. Park amenities included a playground with swings, slides and a climbing apparatus.\n ", "history": "In 1956, the City of Chicago acquired property at the corner of 62nd and Carpenter Streets in the Englewood neighborhood. By 1957, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had developed the site as a playground, transferring it to the Chicago Park District that same year pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange Functions Act. The park takes its name from the adjacent street, in turn named for early Chicagoan Philo Carpenter (1805-1886). Born in Massachusetts and trained as a pharmacist in New York, Carpenter arrived in the 200-person settlement of Chicago in 1832. He immediately opened a drug store on what is now Lake Street and began to invest in real estate. Within two years, he had made his fortune. Carpenter later became a vocal advocate of abolitionism and temperance, and served as a director of the Chicago Theological Seminary. Carpenter had seven children, including a daughter, Augusta, for whom Chicago's Augusta Park is named.\n "}, {"id": 85, "title": "Carver (George Washington) Park", "address": "\n 939 E. 132nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60827\n ", "description": "Located in the\u00a0Riverdale community, Carver Park totals 19.24 acres and features a gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, fitness center, boxing ring, and multi-purpose clubrooms. Outside, the park offers a playground, baseball diamonds, batting cage, sand volleyball court,\u00a0basketball courts and 3 picnic grove. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose clubrooms and fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, boxing, Inner City Basketball, Inner City Baseball, swimming, and Jr. Bears Football. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to a menu of programs, Carver Park hosts special events throughout the year for the entire family including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Carver Park lies adjacent to the Chicago Housing Authority's Altgeld Gardens housing development and the Chicago Board of Education's George Washington Carver School. When the C.H.A. constructed Altgeld Gardens in between 1943 and 1944, the project quadrupled the housing stock in the Riverdale Community Area. \u00a0Several years later, the Chicago Park District, recognizing the increasing need for recreational opportunities, began to purchase land for park development and acquired land from the C.H.A. in 1950 and in 1956.\u00a0 Today, in addition to maintaining extensive outdoor recreational facilities at Carver Park, the Chicago Park District jointly operates the Altgeld Garden Homes Community Center with the Chicago Housing Authority. \n\nGeorge Washington Carver (c.1861-1943), for whom both the park and the neighboring school are named, was a highly influential African American scientist. Born to a slave mother, Carver had to support himself from an early age, but managed to obtain bachelor's and master's degrees from Iowa State Agricultural College once he reached his 30\u2019s. In 1896, he moved to Alabama to direct the newly organized department of agriculture at the Tuskegee Institute. Carver urged southern farmers to plant alternative crops - peanuts, soybeans, sweet potatoes - to replenish soil devastated by years of uninterrupted cotton production. When there proved to be little commercial demand for these crops, Carver embarked on extensive research to develop marketable derivative products. Carver's work at Tuskegee dramatically altered agricultural production in the south and greatly stimulated the region's economy.\n "}, {"id": 86, "title": "Cedar Park", "address": "\n 5311 N. Winthrop Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "Cedar Park totals 0.39 acres and is located in the Edgewater community this family destination recently received a facelift of sorts: a new playground! The new playground replaces a smaller, older playground, has soft surfacing and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to be accessible to children with disabilities.\n\nIn addition to accessible, the new playground features the colorful age-appropriate action-packed play areas with swings, slides, and climbing elements that keep children busy, soft surface tiles and rubber surfacing, new walkways, new fencing, improvements to existing spray pool, trash receptacles, new drinking fountain, benches, and new landscaping.\n\nDuring the summer months, children can create unique arts and crafts outdoors when the Chicago Park District drives its \u201cCraftmobile\u201d into Cedar Play. This touring four-wheeled wonder is filled with fun art projects and activities for children ages 6 and under. Art instructors will help kids create sidewalk murals, wax-resistant drawings, stained glass window hangings and more. And it\u2019s free! All supplies are provided.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago transferred this park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957. \u00a0Officially, designated Cedar Park in 1973, the site was one of several parks named for trees and plants at this time. The term \"cedar\" is a vernacular name used for a group of unrelated conifers (cone-bearing trees) with fragrant wood. Cedars include several junipers and arborvitae. The northern white cedar grows widely in central and eastern Canada and the northeastern and Midwestern United States. Brought to France in 1536, the northern white cedar was among the first North American plants to be introduced in Europe. The eastern red cedar, found in the United States as far west as the Dakotas, is used to line closets and chests because its smell repels moths. True cedars - as opposed to junipers and arbor vitae - are not native to North America.\n "}, {"id": 87, "title": "Centennial Park", "address": "\n 6068 N. Northwest Highway \n Chicago, IL 60631\n ", "description": "This passive recreation area totals 1.19 acres and is\u00a0located in the Norwood Park\u00a0community (abutting Northwest Highway, six blocks south of Devon Avenue).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby at Norwood Park.\n ", "history": "Centennial Park straddles the tracks of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad and the line's Norwood Park depot. As early as 1906, the Special Park Commission was managing a one-acre greenspace south of the tracks. When the railroad erected a new station several years later, the commission improved another acre-and-a-half north of the tracks and depot. Landscape architect and commission member Jens Jensen developed a park plan, and the Commission installed a driveway and sidewalks; lawn and shrubs; benches; and a \"drinking fountain for man and beast.\" The Commission also reconstructed the southern parcel. Initially known as Norwood Park No. 3, the property was soon designated The Railway Garden. \u00a0The City of Chicago acquired property in 1930.\u00a0 \n\nThe shaded park, still used exclusively for passive recreation, was transferred from the City of Chicago to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange Functions Act.\u00a0 In 1970, the Chicago Park District acquired more land to expand the park.\u00a0 In 1975, the park district renamed the site Centennial Park at the request of the Norwood Park Citizen's Association. The new name commemorates the centennial of Norwood Park's incorporation as a village in 1874.\n "}, {"id": 88, "title": "Central Park", "address": "\n 721 N. Central Park Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the East Garfield Park\u00a0community. The 0.25 acre park features a playground with swings that was renovated in Summer 2014 as part of the Chicago Plays! program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Augusta Park for recreation.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "Before becoming the Chicago Board of Education, the Trustees of Schools acquired property in 1880 that would eventually become Central Park.\u00a0 Central Park is one of many small parks created by the Bureau of Parks and Recreation to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. The Bureau developed this Board of Education-owned site as a playlot. The Board of Education transferred the park to the Park District in 1991, rehabilitating it shortly thereafter.\n\nCentral Park takes its name from the adjacent street. Central Park Avenue runs south from the Humboldt neighborhood through Garfield Park and beyond. Garfield Park, created by the West Park Commission in 1869, is the midpoint between Humboldt and Douglas Parks on Chicago's grand boulevard system. Garfield Park was originally known as Central Park, thus giving the street its name.\n "}, {"id": 89, "title": "Challenger Park", "address": "\n 1100 W. Irving Park Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60613\n ", "description": "This 3.86\u00a0acre park is located in the Uptown community (on Irving Park Road, abutting Graceland Cemetery). It contains a dog-friendly area. Additionally, its parking spaces can be rented to train commuters [contact Gill Park].\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Gill Park.\n ", "history": "In 1990, Mayor Richard M. Daley announced plans for the creation of Challenger Park through a public-private effort involving the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Transit Authority, and the Chicago Cubs. Located only a few blocks from Wrigley Field, the debris-strewn site included a dilapidated alley and vacant land adjacent to Graceland Cemetery. The City and Park District financed the project, supplemented by donations from Cubs Care, the Graceland Cemetery Trustees, and the Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Foundation. \u00a0\u00a0The Park District leases this park from the City and the CTA. The 1991 project transformed the half-mile stretch of land into a linear park with native trees, grasses, wildflowers, jogging and walking paths, new sewers, lighting, and a new alley running underneath the elevated trusses. The project also included a dual-purpose basketball court and parking lot. \n\nThe Chicago Park District named the site Challenger Park in memory of the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster of January 28, 1986. The Challenger crew included six astronauts, Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, and Gregory Jarvis and a teacher, Christa McAuliffe. Moments after take-off, a structural problem with the rocket boosters caused the space shuttle to explode and fall into the ocean. All seven crewmembers perished in this tragic accident.\n "}, {"id": 90, "title": "Chamberlain Triangle Park", "address": "\n 4227 S. Greenwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "Chamberlain Triangle Park\u00a0is located in the Kenwood\u00a0Community. This 0.2 acre park features passive green space. It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Kennicott Park.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1881, the South Park Commissioners acquired land from real estate developers Miller and Chamberlain and dedicated a triangle of land in their new Kenwood subdivision to the City of Chicago for use as a public park. In 1892, the Chicago City Council named the site Lakewood Point, combining the names of two adjacent streets, Lake Park Avenue and Greenwood Street.\n\nAfter 1908, the Special Park Commission planted numerous shrubs and flowers; constructed an iron fence around the property; and renamed it Chamberlain Triangle for the original developer. The Special Park Commission was disbanded in 1915, and Chamberlain Triangle passed to the Bureau of Parks and Recreation.\u00a0 This green space was transferred to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\n "}, {"id": 91, "title": "Chase (Salmon) Park", "address": "\n 4701 N. Ashland Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "Located in the Uptown community, Chase Park totals 4.88 acres and attracts a number of youth to its after-school program during the school year and to its outdoor pool in the summer months. Adults participate in men\u2019s, women\u2019s and mixed basketball leagues ranging from competitive to strictly recreational.\n\nThroughout the year, the park offers indoor soccer, volleyball and softball leagues for adults, as well as a step aerobics class. Neighborhood parents gather at the park to participate in Moms, Pops and Tots and play groups for preschoolers. Others get involved as coaches for growing Saturday sports programs such as youth soccer, bitty basketball and t-ball.\n\nChase Park contains a 1/5-mile, four-lane, rubberized-surface running track, two baseball fields, one football/soccer field, four tennis courts and a large playground area.\n\nCheck out the new playground at the park! The 7,481-sq.-foot playground renovation features two sets of swings as well as two distinct play areas with equipment designed specifically for preschool-aged children and another for older children. New rubberized soft surfacing offers wheelchair accessibility and safer play.\n ", "history": "In 1920, the Lincoln Park Commission converted a deserted semi-professional baseball field into Chase Park. Known as Gunther Park, the ball field was home to the Niesen-Gunther team beginning in 1905. The facility went out of business in 1913, during the construction of Chicago's north side professional baseball field, Wrigley Field. A community member suggested the conversion of the old ball field into a park in 1914, and several years later the Ravenswood Improvement Association and some local officials petitioned for the park. The Lincoln Park Commission finally began land acquisition in 1920 and continued until 1925 as property was acquired and streets and alleys were vacated to expand the park. Within the next two years, tennis courts, a playground, an athletic field, a wading pool, and a fieldhouse were constructed in Chase Park. In 1934, the Lincoln Park Commission was consolidated into the Chicago Park District. The Park district demolished Chase Park's original fieldhouse and replaced it with a new building in 1976.\n\nChase Park was one of seven neighborhood parks created by the Lincoln Park Commission. Five of them were named in honor of President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet members. Chase Park honors Salmon P. Chase (1803-1873), who served as Lincoln's secretary of the treasury from 1861 to 1864. In late 1864, Lincoln appointed Chase Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Early in his career, Chase became well known as a defender of runaway slaves and leader in the anti-slavery movement. As one of his initial acts as Chief Justice, he appointed John Rock, the nation's first African-American attorney to argue before the Supreme Court.\n "}, {"id": 92, "title": "Chestnut Park", "address": "\n 7001 S. Dante Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "Located in the South Shore Community, Chestnut Playlot Park\u00a0is a passive area totaling 0.47 acres where residents enjoy taking\u00a0walks or playing outside.\n ", "history": "By the late 1950s, the South Shore neighborhood had long been considered \u201cone of the finest residential areas\u201d in Chicago. Civic organizations worked closely with the City of Chicago to keep it that way, despite changing demographics at that time. The City of Chicago acquired several residential lots on South Dante Avenue to create a new playlot park in the South Shore community.\n\nOwnership and management of the small park transferred from the City to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957. \u00a0The site was soon improved with playground apparatus, trees, lawn and benches. On November 24, 1960, the Chicago Tribune published an article entitled \u201cModern Playlots Are Open\u201d featuring a photograph of children playing on the merry-go-ground at the park at E. 70th Street and S. Dante Avenue, which had not yet been named.\n\nThe Chicago Park District officially named the site Chestnut Park in 1973. It was one of a number of park properties named for trees and plants at this time. Chestnuts take the form of both trees and shrubs. Five of the 14 chestnut species are native to North America. The American Chestnut, the \"spreading chestnut tree\" of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, The Village Blacksmith, once grew to a height of 100 feet, with a broad, rounded crown. Formerly prominent in the forests of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, the American Chestnut is now somewhat rare due to chestnut blight.\n "}, {"id": 93, "title": "Chicago Women's Park and Gardens", "address": "\n 1801 S. Indiana Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Located in the Near South Side community, locally known as the South Loop, Chicago Women\u2019s Park & Gardens totals 3.23 acres and formerly housed the Vietnam Veterans Museum. Opened to the public in 2000, Chicago Women\u2019s Park and Gardens honors the contributions women have made to the city throughout its history and provides a quiet respite for the community.\u00a0 View the Chicago Women's Park & Gardens brochure that celebrates many of these women.\n\nThe park's fieldhouse\u00a0features an indoor children\u2019s playground, a cafe and\u00a0meeting room facilities. The recently renovated second and third-floor space includes\u00a0three new fitness studios, a kids' club room and the\u00a0Kids Science Labs\u00a0(KSL), which offer hands-on science classes, summer camps and field trips for kids ages 2-12.\u00a0\n\nOutside, the park offers a community garden and landscaped grounds. The grounds are\u00a0complete with an ornamental\u00a0fountain, the \"Helping Hands\" sculpture honoring Jane Addams,\u00a0and passive green space that is available for rental for\u00a0children\u2019s birthday parties, meetings and other special events.\n\nChicago Women\u2019s Park and Gardens is located within the Prairie Avenue Historic District and nestled between two house museums\u2014 the Widow Clarke House and the Glessner House.\u00a0\n\nPark-goers visit Chicago Women's Park and Gardens to enjoy programs and fitness opportunities, including Mom, Pop and Tot classes, bridge tournaments and yoga. In the summer, youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are also offered, including preschool activities. In addition to programs, Chicago Women\u2019s Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, including movies, concerts and other Night Out in the Parks events.\n\nThe Clarke House Museum, which sits adjacent to the gardens, was built in 1836 for Henry B. Clarke. The structure is Chicago\u2019s oldest house. Over the years, the house survived fires, belonged to a church and was moved twice. During the second move, the house was stuck in the air for two weeks!\n\nChicago Women's Park Exhibit Brochure\nView the park brochure created to celebrate significant Chicago women.\u00a0 \u00a0Images of some of these women adorn the front windows and two-story entrance of the fieldhouse.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Landscape architect Mimi McKay and architect Tannys Langdon designed Chicago Women\u2019s Park and Garden, which opened to the public in 2000. The small scale of the park and its lushly planted borders enhance the space\u2019s contemplative feeling.\n\nThe centerpiece of the park's design is the Botanical Gardens Fountain with a copper-coated cast iron basin created by Robinson Iron of Alexander City, Alabama. A winding path along the perimeter of the site serves as a metaphor of a woman as she moves in and out of traditional boundaries and roles through the course of her life.\n\nIn 2011, the Chicago Park District installed a monument in the park in homage to Jane Addams (1860 \u2013 1935), Chicago\u2019s famous social reformer and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Internationally renowned artist Louise Bourgeios (1911 \u2013 2010) created the artwork, which was first dedicated on the city\u2019s lakefront in 1996. The sculpture was commissioned by the B.F. Ferguson Fund of the Art Institute of Chicago.\n\nRepresentatives of the Art Institute selected Bourgeios because they knew that the surrealist artist would portray Jane Addams through a symbolically powerful artwork rather than a depictive figurative sculpture. Bourgeios produced a series of carved granite hands that sit on rough-hewn granite bases. The monument, which is also known as \u201cHelping Hands,\u201d recognizes the humanity of Addams\u2019 efforts, as well as the large number of people she helped.\n\nSpeaking about her work in a 2007 PBS Documentary film, \u201cFrom Art in the 21st Century,\u201d Louise Bourgeois said, \u201cA work of art does not have to be explained\u2026 If you do not have any feeling about this, I cannot explain it to you. If this doesn't touch you, I have failed.\u201d\n\n\"Helping Hands\" entails six rough hewn stone bases which each support a hand or series of carved black granite hands representing a broad range of people of different ages and backgrounds. The current installation reflects the artist\u2019s original arrangement of the sculptures and their positions.\n\nDescribing the significance of the artist and her approach to this project, Michael Darling, a Chief Curator at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art explains, \u201cLouise Bourgeois is one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, primarily because she has addressed central aspects of the human condition in her work. Channeling the issues raised during her tumultuous childhood, she has focused her work on ideas about inter-personal communication, nurturing, alienation, belonging, motherhood, sensuality, birth and death, among many other themes. This sculpture is an excellent example of how she suggests these concepts in a truly universal form\u2014through the motif of the human hand.\u201d\n "}, {"id": 94, "title": "Chippewa Park", "address": "\n 6748 N. Sacramento Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60645\n ", "description": "Chippewa Park, located in the West Rogers Park community (by Pratt & Sacramento avenues), is a small facility with weekday classes geared towards children\u2019s programming.\n\nThe park offers Moms, Pops & Tots Interaction for toddlers. Classes for preschoolers include Early Childhood Recreation, as well as Playschool Activities. Classes for youth include Arts & Crafts and Fun and Games. The park offers Soccer, T-ball, Flag Football, Snag Golf and Outdoor Tennis for multi-ages. Additionally, the Chippewa Park offers an affordable fun filled 6 week day camp for ages 5-8. The five-room fieldhouse, including a kitchen, sits on 3.26 acres with a new ChicagoPlays!\u00a0playground, and a water spray feature.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Chippewa Park was one of four parks created by the Ridge Avenue Park District, established in 1896. The Park District's other properties were Indian Boundary, Pottawattomie, and Morse (now Matanky) Parks. In 1931, the Park District began to purchase property for the park and this acquisition continued until 1936.\u00a0 This property was located in the southwest corner of the District.\u00a0 The Ridge Avenue Park District built a one-story brick fieldhouse designed by Clarence Hatzfeld, and designated the new park Chippewa.\u00a0 The park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio in 1934 when the 22 park districts were consolidated.\u00a0 \n\nThe name recognized the Chippewa Indian tribe that lived in the Great Lakes region when Europeans arrived. Between 1600 and 1760, the Chippewas made their home along the northern shores of Lakes Michigan and Superior and numbered between 25,000 and 30,000. The Chippewa formed a loose confederacy with the Ottawa and the Pottawatomi tribes. By the 19th century, the three tribes were known as \"the Three Fires.\" The name Chippewa is an adaption of the word Ojibway, \"to roast till puckered up,\" a reference to the puckered seams of their moccasins.\n "}, {"id": 95, "title": "Chopin (Frederic) Park", "address": "\n 3420 N. Long Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60641\n ", "description": "Chopin Park totals 9.28 acres and is\u00a0situated in the Portage Park community. The historic fieldhouse contains an assembly hall with a stage and seven rooms, where many preschool and music classes take place. The park also offers a Park Kids after-school program that attracts local students.\n\nBeyond its expansive welcome garden and fieldhouse, Chopin Park offers athletes a senior and two junior baseball fields, a softball field, a combination football/soccer field, four basketball standards, four tennis courts, four horseshoe courts and a sand volleyball court. Young children enjoy the park\u2019s playground and spray pool. Young park-goers can play flag football, floor hockey, indoor soccer, and outdoor tennis at the facility.\n\nOn the cultural side, Chopin Park offers arts and crafts, guitar, piano and other instrumental music classes. In the summer, youth attend day camp, and pre-teens participate in leadership camp. Adults participate in a range of activities, including piano, instrumental music classes, and 16\u201d softball. Parents gather at Chopin Park with their preschoolers for moms, pops and tots. Preschool, sing-a-long, music and movement, and arts and crafts classes are also available for preschool-age residents.\n ", "history": "Chopin Park was created by the Old Portage Park District, one of 22 independent park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. \u00a0In 1931, the Old Portage Park District purchased just over 9 acres and vacated alleys and streets for the future park. This park is located in what was then a predominantly Polish southeastern corner of the rapidly growing Portage Park Community Area. The park was soon well equipped with baseball and football fields, tennis and horseshoe courts, and a playground. The site also included an impressive brick fieldhouse with a 300-seat assembly/banquet hall and various game and clubrooms. The Georgian Revival-style fieldhouse was identical to those at the Old Portage Park District's nearby Shabbona and Wilson Parks. Recognizing the Polish heritage of many area residents, the Old Portage Park District named the park for the great Polish-born French composer and pianist Frederic Francois Chopin (1810--1849). A child prodigy, Chopin first played in public at the age of eight, and began composing shortly thereafter. He is best known for his many compositions for solo piano. In the mid-1930s, not long after Chopin Park became part of the unified Chicago Park District, the new agency remodeled the fieldhouse. Over the years, the facility drew neighborhood residents for a wide variety of indoor activities, including pre-school and mothers' clubs, gymnastics, social dancing, crafts, citizenship classes. Particularly appropriate given its name, a local orchestra practiced at the fieldhouse, performing concerts in the auditorium. The Chicago Park District also made various outdoor improvements, including constructing a wading pool with sand pits and shelters in 1948, installing a basketball court in 1975, and regularly rehabilitating various park facilities and greenspaces.\n "}, {"id": 96, "title": "Christiana Park", "address": "\n 1533 S. Christiana Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the North Lawndale\u00a0community. The 0.33 acre park features a basketball court and a playground that was renovated in Summer 2014 as part of the Chicago Plays! program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Douglas Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Christiana Park is one of many small parks created by the Bureau of Parks and Recreation to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. The Bureau acquired this .14-acre North Lawndale site in 1952, developing it as a playlot and transferring it to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 In 2017, the City transferred adjacent property to the Park District doubling the size of the park.\n\nThe park is named for adjacent Christiana Avenue. Christiana is the former name of Oslo, the capital of Norway. Around 1900, Chicago was said to be \"the only City in the world with more Norwegians than Christiana.\"\n "}, {"id": 97, "title": "Churchill Field Park", "address": "\n 1825 N. Damen Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "This park is located in the Logan Square community (on Damen Avenue, four blocks south of Armitage Avenue). It is 1.40 acres and contains a junior baseball field and a dog-friendly area.\n\nThe park is one of many access point to\u00a0The 606 - the planned multi-use recreational trail being built along the elevated rail line along Bloomingdale Avenue (approximately 1800 North) from Ashland (1600 West) to Ridgeway (3732 West).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Holstein Park.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Around 1970, the Dana Civic Association began urging the Chicago Park District to acquire a privately owned lot, which was being used as a Little League ball field in the crowded Logan Square Community Area. Using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funds, the Park District acquired the property in 1973.\u00a0 The City passed ordinance in 1976 for the closure if the right-of-way to adjacent Bloomingdale Avenue, and the property was incorporated into the park.\u00a0 The Park District upgraded the junior baseball field and installed permanent bleachers. In 1990, trees were planted to buffer the field from street traffic and a nearby elevated railroad track. The following year, the park was officially named Churchill Field Park at the request of the Near Northwest Neighborhood Network. The name makes reference to the property's former owner and to Churchill Street, which runs along the park's southern boundary. M.E. Churchill subdivided nearby property in the 1890\u2019s.\n "}, {"id": 98, "title": "Claremont Park", "address": "\n 2334 W. Flournoy St. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "Claremont Playlot Park is a\u00a0small playground located in the Near\u00a0West Community. The 1.04 acre playground was renovated in Fall 2012 as part of the Chicago Plays! program. The playground includes slides, swings and climbing equipment.\u00a0\n\nClaremont Playlot Park is an active community park. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out nearby Altgeld Park for programs, recreation, swimming in the outdoor\u00a0pool, or workout opportunities in the fitness center.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this once-vacant lot for park development in 1973. Two years later, at the request of area residents, the Park District officially designated the site Claremont Park for nearby Claremont Avenue.\n\nThe street takes its name from the Clermont, the first commercially successful steamboat. Designed by inventor, canal engineer, and artist Robert Fulton (1765-1815), the Clermont made its inaugural voyage on August 17, 1807. The steamboat trip up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany, New York took 62 hours.\n "}, {"id": 99, "title": "Clarendon Community Center Park", "address": "\n 4501 N. Clarendon Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "Located in the Uptown community (two blocks east of Sheridan Road, two blocks south of Wilson Avenue, and just west of Lake Shore drive), Clarendon Community Center Park sits on 12.64 acres of land. The fieldhouse contains a fitness center, a gymnasium, and several clubrooms available for rental. Outside features two junior baseball and two softball fields, a two-hoop basketball court, new dog-friendly area and a playground with an interactive water play area.\n\nThe park staff offers a variety of recreation opportunities, particularly for older children and adults. However, Tot Spot is available for toddlers. Youth can enjoy basketball, cheerleading, drop-in, Junior Bears football, karate, seasonal sports\u2014and the popular six-week, summer day camp. Programs for teens include basketball, drop-in, seasonal sports\u2014and Teen Leadership Club during the summer. Adults can partake in basketball, dodgeball, the fitness center, soccer, and volleyball. Kuumba Lynx is the Arts Partner In Residence, which provides the following programming at the park: Poetry, Graffiti Art, Hip Hop, and skateboarding. Special events at Clarendon Park include an annual Easter Egg Hunt plus an outdoor Movie in the Park.\n\nClarendon Community Center Park is the home to the Garfield-Clarendon Model Railroad Club. We welcome visitors of all ages to stop by and enjoy. Rekindle the emotions of model trains you had as a kid. The Garfield-Clarendon Model Railroad Club has a rich history and beautifully crafted layout.\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\nSwimming programs are available at the nearby Gill Park.\n ", "history": "Clarendon Community Center takes its name from the adjoining avenue, honoring English statesman Edward Hyde (1609-1674), first Earl of Clarendon. Clarendon originated as a municipal beach. During the 19th century, Lake Michigan was rarely used for swimming because the heavily polluted Chicago River flowed into it. The new Sanitary Canal corrected the problem in 1900, and the Health Department began creating municipal beaches to provide the city's growing population with access to swimming as well as showers and changing facilities. In 1905, the city's Special Park Commission took over management of municipal beaches. Several years later, the Commission began planning a state-of-the-art facility, visiting well-known municipal beaches throughout the nation such as Belle Isle Beach, Detroit; the New York City Beach at Coney Island; and the Atlantic City Bath Houses. In 1916, the city opened the Clarendon Municipal Beach, featuring an impressive brick building with two stately towers, separate open-air locker areas for men and women, and two smaller buildings housing a laundry and a children's playroom. Accommodating more than 9,000 swimmers and a promenade for thousands of spectators, the facility provided bathing suits, towels, and lockers for the charge of ten cents per adult. The beach remained popular until the late 1930s, when the Chicago Park District expanded Lincoln Park north to Foster Avenue, thereby eliminating Clarendon's lake frontage. At that time, the city converted the facility into a community center, adding gymnasiums, clubrooms, a playground, and an athletic field. \n\nThe Chicago Park District assumed ownership of the Clarendon Community Center in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. The Park District also leases the northern most portion of the park from the City Department of Water Management. \u00a0A major renovation project in 1972 resulted in the removal of the building's most distinguishing features such as its tile roof and towers. In recent years, the Park District has made the building accessible to people with disabilities, and upgraded the ball fields and playground.\n "}, {"id": 100, "title": "Clark (John) Park", "address": "\n 4615 W. Jackson Blvd. \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "Located in the Austin community, Clark Park totals 2.19 acres and features a fieldhouse with a large meeting room.\n\nOutside, the park offers a basketball court, an athletic field for football and soccer, a softball field, a playground and a swimming pool. The playground was renovated in Summer 2014\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program. Many of these amenities\u00a0are available as rental spaces for athletic competitions, children's\u00a0parties or other special events.\n\nPark patrons come to Clark Park to play football, soccer or basketball at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Clark Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as gym showcases, holiday activities, Movies in the Park and other Night Out in the Park special events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Just before 1900, the City of Chicago acquired a parcel of land on West Jackson Boulevard in the Austin community. Having used the site for many years as a Water Pipe and District Yard, the city decided to develop the property as parkland for the rapidly growing neighborhood, transferring it to the Bureau of Parks and Recreation in 1923.\n\nWithin a few years, the property was equipped with a small recreation building with open sand court wings, playground apparatus, and a playing field that was flooded for ice-skating in winter. Expanding the park onto several adjacent lots in 1928, the bureau constructed an oval wading pool with a pergola shelter. The open wings of the recreation structure were enclosed in 1947, creating a year-round facility.\n\nThe Chicago Park District began leasing the park in 1960. A decade later, the park district replaced the deteriorating wading pool with a larger swimming pool. A soft surface playground was installed in 1991, and trees planted several years later.\n\nThe park honors John S. Clark (1892-1960), who was elected alderman of the surrounding 30th Ward in 1917, at the early age of 25. (At the time, the city regularly named parks for the sitting aldermen of the wards in which the properties were located.) In 1927, Clark became chairman of the City Council's powerful Finance Committee. He served the 30th Ward until 1934, when he was elected Cook County Assessor, a position he held for 20 years. Throughout his life, Clark actively participated in civic affairs on Chicago's west side.\n "}, {"id": 101, "title": "Clark (Richard) Park", "address": "\n 3400 N. Rockwell St. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "Richard Clark Park comprises 22.42 acres of greenspace along the east bank of the Chicago River in the North Center neighborhood. At the park you'll find soccer field, a free-ride bike park known as The Garden, the WMS Boat House, and new Kerry Wood Cubs Field.\n\n\u00a0The park's soccer fields and bike trails sit on land once occupied by the fondly-remembered Riverview Amusement Park.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\n\nKerry Wood Cubs Field will be a great resource for park kids, student-athletes and the community. The field, which includes seating for 1,250 spectators and fans, will be used by Chicago public high schools citywide throughout the high school baseball season during and after school hours. The Park District will use the field for recreational leagues and use by the general public.\n\nThe Chicago Cubs, Chicago Cubs Charities, Wood Family Foundation, City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools and Turner Construction all contributed to make the $5 million stadium project possible.\n\nThe Chicago Park District\u2019s\u00a0WMS Boathouse at Clark Park is the premier rowing center in the city, with year round training and facilities unmatched in the region.\u00a0Through our partnership with Chicago Rowing Foundation [\u00a0[CRF] they will provide low-cost community programs in addition to our existing recreational and competitive teams. In addition to hosting Park District campers and community-inclusive learn-to-row and open rowing events, the Foundation (CRF) will also facilitate participation of\u00a0 high schools and middle schools in rowing at Clark Park\u00a0..\n\n\u00a0The Clark Park Boat House is an approximately 22,620 square foot rowing training and boat storage facility. The building consists of a two story mechanically heated and cooled building and a one story tempered boat storage building and a floating boat launch dock in the Chicago River. The two story building houses row tank space, ergometer work out space that accommodates approximately 36 \u2018erg\u2019 machines, a community room, main office and restrooms with shower facilities. The one story boat storage building will have kayak and canoe vendor storage, a vendor office and restroom, and a clear span boat storage space to store approximately 50 rowing shells and support equipment.\n\nThe Clark Park boathouse building costs $8.8 million and includes $3.2 million in private funding, including $2 million from WMS, $1 million from North Park University, and $200,000 from the Chicago Rowing Foundation, and $1 million matched by Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th ward)from TIF.\n\nThe WMS Boathouse at Clark Park has been thoughtfully designed by Jeanne Gang, FAIA, and her firm, Studio Gang.\u00a0\n\nThe boat house also\u00a0offers canoe & kayak rentals and a public dock that is available for use by non-motorized boats during park hours. Restrooms are also available to the public when the boathouse vendor is operating.\u00a0\n\nThe Garden is a set of dirt jumps located right in the City of Chicago. There are 3 jump lines and a pump track with multiple routes. The Garden is free, open to the public, and has terrain for all ages and skill levels.\n ", "history": "Richard Clark Park comprises over 22 acres of greenspace along the east bank of the Chicago River in the North Center neighborhood. The park's soccer fields and bike trails sit on land once occupied by the fondly remembered Riverview Amusement Park. Riverview, created in 1904 on the site of a former German hunting preserve, was for a time the world's largest amusement park, with a massive roller coaster, a double Ferris wheel, a tunnel of love, a water slide, a parachute drop, and carnival games of skill and chance, among many other things. After the amusement park's demolition in 1967.\u00a0 \n\nThe City of Chicago acquired the property along the River bank and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District owned property adjacent to the City property.\u00a0 The Park District leased this property and transformed the site into parkland in 1979. The Park District still leases property from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and the City transferred the property along the riverbank to the Park District in 2006.\u00a0 Also in 2006, the Park District acquired additional property to expand the park.\n\nIn 1986, the park was officially designated Richard Clark Park in honor of a Chicago police officer killed in the line of duty. Richard Clark (1938-1986) was an 18-year police veteran and member of the nearby Belmont Tactical Unit at the time of his death. Clark was shot and mortally wounded on April 3, 1986, while attempting to rescue a victim wounded by a gunman who had barricaded himself in his north side apartment.\n "}, {"id": 102, "title": "Clover Park", "address": "\n 2210 N. Southport Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "This small 0.41 acre\u00a0park is located in the Lincoln Park community (two blocks south of Fullerton Avenue, four blocks west of Racine Avenue). It contains a play-slab with two basketball standards and a playground.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs located at nearby Trebes or\u00a0Oz\u00a0Parks.\n ", "history": "The now-affluent Lincoln Park community was experiencing decay in 1958, when the City of Chicago purchased this property on Southport Avenue for park development. The City of Chicago transferred the site to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957. The new park was soon equipped with a basketball court, a sand box, playground apparatus. In 1992, the Park District thoroughly rehabilitated the park, installing a soft surface playground, planting trees, and adding ornamental iron fencing along Southport Avenue. The Sheffield Neighborhood Association led an effort to raise funds for the Clover Park improvements and other parks in the Lincoln Park area.\n\nOfficially, designated Clover Park in 1975, the park was one of a number of properties named for plants and trees at the time. Clover is an herb characterized by trifoliate leaves and dense heads of flowers. Clover is a common pasture plant and its blossoms are a favorite of bees. Red clover is said to signify \"dignity,\" white clover, \"promise.\" The ancient Celts and Druids believed that clover, especially four-leaved clover, was sacred, giving rise to the modern notion that a four-leaved clover will bring good luck. The clover, or shamrock, is still associated with Ireland.\n "}, {"id": 103, "title": "Clybourn (Archibald) Park", "address": "\n 1755 N. Clybourn Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "This 0.49 acre park is located in the Lincoln Park community (on Clybourn Avenue, one block east of Sheffield Avenue). It has a play-slab with two basketball standards and a new Chicago Plays! playground.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at Adams Playground Park.\n ", "history": "From 1939-1940, the City of Chicago acquired land from various people.\u00a0 In 1943, Chicago's new $34 million subway system opened to the public. Making use of a small parcel of City-owned land above the north-south line (now the red line), the Bureau of Parks and Recreation built a 1/2-acre playlot in the then declining Lincoln Park neighborhood. Following the Bureau's standard practice, the site was named for adjacent Clybourn Avenue. The street honors Archibald Clybourne (1802-1872), an early Chicago butcher who built a rambling 20-room mansion in 1836. Clybourne was a justice of the peace, a school trustee, and Chicago's first constable.\n\nInitially installing a basketball court and playground equipment, the City added a sandbox and wading pool by 1950. \u00a0In 1957, the city transferred Clybourn Park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. Paving the entire playlot with asphalt in the early 1960s, the park district substantially rehabilitated the site in the late 1980s by replacing asphalt areas with turf and plantings.\n "}, {"id": 104, "title": "Cochran (John) Park", "address": "\n 5550 N. Magnolia Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "This small 0.38 acre park is located in the Edgewater neighborhood (one block west of Broadway Street, \u00bd block south of Bryn Mawr). Come out and enjoy an afternoon in the playground.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs offered at Schreiber Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this paved lot in the Edgewater community from the Catholic Bishop of Chicago in 1974. Pick-up basketball games were common here even before the site became a park, so, in 1980, the park district installed permanent basketball standards and planted trees and shrubs around the small park's borders. The following year, the Park District named the newly improved park for John L. Cochran (1857-1923), Edgewater's primary developer. Born in Sacramento, California and educated in Philadelphia, Cochran moved to Chicago, becoming one of the first directors of the Chicago Title and Trust Company. Beginning in 1885, Cochran bought and subdivided land along the lakeshore north of Chicago. To draw residential buyers, he constructed wide streets, stone sidewalks, and a drainage system. Real estate advertisements claimed Cochran's Edgewater development was \"the only electric lighted suburb adjacent to Chicago.\" The City of Chicago annexed the community in 1889.\n "}, {"id": 105, "title": "Cole (Nat King) Park", "address": "\n 361 E. 85th St. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Chatham community, Cole Park totals 5.86 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers a playground, softball diamonds, basketball courts, horseshoe court. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our ball fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids seasonal sports, Teen Club, Senior Club. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include dance and sports camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Cole Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including\u00a0holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this property in 1960 at the request of local residents who saw a need for additional recreational space in their under-served Chatham community.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District vacated alleys for the park in 1961 and park improvements, including a field house, began almost immediately.\u00a0 In 1967, the park district named the site Cole Park for American pianist and singer Nat King Cole (1919-1965).\u00a0 Born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama, Cole grew up in Chicago, where his father was pastor of the True Light Baptist Church, not far from the park site. Cole learned to play the piano early, and organized a 14-piece band while in high school.\u00a0 Cole went on to become one of America's most popular singers.\u00a0 His hits included \"Straighten Up and Fly Right\" (1944), \"The Christmas Song\" (1946), \"Route 66\" (1946), \"Nature Boy\" (1948), \"Unforgettable\" (1950), and \"Mona Lisa\" (1950).\u00a0 His 1956 album, Around Midnight, demonstrated his extraordinary talents as a jazz pianist.\u00a0 In 1957, Cole became the first African-American to host his own weekly network television show.\n\nIn 2009, the Cole Park Advisory Council began a major fund-raising campaign to support the development of a new playground for the park.\u00a0 The president of the Advisory Council Thomas Wortham IV (1980 \u2013 2010), spearheaded the campaign.\u00a0 Sadly, the following year, Wortham was murdered during an attempted robbery in the neighborhood near the park.\u00a0 Wortham was a Chicago police officer who made great contributions to the park and surrounding community.\u00a0 After his tragic death, the Chicago Park District, Chicago Police Department, Fraternal Order of the Police, Cole Park Advisory Council, Friends of the Parks, Children\u2019s Memorial Hospital, and Wortham family came together to fully fund the $300,000 playground.\u00a0\u00a0 The Officer Thomas Wortham IV Playground was dedicated in Cole Park in October of 2011.\n "}, {"id": 106, "title": "Coleman (Bessie) Park", "address": "\n 5445 S. Drexel Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located in the Hyde Park neighborhood, Bessie Coleman Park totals 0.55 acres and is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing equipment, and a\u00a0water spray feature\u00a0for those hot summer days.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this property from the City of Chicago in 1979.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District improved the Drexel Avenue park site with playground equipment, a sand box, a spray pool, and curving planted areas. On the east side of the park, a slide was inventively built into the side of a hill. In 1990, the park district thoroughly rehabilitated the property, removing the playground equipment and slide, and installing new soft surface playground areas. \n\nOfficially named Willow Park in 1973, the property was renamed as part of a Chicago Park District effort to honor the contributions of significant Chicago women in 2005. Bessie Coleman (1896- 1926) was the nation\u2019s first female African American pilot. She worked as a manicurist in a barbershop across the street from Comiskey Park and later ran a chili parlor at 35th and Indiana Ave. After learning from her brother John, who was a veteran, that there were women pilots in Europe, she decided to become a pilot. She went to flight school in France and became the first African American to hold an international pilot license. Bessie Coleman performed various flight stunts in exhibitions in the US and abroad, and campaigned against the segregation of audiences to these exhibitions. Although she was a celebrity throughout the nation, and frequently lectured to black audiences, she never achieved her dream of opening her own flight school. There is a group of African American women pilots known as the Bessie Coleman Aviators Club. A portion of O\u2019Hare and a Chicago Public Library are named after Coleman. It 1995, the US Post Office issued a stamp in her honor. Coleman lived at 41st and South Park Ave. (now Martin Luther King Drive) approximately 2 \u00bd miles from the park site.\n "}, {"id": 107, "title": "Coliseum Park", "address": "\n 1466 S. Wabash Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60605\n ", "description": "Located in the Near South community, and formerly known as Park No. 507, Coliseum Park totals 0.75 acres and\u00a0features a\u00a0playground, passive recreation green space, and a dog friendly area.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Chicago Women's Park & Gardens.\u00a0\n ", "history": "This park is named in honor of the Coliseum, a famous sports area and hall that opened in 1900 on part of this S. Wabash Ave. site.\u00a0 \n\nAbout a decade earlier, candy manufacturer and collector Charles F. Gunther had purchased a Confederate prison in Richmond, Virginia, had is dismantled brick by brick, and reassembled the building to create a Civil War museum on this site. By the late 1890s, the museum was not doing very well, and a group of investors organized to find a way to re-use old Gothic prison building.\n\nAn earlier Coliseum hall burned down in 1897, so the investors decided to convert the Civil War museum into a new hall for sports, political rallies, and other special events. President William McKinley dedicated the new Chicago Coliseum in August of 1900, and it soon hosted Wild West shows, political conventions, track and field and other sports events.\n\nThe Coliseum remained in operation until 1982, and over the years, activities in the building hockey, basketball, roller skating, and rock concerts featuring popular groups such as the Grateful Dead and the Doors. The Chicago Park District acquired the .75-acre site in 2000, and hired the Site Design Group to create a plan for the new park.\n\nThe landscape architecture firm took inspiration from the Coliseum building and created a cast-stone and metal entrance pavilion, playground, perennial garden, and passive lawn area for the new park.\n "}, {"id": 108, "title": "Columbus (Christopher) Park", "address": "\n 500 S. Central Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "Columbus Park is a 140.65 acre historic park located in the Austin community. The park is considered the masterpiece of landscape architect Jens Jensen\u00a0and is one of the few parks in the nation to be designated a National Historic Landmark in its entirety.\u00a0\n\nThe park's fieldhouse features a fitness center, two gymnasiums, three kitchens, several\u00a0meeting rooms, a senior center and a banquet room. Outside, the park offers a nature area, a bicycle path, a jogging path and a nine-hole golf course. The park also contains multi-faceted recreation opportunities with an outdoor swimming pool, a fishing lagoon, baseball fields, basketball courts and two athletic fields for baseball and football/soccer.\n\nSeveral historic elements are found on the grounds including a Jensen Council Ring and the beautiful Refectory Building, which sits on the northern end of park and is a popular destination for weddings and special events.\n\nMany of the spaces in Columbus Park are available for rental for parties, athletic tournaments and other events. Patrons are especially fond of renting the photogenic Refectory Building for weddings and other formal parties.\n\nPark patrons visit Columbus Park to enjoy\u00a0basketball, football or soccer at the facility. The Refectory building is popular for senior events and programming, and the fieldhouse holds after school programs\u00a0throughout the school year. In the summer, youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. In addition to programs, Columbus Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Movies in the Park, concerts in the Refectory, Chicago Shakespeare Theater productions and other Night Out in the Parks events.\n ", "history": "Columbus Park is considered the masterpiece of Jens Jensen, now known as dean of Prairie-style landscape architecture. The project, Jensen's only opportunity to create an entirely new large park in Chicago, represents the culmination of years of his conservation efforts and design experimentation.\u00a0 In 1912 and 1913, the West Park District acquired the land for Columbus Park.\u00a0 The streets and alleys within the park boundary were vacated for the park in 1916.\u00a0 Columbus Park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the 22 park districts were consolidated in 1934.\n\nAppointed as West Park Commission General Superintendent and Chief Landscape Architect in 1905, Jensen re-designed Humboldt, Garfield, and Douglas Parks and began creating small parks such as Eckhart and Dvorak. After losing political support in 1910, he shifted his role to consulting landscape architect.\u00a0 The commissioners acquired 144 acres of farmland at the western boundary of Chicago. They named the new park for Christopher Columbus (c. 1451-1506), the famous Italian explorer who \"discovered\" America while in the service of Spain.\n\nJensen's vision for Columbus Park was inspired by the unimproved site's natural history and topography. Convinced that it was an ancient beach, Jensen designed a series of berms, like glacial ridges, encircling the flat interior part of the park. In the center area, following the traces of sand dune, he created a \"prairie river\" flowing from two brooks. Two natural-looking waterfalls, with ledges of stratified stonework, represent the source of the river. Throughout the park, Jensen included native plants.\n\nJensen also included programming elements emulating nature. Broad prairie-like meadows provide a golf course and ball fields. He designed an outdoor theatre, known as the \"player's green,\" for plays and other performances. In the children's playground area, Jensen included his favorite feature, the council ring, a circular stone bench for storytelling and campfires.\n\nIn 1952, the nine acres at the park's southern boundary were acquired by Cook County to make way for the Eisenhower Expressway. Despite the loss of some land and other changes to the park at that time, Columbus Park still conveys Jensen's genius.\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 109, "title": "Commercial Club Playground of Chicago", "address": "\n 1845 W. Rice St. \n Chicago, IL 60622\n ", "description": "Located in the West Town community, Commercial Club Playground of Chicago totals 1.52 acres and features a fieldhouse with a kitchen and a gymnasium with a newly upgraded floor. Outside, the park offers a playground, baseball field and basketball court. Many of these spaces are available for rental for community meetings and parties.\n\nPark-goers come to Commercial Club Park to play basketball, seasonal sports and volleyball at the facility. After school programs and specialty camps are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\u00a0\n\nIn addition to programs, Commercial Park is a popular destination for fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as egg hunts, the Halloween costume parade, winter holiday parties\u00a0and Movies in the Park.\n ", "history": "Concerns about the lack of playgrounds in congested parts of the city spurred the Commercial Club of Chicago to create a small park in the West Town neighborhood. A prominent and influential business organization, the club participated in various projects to improve and beautify the city, including sponsoring Daniel H. Burnham's seminal 1909 Plan of Chicago.\n\nFor the playground project, club members donated $10,000, the largest gift for such an effort at the time. The park was named Lincoln Playground, for adjacent Wolcott Avenue, previously known as Lincoln Street. In 1889, the club donated the park to the City of Chicago, stipulating that it be named in honor of the Commercial Club, and that the name never be changed again.\u00a0 In 1929, the club donated more land to expand the park with the same stipulation.\n\nThe Commercial Club remained active in supporting this and other playgrounds for many years. It donated $1,000 for an ornamental fence around Commercial Club Park in 1908, and made annual $200 gifts to provide prizes for athletic contests and competitions in numerous municipal parks.\n\nWhen Commercial Club Park first opened to the public, it included playground equipment, sand courts, a shelter house, and a playfield that was flooded for skating in the winter. By 1938, the city had constructed a fieldhouse in the park, providing a gymnasium and play room.\n\nTitle of Commercial Club Playground Park of Chicago was transferred to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. In 1980, the park district rehabilitated the fieldhouse and enlarged Commercial Club Park by acquiring and demolishing an adjacent electric sub-station.\n "}, {"id": 110, "title": "Connors (William) Park", "address": "\n 861 N. Wabash Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "Formed on a triangle of land bounded by Rush, Wabash and Chestnut Streets, Connors Park is a\u00a0small 0.34 acre plaza with a trellis surrounded by landscaping. The park features a fountain and benches.\n\nAlthough there is no playground at Connors Park, children like to play around the fountain. A monstrous tree provides welcomed shade in the summer, and in the winter forms dramatic natural patterns. Connors Park is popular with Michigan Avenue shoppers looking for a place to catch their breath.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Lake Shore Park.\n ", "history": "Connors Park is nearly as old as the city itself. The City of Chicago acquired the tiny triangle of land from an early subdivider in 1848. The city retained jurisdiction until 1959, when it transferred the park to the Chicago Park District.\n\nOver its long history, the property was known as both Oak Park and Arbor Rest. What is more, between 1931 and 1957, a sign mistakenly labelled the park Rehm Arbor, the name of another triangular park nearby.\n\nThe site gained its current name in 1970, when the park district renamed it in honor of William J. Connors (1892--1961). Long active in local politics, Connors rose from deputy municipal court bailiff to state senator, serving seven terms and acting as senate minority leader.\n "}, {"id": 111, "title": "Cooper (Jack) Park", "address": "\n 11712 S. Ada Street \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Roseland community area, Cooper Park totals 4.56 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. A green feature of the park includes a Harvest Garden. Outside, the park offers multi-purpose fields and a playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our ball fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids afterschool program, seasonal sports, fitness, and arts and crafts. During the summer, youth can attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps, including dance and sports are also offered in the summer as well.\n\nIn addition to programs, Cooper Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "In 1966, the Chicago Park District acquired 4.3 acres of land in the West Pullman neighborhood with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1975, the Park District officially designated the site Cooper Park for Jack L. Cooper (1888-1970), the nation's first African-American radio personality. Cooper began his professional career as a boxer, semi-pro baseball player, and writer for the Chicago Defender. After breaking into radio at a white-owned station in Washington, D.C., Cooper returned to Chicago to make his mark. His ground-breaking show, \"The All-Negro Hour,\" debuted on Chicago's airwaves in 1929. Over the subsequent thirty years, he became the city's first African American sportscaster, newscaster, and radio executive. Cooper's enthusiasm for radio was matched by his commitment to African American youth. A resident of the nearby Morgan Park neighborhood, Cooper actively supported community groups including the South Side Boy's Club and the Morgan Park Youth Association.\n "}, {"id": 112, "title": "Cornell (Paul) Park", "address": "\n 5473 S. Cornell Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located in the Hyde Park cmmunity, Cornell park totals 0.24 acres and is enjoyed by park patrons and their families as a passive park and destination.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "During the late 1940\u2019s and 1950\u2019s, as Chicago's historic Hyde Park neighborhood began deteriorating, local civic groups organized to promote racial integration, halt urban decay, and preserve the character of the community. In 1956, the Community Conservation Board approved the creation of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Conservation Area, and by the late 1960\u2019s, new apartment buildings, town homes, and shopping centers had been constructed as a result of the redevelopment efforts. Because of the neighborhood's increasing density, residents became concerned when they learned that the City's Department of Urban Renewal planned to develop a vacant lot on Cornell Avenue. Local community groups solicited the help of the non-profit, Open Lands Project, in preserving the green space.\n\nIn 1969, Open Lands proposed to purchase and develop the property as parkland, and then donate the improved site to the Chicago Park District. It proved easier, however, to transfer the land directly from the City of Chicago to the Chicago Park District in 1973. The project came to fruition in 1973. The Open Lands Project hired landscape architects Linstrum & Tarnow to design the new park. Conceived as a \"model vest-pocket park,\" the plan retained the existing trees, including an impressive black oak, and incorporated new plantings, a walkway, small grassy playfields, and a small playground area. In 1992, the park district rehabilitated the park's landscape and installed a new soft surface playground.\n\nCornell Park's name recognizes its location on South Cornell Avenue. The street honors Paul Cornell (1822-1904) a lawyer and real estate developer who founded the Hyde Park community. Instrumental in securing approval of the state bill, which established the South Park Commission in 1869, Cornell served as a member of its board for 14 years. A second park, Cornell Square, also bears his name.\n "}, {"id": 113, "title": "Cornell (Paul) Square Park", "address": "\n 1809 W. 50th St. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Located in the New City community area, also known as \"Back of the Yards,\" Cornell Square Park totals 8.85 acres. The park fieldhouse features include two gymnasiums, an auditorium and a kitchen.\n\nOutside, the park offers baseball fields, basketball courts, an athletic field for football or soccer, an artificial turf field for soccer, a playground, an interactive water spray feature and an outdoor swimming pool. The park's playground was renovated in Summer 2014 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program. Many of these spaces are available for rental for athletic tournaments or birthday parties.\n\nPark-goers can play baseball, basketball and seasonal sports at Cornell Square Park. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. In addition to programs, Cornell Square Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday events and Movies in the Park.\n ", "history": "The South Park District acquired land for the park in 1904 and alleys and streets were vacated for the park in 1909.\u00a0 The South Park Commission created Cornell Square in 1904 as part of a revolutionary neighborhood park system, which improved the difficult living conditions in Chicago's congested tenement districts. The innovative parks provided not only beautiful \"breathing spaces,\" but also public bathing, the City's first branch libraries, classes and vocational training, inexpensive hot meals, health care, and a variety of recreational programs.\u00a0 Nationally renowned landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers and architects Daniel H. Burnham and Co. designed the entire system. Five of the first ten properties, which opened in 1905, were known as squares because they were smaller than ten acres in size; the other five, which were larger than ten acres, were considered parks. In addition to Cornell Square, these were Mark White, Russell, Davis, and Armour Squares, and Ogden, Sherman, Palmer, Bessemer, and Hamilton Parks.\n\nCornell Square was named in honor of Paul Cornell (1822--1904), a lawyer and real estate developer who was a leading force behind the creation of the South Park System. In the mid-1850s, Cornell bought land south of Chicago and developed the community of Hyde Park. He arranged to have the Illinois Central Railroad provide commuter service to the newly developed area. Cornell believed that parks would provide \"lungs to the great city and its future generations.\" He was instrumental in securing approval of the state bill, which established the South Park Commission in 1869, and served as a member of its board for 14 years.\n "}, {"id": 114, "title": "Cosme (Margaret) Park", "address": "\n 9201 S. Longwood Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Beverly community area, Cosme Park totals 4.23 acres and is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains a playground, baseball field, tennis courts and benches. Park patrons engage in a variety of activities at Cosme Park including baseball, soccer, tennis and softball.\n ", "history": "The Ridge Park District, one of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934, established Cosme Park in the late 1920\u2019s, after years of controversy.\u00a0 The Beverly Hills Improvement Association had first proposed creating a park at 91st Street and Longwood Avenue in 1921. Two other community groups, the Washington Heights and Ridge Improvement Associations, voiced concerns about the proposal. Finally, in the spring of 1927, the Beverly Hills Improvement Association gathered the signatures of 525 area residents favoring the park's creation. Persuaded, the Ridge Park Board agreed to proceed, and in 1928 and 1929 purchased more than three acres of property.\u00a0 Acquisition was initiated in 1925 and was completed in 1936.\u00a0 Park plans submitted by the Beverly Hills Improvement Association and adopted by the Ridge Park District in 1933 called for a playground set in an attractive greenspace. Although the playground was apparently never built, the Chicago Park District installed tennis courts shortly after it took over in 1934. \n\nIn 1953, the property was officially designated Longwood Park, a name it had held informally since the 1920\u2019s. Nearly 40 years later, the Chicago Park District honored the request of the Beverly Improvement Association to rename the site Cosme Park. Margaret Cosme, a neighborhood child, died tragically after being struck by a moving vehicle. Cosme's father, along with her grandfather, Luke Cosme, a longtime Park District employee, had helped construct the park's new baseball diamond in the 1980s. Margaret herself had participated in the Little League program there.\n "}, {"id": 115, "title": "Cotton Tail Park", "address": "\n 44 W. 15th St. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Located in the Near South Side community area, Cotton Tail Park is a 2.35-acre site with a playground and attractive landscape completed with benches, paths, planters, trees and lawn. It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Ping Tom Memorial Park.\n ", "history": "In 1990, the Dearborn Park Corporation, developers of a large residential community, donated this park site to the Chicago Park District. A few years later, the Park District\u2019s in-house landscape architects created a plan for the new park. The plan featured a lawn encircled by a walkway lined with attractive planters, lampposts, and benches. The new park also included a shelter with seating, and a playground. Over the years, the playground has been upgraded.\n\nThe Chicago Park District\u2019s Board of Commissioners named the site Cotton Tail Park in 1998 at the request of the Dearborn Park Landscape Committee. This local residents' group championed the new name because the park is filled with cotton-tailed rabbits that neighborhood children love to chase.\n "}, {"id": 116, "title": "Cottonwood Park", "address": "\n 5058 W. West End Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Austin Community. The park totals 0.24 acres and features a playground and tire swing. It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Moore\u00a0Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this playlot site in 1973 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1998, the park was officially named Cottonwood Park.\n\nFive huge cottonwood trees once stood in a row near Central Avenue and Race Street in Austin, not far from this park. These were believed to have been \"Indian trail trees\" planted by Native Americans to mark an important travel route. One immense cottonwood sat directly in the middle of the intersection. In 1874, it was struck by lightning and blown down during a terrible storm.\n "}, {"id": 117, "title": "Cragin Park", "address": "\n 2611 N. Lockwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60639\n ", "description": "Located in the Belmont-Cragin\u00a0community (half-way between Diversey & Fullerton avenues, as well as Long & Laramie avenues), Cragin Park\u2019s small fieldhouse sits on 3.26 acres.\n\nOutdoors, the park offers almost a quarter-mile walking path, two softball fields, a combination football/soccer field, two tennis courts, a basketball court, a volleyball court, plus a playground with a wading/spray pool.\n\nDepending on age and season, a large variety of programs are offered for youth & teens: Pre-Teen Club, Homework Time, Cubs Care baseball, soccer, flag football, sports club, table tennis, game room, basketball, & Teen Club.In the summer, youth can participate in sports camp and our popular and affordable 6-week day camp.\n\nCragin Park offers adult table tennis and a walking club, while seniors can participate in bingo, a stretching class, as well as a Senior Citizens Club.\n\nParents gather at Cragin Park with their preschoolers for classes such as: Art & ABC\u2019s, Play Group, Fun & Games, & Preschool.\n\nWe invite you to stop by Cragin Park and check out our offerings!\n ", "history": "Cragin Park is among thirteen parks created by the Northwest Park District, one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. In 1927, the Fullerton Avenue Highlands Improvement Association asked the Northwest Park District to construct a recreational center in that organization's Belmont Cragin neighborhood. The Northwest Park District agreed, and began to acquire parkland immediately as the Northwest Park District acquired land from 1927-1928 and vacated an alley for the park in 1929.\u00a0 Playground apparatus was installed in 1928, and tennis courts in 1931. The Wrightwood Avenue Improvement Club petitioned for a fieldhouse, but none was built until 1954.\n\nCragin Park is named for the surrounding neighborhood, which in turn took its name from a 19th-century industrial suburb. The Cragin brothers built their metals manufacturing plant along the tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad in 1883. By the following year, more than 200 people lived in the vicinity of the factory and its Cragin station.\n "}, {"id": 118, "title": "Crawford (Peter) Park", "address": "\n 1516 S. Karlov Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0South Lawndale\u00a0Community.\u00a0The park totals 0.16 acres and features a playground, swings, a water spray feature\u00a0and a water fountain.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Franklin\u00a0Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired the property for this playlot in 1970 with the help of funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The park was renamed Crawford in 1998. The playlot takes its name from a village, which emerged in 1863 on undeveloped prairieland west of Chicago, along the newly laid tracks of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.\n\nThe Village of Crawford developed as a city suburb, and benefited from the 1869 establishment of the West Park System, particularly Douglas Park, one of the system's first three parks. The village itself was named for Peter Crawford (1796-1876), an early settler who had purchased 160 acres and built a house along the Southwestern Plank Road, now known as Ogden Avenue.\n "}, {"id": 119, "title": "Crescent Park", "address": "\n 2200 W. 108th Pl. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Beverly/Morgan Park community area, Crescent Park totals 5.97 acres and is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains a soft-surface playground, baseball diamond, soccer field, and tennis courts. Park patrons engage in a variety of activities at Crescent Park including baseball, soccer and tennis camps.\n ", "history": "Crescent Park is one of six parks established by the Calumet Park District, one of 22 independent park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. In 1912, at the urging of Morgan Park residents, the Calumet Park District began to purchase a rectangular piece of land for a new neighborhood park.\u00a0 Calumet Park District acquired land for the park in 1914.\u00a0 The park's creation eliminated the northernmost portion of Crescent Street, the elliptical drive that had previously run through the property. Noted landscape architect Jens Jensen, who had prepared plans for the Calumet District's Bohn Park and Prospect Gardens, designed a plan for the park in 1915. Landscape improvements began shortly thereafter. \n\nIn 1916, the Calumet Park District officially named the site Crescent Park for the drive that had once arced through it. (The east and west sections of the drive have since been renamed Oakley and Bell Avenues.) The Calumet Park District transferred Crescent Park to the new Chicago Park District in 1934. In 1935, the Chicago Park District began adding recreational features. These facilities are nestled into the natural grades of the Tinley Ground moraine back slope. This glacial feature provides the well-drained high ground necessary for Crescent Park's black and white oak trees to thrive.\n "}, {"id": 120, "title": "D'Elia (Aileen) Park", "address": "\n 6340 N. Lakewood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60660\n ", "description": "Tucked between homes, this small park totals 0.08 acres and is located in the Edgewater neighborhood (two blocks west of Broadway Street, \u00bd block south of Devon Avenue). With shady trees and greenery, this park features a playground and benches.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs offered at nearby Schreiber Park.\n ", "history": "In 1972, the Chicago Park District purchased a single vacant lot on Lakewood Avenue to create a playlot for the crowded Edgewater community. The Park District soon improved the tiny site with playground equipment and benches, and planted two trees to provide some shade and greenery. In 1991, the park district further improved the property with a new soft surface playground. Two years later, the site was officially named D'Elia Park, in honor of neighborhood resident and volunteer Aileen D'Elia (--1992). D'Elia's life of community involvement ended tragically when she was kidnapped in 1992.\n "}, {"id": 121, "title": "Daley (Richard J.) Park", "address": "\n 3150 S. Western Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "This small green space is located in the\u00a0Lower West Side community area. The park totals 2.66 acres and features a fishing pier and boat launch.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Washtenaw Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District has been leasing property for this park from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District since 2002.\u00a0 The park is named for Mayor Richard J. Daley, the 48th Mayor of the City of Chicago, serving from April, 1955 until December 1976.\u00a0 He was born in 1902 in the South Side of the City.\u00a0 He took night classes at DePaul University College of Law where he earned a law degree in 1933.\u00a0 He was first elected Mayor in 1955 and held that office until his death in 1976.\u00a0 In 1936, he married Eleanor \u201cSis\u201d Guilfoyle and continued to live in the Bridgeport neighborhood.\u00a0 They had seven children, their eldest son being Mayor Richard M. Daley.\u00a0 Key construction projects occurred during his term including the development of O\u2019Hare International Airport, the Sears Tower, McCormick Place, the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago, numerous expressways, subways, and various other Chicago landmarks.\u00a0 Mayor Daley was a committed supporter of fishing in Chicago and his vision of one day being able to fish in the Chicago River \u201con your lunchtime\u201d has now come true.\n "}, {"id": 122, "title": "Davis (Dr. Nathan) Square Park", "address": "\n 4430 S. Marshfield Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Located in the New City community area, often referred to as \u201cBack of the Yards,\" Davis Square Park totals 8.88\u00a0acres. \u00a0\n\nThe park's fieldhouse holds two gymnasiums, an auditorium, a kitchen, a fitness center and a boxing center. Outside, the park offers baseball fields, basketball courts, an athletic field for football or soccer, an artificial turf field, an outdoor swimming pool, a horseshoe area and a playground with an interactive water spray feature. The playground was renovated in Summer 2014 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program, and the baseball fields were also renovated in 2014 as part of the Cubs Charities Diamond Project.\u00a0\n\nPark-goers enjoy coming to Davis Square park for\u00a0baseball, basketball and seasonal sports at the facility. After-school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Davis Square Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday parties and Movies in the Park.\n ", "history": "Davis Square was one of ten innovative parks, which opened in 1905 to provide social services as well as breathing spaces to Chicago's congested tenement districts.\u00a0 The South Park Commissioners had designs for the park created in 1904.\u00a0 The South Park District was one of the 22 park districts that were consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934.\u00a0 \n\nConceived by South Park Commission superintendent J. Frank Foster, these innovative parks included a new type of building, the fieldhouse, inspired by Chicago's renowned settlement houses. The fieldhouses included classrooms, club and assembly rooms, the earliest branches of the Chicago Public Library, cafeterias, gymnasiums, and locker and public bathing facilities.\n\nRenowned architects D.H. Burnham and Co. designed the buildings and Olmsted Brothers landscape architects laid out the whole system of new parks. In addition to Davis Square, the first ten parks included Mark White, Russell, Armour, and Cornell Squares, and Ogden, Sherman, Palmer, Bessemer, and Hamilton Parks.\n\nIncluded in Davis Square's classically-designed fieldhouse is a notable mural entitled Constructive Recreation: the Vital Force in Character Building. Painted by William Edouard Scott, an African-American muralist whose work received critical acclaim, it was originally displayed in another south side park.\n\nDavis Square pays tribute to Dr. Nathan Smith Davis (1817- 1904), one of the most significant figures in Chicago's medical history. Dr. Davis served as the chairman of physiology and general pathology for Rush Medical College. He went on to Lind University, forerunner to the medical department of Northwestern University. He was a founder of Mercy Hospital, the Chicago Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. Dr. Davis was also a prolific writer of medical texts and for many years served as editor of the Northwestern Medical Journal.\n "}, {"id": 123, "title": "Davis (Margaret) Park", "address": "\n 5427 W. Division St. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "Davis Park is located in the\u00a0Austin Community. The park totals 0.29 acres and\u00a0features a playground, swings and a basketball court. The playground at Davis Park was renovated in Summer 2014\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby La Follette Park for recreation.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1955, the City of Chicago acquired this quarter-acre property with Playground Bond Funds as part of an initiative to create small parks in under-served neighborhoods throughout the city. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation soon improved this Austin site with playground equipment and a basketball court.\n\nThe following year, the park was named in honor of local resident Margaret E. Davis. Davis was an active participant in community affairs in the surrounding 37th Ward. She was also a strong advocate of providing recreational facilities to neighborhood children. In 1957, the City of Chicago transferred Davis Park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District rehabilitated the park in the early 1990s and enclosed it with ornamental iron fencing in 1997.\n "}, {"id": 124, "title": "Dawes (Charles G.) Park", "address": "\n 8052 S. Damen Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Locatedin the Auburn Gresham community area, Dawes Park totals 16.21 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers four baseball diamonds, a basketball court, football/soccer fields, and a spray pool. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose room and picnic groves.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids afterschool program and seasonal sports.\u00a0During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Dawes Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Soon after World War II, the Chicago Park District began a major initiative to create new parks for the first time in many years. This Ten Year Plan identified 43 sites in neighborhoods with few recreational facilities and in undeveloped areas which were starting to boom. In 1948, the third year of the effort, the park district acquired 22 new park sites, including a 16-acre, L-shaped property in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. \u00a0The Chicago Park District acquired land for the park from 1947-1948.\u00a0 Because of the flurry of new construction, the park district did not begin improving Dawes Park until 1954. By the early 1960s, the new park included a picnic grove, an athletic field, a children's playground, a running track, tennis courts, and a small fieldhouse. In the 1990s, the park district constructed a soft surface playground and undertook a major tree planting program there.\n\nThe park's name honors Charles Gates Dawes (1865-1951) a lawyer, soldier diplomat, and United States Vice President who had important ties with Chicago. After attending the Cincinnati Law School and living briefly in Nebraska and Ohio, Dawes settled in Evanston, Illinois. He entered politics, assisting in William McKinley's presidential campaign. McKinley rewarded Dawes by appointing him as Comptroller of the Currency. During World War I, Dawes joined the army, working his way up to Brigadier General. He authored the Dawes Plan, a proposal for rebuilding Europe after the war, and was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. Between 1925 and 1929, Dawes served as Vice-President under Calvin Coolidge. In that capacity, he was instrumental in Chicago's successful bid to hold a second World's Fair, the Century of Progress, which opened in 1933. Dawes authored eight books on banking and government. His many philanthropic causes included a Chicago homeless shelter built in 1913.\n "}, {"id": 125, "title": "de Burgos (Julia) Park", "address": "\n 1805 N. Albany Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "This new park totals 0.51 acres and features a climbing web, spider sculpture, and a long sitting wall decorated with nature themes, created by neighbors in a series of workshops led by the Chicago Public Art Group. The park is one of many access point to\u00a0The 606\u00a0- the planned multi-use recreational trail being built along the elevated railline along Bloomingdale Avenue (approximately 1800 North) from Ashland (1600 West) to Ridgeway (3732 West), and will serve as a major point of access for the residents of Humboldt Park and Logan Square.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired land for this park in 2009.\u00a0 In January 2012, the park was renamed for Julia de Burgos, considered one of the greatest poets of Latin America. Burgos, born in Puerto Rico, published the first of three books of her poetry in 1938. The following year, she followed Dominican revolutionary Juan Isidro Jimeses Grull\u00f3n to Cuba and then to New York. She then remained in New York, often taking menial jobs, but continuing to write, often against racial discrimination, oppression and fascism. She is recognized as a feminist and activist who lived during a time when women were expected to fulfill traditional roles. Burgos's poems are a combination of intimate, the land, and the social struggle of the oppressed. She died of pneumonia at the young age of 39. Today there are schools and parks in both the east coast and Puerto Rico that honor her name and spirit.\n "}, {"id": 126, "title": "De George (Bernice) Park", "address": "\n 4901 W. Wabansia Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60639\n ", "description": "This park sits on 0.37 acres of land with a soft surface play area for community children. It is located in the Austin community: one block west of Cicero and 2 blocks north of North Avenue. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Blackhawk Park.\n ", "history": "De George Park is one of many small parks created to meet increasing recreational demands in post-World War II Chicago. The city selected the Austin neighborhood park site in 1954. Improving the property with playground equipment and a basketball court, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation dedicated the new park in August of 1956.\n\nThe following month, the city named the site for Bernice C. De George (--1956), a local activist who led the fight to transform the property into parkland. Unfortunately, De George died on April 27, 1956, before seeing her dream of a neighborhood park just a few steps from her home fully realized.\u00a0 The City of Chicago acquired land for the park in 1954, 1964, and in 1966.\u00a0 The City of Chicago transferred De George Park and more than 250 other properties to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957. Over the years, the park district further improved the site, planting trees in 1964, and adding a new soft surface play area in 1992.\n "}, {"id": 127, "title": "De Julio (Anthony, Jr.) Park", "address": "\n 6056 N. Landers Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "Located in the Forest Glen\u00a0community (2/3 block northeast of Caldwell Avenue, west of the Edens Expressway ), this playground totals 0.63 acres. The park district rehabilitated the park in 1991, installing a new soft surface play area with a climbing structure that includes decks, slides, and bridges. A picnic area and new plantings were also part of the rehabilitation project. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs offered at nearby Indian Road Park.\n ", "history": "In the late 1960s, as construction of the Northside Edens Expressway drew to a close, the City of Chicago's Department of Public Works sought to create a new park on state land adjacent to an on-ramp in the Forest Glen neighborhood. In 1970, the Chicago Park District agreed to operate the park, and the site was soon equipped with a spray pool, a sand box, and playground apparatus. In 1975, the freeway park was officially named in honor of Anthony J. DeJulio, a former park district employee who served as Director of Recreation for many years.\u00a0 \n "}, {"id": 128, "title": "Dean (John) Park", "address": "\n 1344 N. Dean St. \n Chicago, IL 60622\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0West Town\u00a0community.\u00a0The park totals 0.66 acres and features a playground with an interactive water feature, a community garden and a multi-purpose field.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Pulaski Park for recreation.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "In response to the post-World War II baby boom, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation began creating dozens of new parks and playgrounds in the late 1940s. Among many sites acquired for playground development was a half-acre property in the West Town neighborhood.\n\nThe City of Chicago acquired land for this park in 1949 and in 1966.\u00a0 Beginning construction by 1950, the city named the site Dean Park for the street on which it is located. Civic leader John Dean served as a judge during Chicago's early history. The City of Chicago transferred Dean Park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957.\n "}, {"id": 129, "title": "Dearborn (Henry) Park", "address": "\n 865 S.Park Terrace \n Chicago, IL 60605\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Near South Community. The park totals 1.44 acres and features\u00a0green space, a walking\u00a0path and fitness course. It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Maggie Daley Park\u00a0or Chicago Women's Park and Gardens.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Dearborn Park lies near the northern end of the sizable South Loop housing development laid out by the renowned architecture firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in the mid-1970s. As planning for the 51-acre Dearborn Park residential complex progressed, the Chicago Park District acquired property in 1985 to create greenspace there.\n\nAmong the new park sites was property just south of the old Dearborn Street Railroad Station. Improvements began in late 1980, and the new neighborhood soon had a shaded one-and-a-quarter-acre park equipped with an obstacle fitness course.\n\nThe park, the housing complex, and nearby Dearborn Street all pay homage to General Henry Dearborn (1751-1829), Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of War from 1801 to 1809. The early Federal garrison at Chicago also bore his name.\n\nConstructed near the mouth of the Chicago River in 1803, Fort Dearborn was built to protect the strategic trade routes that passed through Chicago. During the War of 1812, however, Potowatamis raided and burned the fort, ambushing fleeing soldiers and settlers in what has since been known as the Fort Dearborn Massacre. The Federal government rebuilt the fort in 1816, and the garrison stood until the government decommissioned it twenty years later.\n "}, {"id": 130, "title": "DeBow (Russell) Park", "address": "\n 1126 E. 80th St. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Avalon neighborhood, DeBow Playlot\u00a0Park totals 0.69 acres and\u00a0is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing equipment.\n ", "history": "DeBow Park's south side Avalon Park community was little more than swampland until 1900, when the new 79th Street sewer provided much-needed drainage for the area. By 1920, Avalon Park had nearly 3,000 residents. A decade later, that number had increased to more than 10,000. Although development slowed during World War II, it surged again after the war. Avalon Park experienced rapid change after 1960, as African-Americans began to move into the neighborhood. In 1972, the Chicago Park District authorized the purchase of this half-acre site in Avalon Park, one of 36 properties identified for park development in under-served city neighborhoods at that time. Using grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the park district acquired the property in 1973. Within a few years, the park included a shaded greenspace and playground equipment.\n\nIn 1989, the park district officially designated the property DeBow Park in tribute to Judge Russell R. DeBow (1889--1984). DeBow, a graduate of Illinois University at Normal and DePaul University Law School, worked for several federal agencies before becoming the first African-American to hold an administrative position on the staff of the mayor of Chicago in 1965. In 1971, DeBow was appointed Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court by the Illinois Supreme Court. Three years later, he was elected to the position, becoming supervising judge of the pretrial section of the Law Division in 1978. Among DeBow's many accolades for public service were the Cook County Bar Association's Edward H. Wright Award; the Mary McLeod Bethune Merit Award from the National Council of Negro Women; the Distinguished Alumni Award from Illinois State University; the Billiken Parade Appreciation Award; and the Chicago Daily Defender Humanitarianism Award.\n "}, {"id": 131, "title": "Dickinson (Arthur) Park", "address": "\n 4101 N. Lavergne Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60641\n ", "description": "This park totals 1.19 acres and contains a spray pool and a playground. It is located in the Portage Park\u00a0community (one block north of Irving Park Road, two blocks west of Milwaukee Avenue). Over the years, the park has been upgraded, most recently with a soft surface playground. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs at nearby Portage Park.\n ", "history": "In 1909, Special Park Commission member Albert F. Keeney convinced Arthur W. Dickinson and his wife, Charlotte, to donate a small triangle of land in their subdivision to the City of Chicago for park development. \u00a0The City acquired the land in 1910.\u00a0 The commission transplanted six young elm trees there in 1910, and excavated, filled and regraded the site four years later. After the Special Park Commission was disbanded in 1915, the shaded park passed to the Bureau of Parks and Recreation, which in turn transferred the property to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957. By that time, Dickinson Park was being used as a playlot.\n "}, {"id": 132, "title": "Dixon (Lorraine) Park", "address": "\n 8701 S. Dauphin Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Avalon neighborhood, Lorraine Dixon Park totals 6.72 acres and is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families to picnic and enjoy nature. This site contains a playground with slides, swings and climbing equipment.\n ", "history": "In the 1880s, Samuel E. Gross, a real estate speculator who has been considered the P.T. Barnum of working-class communities, began developing the Dauphin Park Subdivision. Donating a long strip of land to the city as parkland, Gross named the park, adjacent street, and entire development in honor of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, derived from the title for the first born and heir to the throne of France. Although the Dauphin Park community was soon settled by Hungarian and Irish railroad workers, the parkland remained largely unimproved for many years. In 1913, the city's Special Park Commission finally began extensive work on the 5-acre strip, constructing a drainage system and filling and grading the land. Within the next few years, lawn, trees, and shrubs were planted, and tennis courts installed. By the 1940s, the city created a skating pond in the center of the parkway during wintertime. As many as 4,790 people skated there per season. In 1957, the city turned Dauphin Park over to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. After adding a children's playground in the 1960s, the park district created a basketball court and made substantial landscape improvements a decade later.\u00a0 In 2015, the Chicago Park District acquired more land to expand the park.\u00a0 \n\nIn 2005, the Chicago Park District renamed the park in honor of Lorraine Dixon. Lorraine L. Dixon (1950- 2001) was an energetic Chicago alderman who committed her life to public service and transcended racial and gender barriers. After receiving a Bachelor\u2019s of Science Degree from Chicago State University in 1972, Lorraine began working as an instructor at the Chicago Urban Skills Institute and went on to work in the City of Chicago\u2019s Department of Human Services.\u00a0 She became the City\u2019s Chief Zoning Administrator, and later, Chief of Staff for the City Council Committee on Energy. In 1990, Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Ms. Dixon to fill the remainder of the late Alderman Caldwell\u2019s term as alderman of the 8thWard. The following year, she won was elected for a second term, and also went to serve a third term.\u00a0 As Alderman, she was extremely involved in her community\u2014 leading clean-up campaigns and anti-crime marches and serving as Grand Marshal of the Annual Back-to-School Parade. In 1994, she was the first woman to head the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations. She also served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on MBE/WBE and Affirmative Action matters for the City Council, and had the distinction of becoming both the first woman and first African American to serve as President Pro Tempore of the City Council. Ms. Dixon was known for finding creative ways to increase opportunity and improve the quality of life for her constituents. She was active in numerous civic and political organizations including the Women\u2019s Auxiliary of South Shore Hospital, United Negro College Fund, League of Black Women Voters and Cook County Young Democrats.\u00a0 \n "}, {"id": 133, "title": "Dobson Park", "address": "\n 7521 S. Dobson Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Greater Grand Crossing community, Dobson Park is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park totals 0.33 acres and contains a playground with swings and benches to sit and enjoy nature or have a picnic.\n ", "history": "In 1882, the City of Chicago acquired the lot at the northeast corner of South Dobson Avenue and 75th Place from real estate developer Paul Cornell, a leading force behind the creation of Chicago's South Park System 12 years before. In 1884, the City acquired more land from Edwin Harley to expand the park.\u00a0 The city soon built a fire house on the property. By 1945, however, the fire station had burned down, and the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had transformed the site into a small park with a wading pool, a sand box, and playground equipment.\u00a0 The City transferred the park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District made playground improvements in 1966 and again in 1991. Dobson Park takes its name from the adjacent street, named for R.W. Dobson, another south side real estate developer.\n\n\n "}, {"id": 134, "title": "Dogwood Park", "address": "\n 2732 W.Polk St. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0East Garfield\u00a0Community. The park totals 0.16 acres and\u00a0features a playground and water feature. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Altgeld Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this once-vacant lot in 1969, with the help of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Officially designated Dogwood Park in 1974, the playground was one of a number of parks named for trees and plants at this time.\n\nDogwood trees can be found throughout the temperate regions of the United States and Canada. The alternate-leaf dogwood is native to the Chicago region and much of the northeastern United States. Perhaps more well-known is the eastern flowering dogwood, found from Massachusetts south to Florida and west to Texas. North American Indians once used the bark of the flowering dogwood to remedy malaria and other fevers. During the Civil War, southerners again treated malaria with dogwood bark when quinine became unavailable due to Union blockades of Confederate ports.\n "}, {"id": 135, "title": "Donahue (Margaret) Park", "address": "\n 1230 W. School St. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "Margaret Donahue Park [formerly know as \u00a0#570] is a new 0.54\u00a0acre park developing in the Lake View neighborhood. Openlands acquired three parcels and conveyed them to the Chicago Park District.\n\nThe Chicago Cubs in partnership with the City of Chicago, The Trust for Public Land and CPD\u00a0have designed and constructed the new park.\n\nThe new park includes a new playground, rubberized soft surfacing, spray feature, pathway improvements, lighting, seating, and landscaping. The playground is intended to be state of the art and meet or exceed ADA accessibility guidelines. The final scope and plan were determined in cooperation with the local community and Park Advisory Council.\n\nManaged by\u00a0Sheil Park.\n ", "history": "In 2013, the Chicago Park District acquired land for the park from two Illinois corporations.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District has worked closely with the School Street Advisory Council, Alderman Thomas M. Tunney and the Chicago Cubs on the development of a new park in the Lakeview community. The $1.2 million park includes a major playground installation.\n\nThe advisory council formally requested that the new park be named in honor of Margaret Donahue (1892 \u2013 1978), one of the first women executives in major league baseball. The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners complied with the request, and the park was officially named in 2014. Born on a farm in Huntley, Illinois, she moved to Chicago at the age of 16 to find a job as a secretary. In 1919, with only one year of high school a year of secretarial training, and a brief position at a laundry, Donahue was hired as a stenographer by William Veeck, President of the Chicago Cubs (and father of longtime Cubs owner Bill Veeck). At the time, the only other woman who worked for the Cubs was the team\u2019s bookkeeper. That woman soon left, and Donahue took over, performing as both secretary and bookkeeper. She quickly took over many responsibilities including ticket sales, stock transfers, providing press passes, and handling gate receipts for other Wrigley Field events such as Chicago Bears professional football games. Before long, she was traveling with the Cubs. In 1926, Veeck promoted Donahue to corporate secretary, an unprecedented role for a woman in the major leagues at that time. She brought many innovations to professional baseball such as season tickets, providing off-site ticket locations, and selling reduced priced tickets for children. When Donahue was promoted to vice president of the Chicago Cubs in 1950, she was the first woman in this role in the major league to have come up through the ranks. Donahue retired in 1958, prompting Phillip K. Wrigley to issue a proclamation describing her as a \u201cnationally acknowledged authority on the intricacies of baseball rules and regulations.\u201d When Donahue died in 1978, she was eulogized by Jack Brickhouse on WGN.\n "}, {"id": 136, "title": "Donovan (George) Park", "address": "\n 3620 S. Lituanica Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Donovan Playground Park is located in the Bridgeport Community. The park totals 2.98 acres and features a small field house.\n\nOutdoors, the park offers baseball fields, an athletic field, a playground, basketball courts and an interactive water spray facility. The playground was renovated in Fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays! progam.\n\nWhile the park is busy during the summer with baseball leagues and day camp, year-round programs are also offered, including preschool, dodgeball and a variety of youth sports and adult fitness. Donovan Park is a popular destination for\u00a0yoga, conditioning and\u00a0softball. Parents also gather at Donovan Park with their preschoolers for Tot Spot, Storytime and other programs designed for younger children.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Donovan Park is one of three Chicago parks named in honor of a group of firemen who perished in a disastrous fire on March 1, 1957. Engine 29 Captain George L. Donovan (1916--1957), along with fellow firefighters Howard J. Strohacker (1909--1957) and Sylvester L. Pietrowski (1920--1957), perished when the factory of the Lawrence Corporation, a shortening manufacturer, exploded, burying the three in tons of debris. An old friend and neighbor of Mayor Richard J. Daley, Donovan lived just three blocks east of the Bridgeport Park now bearing his name.\n\nInitially known as Sangamon Park, this playlot was established by the City of Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation on Board of Education property just two years before Donovan's death. In 1959, the city turned over management of the park to the Chicago Park District.\n\nThe Chicago Board of Education acquired land for the park in 1887, 1913, and in 1943.\u00a0 The City of Chicago acquired land for the park in 1939.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired the land from the Chicago Board of Education in 1991.\u00a0 By the time the Park District assumed full ownership in 1991, the park included a playground, a small recreational building, and various ball fields and courts. Shortly thereafter, the district rehabilitated the Donovan Park playground as part of its soft surface playground program.\n "}, {"id": 137, "title": "Dooley (Thomas) Park", "address": "\n 3402 W. 77th St. \n Chicago, IL 60652\n ", "description": "Located in the Ashburn community, Dooley Park totals 1.38\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium. Outside, the park offers a\u00a0youth softball field.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports including\u00a0tumbling, soccer, basketball, floor hockey, volleyball, etc. Afterschool programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs,\u00a0Dooley Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "In 1960, the Central Park and St. Louis Improvement Association suggested the creation of a park and school within a manufacturing district that would soon be redeveloped for residential housing. Winston Homes, Inc. agreed to sell four acres at the corner of St. Louis Avenue and 77th Street for the project. By the end of 1967, the Chicago Park District had acquired three acres and the Board of Education had acquired one acre to create a jointly-operated school-park. However, the Board of Education soon began questioning the need for a new school here. The Park District improved its three acres and named the site Dooley Park in 1974. After the contiguous Board of Education parcel remained unimproved for years, the Park District acquired the land to expand Dooley Park in 1991. In 1999, the Board of Education moved forward on its school-park plan. The Park District transferred two and a half acres to the Board of Education, which is constructing a building that will be jointly programmed by both agencies. \u00a0In 2003, the Chicago Park District transferred a portion of the park to the City of Chicago.\n\nThomas A. Dooley (1927-1961) devoted his life to caring for sick people in remote areas of foreign countries. After serving as a navy medical corpsman from 1944 to 1946, Dooley received his medical degree from St. Louis University in 1953. He rejoined the navy, and in 1954, at the end of the war in Indochina, Dooley assisted in evacuating refugees from communist North Viet Nam. Dooley wrote a best-selling book, Deliver Us From Evil, describing this work. After resigning from the navy, Dooley used the book's proceeds to establish a medical clinic in Laos in 1956. He went on to establish additional hospitals in other remote regions, traveling to the U.S. only often enough to raise money for these efforts. Dooley's work was cut short by his death from cancer at the young age of 34.\n "}, {"id": 138, "title": "Doria (Helen) Beach Park", "address": "\n 1041 W. Columbia Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Whether you are looking to relax on the sandy beach soaking in some rays or getting active our beaches are a great summer destination right in the middle of a bustling Chicago.\u00a0 Doria Beach Park totals 0.95 acres.\n\nFormerly known as Columbia Beach Park.\n ", "history": "In 2016, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners renamed Columbia Beach Park in honor of Helen Doria. The naming was requested by numerous organizations and individuals, including the Loyola Park Advisory Council, Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society, with the support of several elected officials. Helen Doria (1951 \u2013 2012) devoted her life to enriching Chicago with strong cultural programs that unified individuals, groups, and neighborhoods throughout the city. The oldest of eight children, Helen was born and raised in Chicago. After receiving a bachelor's degree from Mundelein College in 1973, she began her career as a grass root activist in Rogers Park. While serving as an aide to then 49th Ward Alderman David Orr, she assisted the Chicago Park District on the acquisition of the Berger Park mansions and development of the Cultural Center. She went on to work for the City of Chicago\u2019s Department of Special Events and Department of Cultural Affairs, spearheading such initiatives as the Sister City\u2019s program. She then joined the staff of the Chicago Park District and brought new life to the district\u2019s cultural programming. Her rich cultural art legacy includes establishing the arts partners in residency program in park field houses, creating mini-festivals that introduced thousands of Chicagoans to the varied cultures in their own neighborhoods, and bringing excellent arts programming such as theater, music, dance, and visual arts to park patrons throughout the city. In 2004, Helen Doria became the first Executive Director of Millennium Park and she helped make the new park an exciting and democratic space with a broad array of activities and offerings for Chicagoans and visitors. She was instrumental in initiating the Made in Chicago: World Class Concert Series that continues in Millennium Park today. Toward the end of her life, Helen became a consultant on arts, culture and public spaces, taking a lead role in development of the 606 and working with businesses, not-for-profit organizations and governmental agencies to make the arts an accessible part of urban life. She served on the Board of Directors of the Young Women\u2019s Leadership Charter School and also received many honors including inspiring the Illinois Association of Park Districts to establish the Helen Doria Arts in the Park Award.\n\nFormerly known as Columbia Beach Park, the Chicago Park District acquired this property in 1966. As there is no earlier record of an established beach where Columbia Avenue meets Lake Michigan, the site may have been a private beach prior to the park district's acquisition. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation also had operated small municipal beaches along Chicago's north shore since at least 1921. Columbia Avenue takes its name from New York's Columbia University, established in 1794. Columbia University (then College) was the alma mater of A.W. Wallen, the real estate developer who subdivided the section of Rogers Park in which the street and its namesake beach are located.\n "}, {"id": 139, "title": "Dougherty (Daniel) Park", "address": "\n 9336 S. Kingston Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the Calumet Heights community, Dougherty Playground Park features a baseball field. This park totals 3.11 acres and is a great space for families to relax and enjoy the day.\n ", "history": "In 1953, the South East Little League developed a baseball facility for the youth of Calumet Heights. The twin ballfields - one for junior play and one for standard play - stood in the midst of Mill Gate, a well-developed neighborhood where recreational land was at a premium. In 1970, the Little League offered to donate the 2.7 acre-site to the Chicago Park District for use as a public park. In accepting the offer, the park district agreed that one of the ballfields would continue to be used for South East Little League games and that the park would not be resold for development.\n\nThe park's name honors late Illinois State Senator Daniel Dougherty (1905--1976), who served the district in which the park is located for more than 20 years, until his death in 1976. Dougherty had also been the Cook County Circuit Courts' director of finance since 1941.\n "}, {"id": 140, "title": "Douglass (Anna and Frederick) Park", "address": "\n 1401 S. Sacramento Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "Located in the North Lawndale community and parts of Pilsen neighborhood, Douglass (Anna and Frederick) Park totals 161.85 acres.\u00a0\n\nDouglass Park\u00a0is a historic regional park that offers many recreational and cultural opportunities for park patrons. The fieldhouse features include two gymnasiums, an auditorium, a computer lab, a fitness center, a kitchen, a grand ballroom and meeting rooms.\n\nOutdoors, the park offers tennis courts, a game day football stadium, an outdoor pool, water spray features, basketball courts, an artificial turf soccer field, a pavilion, baseball fields and a small golf putting range.\n\nDouglass Park also offers three\u00a0newly renovated playgrounds. In summer 2016, a playground on the west end of the park was renovated and renamed Sunshine Daydream Playground, in honor of a Grateful Dead song. This new playground offers an interactive water fountain and music-themed\u00a0play equipment that is\u00a0accessible for children of all ages and ability levels.\u00a0\n\nDouglass Park has partnered with many community partners to add additional amenities for patrons. Through a collaboration with the Chicago Bulls Basketball organization, the park offers a computer learning lab to serve the children of the community. In partnership with Ravinia, the park hosts a series of summer concerts and the annual Junta Hispana festival in July.\n\nYoung park-goers can play seasonal sports at park facilities or take part in cultural programs, including dance, art, performing arts and theater. In the summer, youth attend day camp and specialty arts camps. Adults participate in a range of activities at Douglas Park, including working out at the fitness center or engaging in aerobics and conditioning classes. Families also participate in the monthly \u201cBring the Family to the Table\u201d nutritional meal, a free program offered in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository.\n\nIn addition to programs, Douglass Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as dance and theater performances, Movies in the Park screenings and other Night Out in the Parks events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1869, the Illinois state legislature established the West Park Commission, which was responsible for three large parks and interlinking boulevards. Later that year, the commissioners named the southernmost park in honor of Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861). Best remembered for his pre-Civil War presidential defeat by Abraham Lincoln despite superb oratorical skills, Douglas was a United States Senator who helped bring the Illinois Central Railroad to Chicago. \u00a0In 2020, the community requested that the park be renamed to honor historical abolitionists, Anna and Frederick Douglass.\n\nPark Design\n\nIn 1871, designer William Le Baron Jenney completed plans for the entire West Park System which included Douglas, Garfield, and Humboldt parks. Jenney's engineering expertise was especially helpful for transforming Douglas Park's poor natural site into parkland. He had sand and manure from the Chicago Stock Yards added to the marshy site.\n\nIn the center of the landscape, Jenney created a picturesque lake. A small section of the park was formally opened in 1879. In 1895, members of several German turners' clubs petitioned for an outdoor gymnasium in Douglas Park. The following year, this resulted in the construction of one of Chicago's first public facilities with an outdoor gymnasium, swimming pool, and natatorium.\n\nBy the turn of the century, the West Park Commission was riddled with political graft, and the three parks became dilapidated. As part of a reform effort in 1905, Jens Jensen was appointed as General Superintendent and Chief Landscape Architect for the entire West Park System. Jensen, now recognized as Dean of the Prairie style of landscape architecture, improved deteriorating sections of the parks and added new features.\n\nAmong Jensen's improvements were a semi-circular entryway at Marshall Blvd., and a formal garden at the corner of Ogden Ave. and Sacramento Dr. By the time Jensen designed the garden, Ogden Avenue, a diagonal roadway with a major streetcar thoroughfare, had already been constructed. The road divided the park into two separate landscapes, creating a busy intersection at the juncture of Ogden and Sacramento Avenues. Jensen's solution was a long axial garden on the southeast side of the intersection, providing a buffer between Ogden Ave. and playfields to the south.\n\nAt the entrance to the garden, the area closest to the busy roadway intersection, Jensen placed a monumental garden shelter, known as Flower Hall, and a formal reflecting pool. The designer of the structure is unknown, however, it was possibly Jensen himself, or his friend, Prairie School architect Hugh Garden. East of the building, the garden becomes more naturalistic. Jensen included perennial beds, a lily pool, and unique Prairie-style benches.\n\nIn 1928, the West Park Commission constructed a fieldhouse in Douglas Park. The structure was designed by architects Michaelsen and Rognstad, who were also responsible for other notable buildings including the Garfield Park Gold Dome Building, the Humboldt and LaFollette Park Fieldhouses, and the On Leong Chinese Merchant's Association Building in Chinatown.\n\nIn 1934, Douglas Park became part of the Chicago Park District, when the city's 22 independent park commissions merged into a single citywide agency.\n\n\nPark Name\n\nOn September 9, 2020, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners voted to officially remove the name of Stephen Douglas from the park. On November 18, 2020, in response to a community request, the Board voted to officially name the park in honor of Anna and Frederick Douglass.\n\nIn 1818, Frederick Douglass was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, of mixed race, into slavery on the eastern shore of Maryland. After Douglass taught himself to read and write, he found work at the docks in Baltimore. It was there he met a free black woman named Anna Murray. She had been born free, to parents who were former slaves. Ms. Murray worked as a laundress and a housekeeper, gaining independent financial security for herself. She provided funds to Frederick, which he used to disguise himself as a sailor and escape slavery. Ms. Murray followed Frederick to New York, where they married and established a household. When they later settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and in an effort to hide his identity, he dropped his middle name and they changed their last name to Douglass. Throughout their 44-year marriage, Anna provided the support system for Frederick\u2019s growing work as an orator and abolitionist, maintaining their household and raising their five children.\n\nDouglass began reading The Liberator, an abolitionist publication, and began attending abolitionist meetings. Thereafter, the Anti-Slavery Society hired Douglass as a paid lecturer. This was his beginning as an orator; he would become one of the most famous orators of his time. He focused on the abolishment of slavery, the promoting of the moral and intellectual improvement of people of color, and women\u2019s rights. Frederick Douglass also published three autobiographies.\n\nDouglass knew that the Emancipation Proclamation was a revolutionary document. In 1865, Douglass attended Lincoln\u2019s second Inaugural Speech, and often quoted from the speech. Upon hearing of Lincoln\u2019s death, Douglass was said to feel the death as both a personal and national calamity.\n "}, {"id": 141, "title": "Drexel (Francis) Park", "address": "\n 6931 S. Damen Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60636\n ", "description": "Located in the West Englewood community, Drexel Playlot Park totals 0.31 acres and\u00a0is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, along with benches to enjoy a picnic.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired the site of this playlot in 1972 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1998, the property was officially designated Drexel Park, after nearby Drexel Boulevard, which is in turn named for the prominent Philadelphia banking family of the same name. Family patriarch Francis M. Drexel (1792-1863) owned substantial property in what is now West Englewood. Drexel presented another large tract - this one further east - to the South Park Commission for use as parkland. After Drexel's death, his sons Francis A. (1824-1888) and Anthony J. (1826-1893) donated a fountain commemorating their father. The fountain, erected in 1882, still stands at 51st Street, in Drexel Square.\n "}, {"id": 142, "title": "Dubkin (Leonard) Park", "address": "\n 7442 N. Ashland Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "This triangle-shaped park is 0.39 acres and is one of the park district's several passive recreation areas, located in the Rogers Park\u00a0community (on Ashland Avenue, one block south of Rogers Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Touhy Park.\n ", "history": "Dubkin Park was one of four city \"baby playgrounds\" created in 1934 and 1935, and financed by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Initially known as Ashland Baby Park for its location along Ashland Avenue in the Rogers Park neighborhood, the shaded greenspace featured a small, sheltered sandbox for young children, and benches for the comfort of their mothers. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation maintained the privately-owned site until 1968, when the Chicago Park District purchased the tiny triangle with funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.\n\nIn 1974, the park district renamed the property Dubkin Playlot in honor of Leonard Dubkin (1904--), a local community organizer and strong proponent of the park. His friends and neighbors who frequented the park knew him as a \"sidewalk naturalist.\" He was in fact a well-known nature writer, who authored My Secret Places: One Man's Love Affair with Nature in the City in 1972. For many years, Dubkin also wrote a column called \"The Birds and Bees\" for the local Lerner Newspaper.\n "}, {"id": 143, "title": "Dunbar (Paul Laurence) Park", "address": "\n 300 E. 31st St. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Dunbar Park is 21.80 acres and is located in the\u00a0Douglas Community. The park features four baseball diamonds,\u00a0athletic fields, picnic groves, tennis courts, a running track, a batting cage, an interactive water feature and a reading garden. In summer 2016, the park's northern playground was renovated\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nDunbar Park is an active community park. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out the great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Williams Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The elegant south side Douglas community became densely populated during World War I, as an influx of African-Americans from the rural south settled there. Many lovely mansions were quickly divided into multiple unit apartments to accommodate the large numbers of new arrivals to the area. The Douglas community went through further decline during the Great Depression and experienced additional population increases during World War II.\n\nIn the late 1950s and early 1960s, a number of neighborhood revitalization initiatives emerged. Among them, the Lake Meadows Apartments were created by private developers and included 2,000 new housing units, shops, and a commercial building. In 1956, the Board of Education constructed Paul Dunbar High School nearby. Four years later, the Chicago Land Clearance Commission worked with the Chicago Park District to create an adjacent park.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired the 20-acre site from 1958-1963 as land was acquired and streets and alleys were vacated to expand the park, and transformed into Dunbar Park between 1964 and 1966.\n\nPaul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), one of the nation's first critically acclaimed African-American authors, was popular with white and black audiences alike. The son of former slaves, Dunbar was raised in Dayton, Ohio. Although he was the only African-American student to attend public high school there, he was selected as editor of the school paper and president of the literary society.\n\nWhile working as an elevator operator, Dunbar self-published his first book of poetry, Oak and Ivy, selling copies to passengers to underwrite the costs. In 1893, Dunbar was invited to Chicago to recite poetry to audiences at the World's Columbian Exposition. Publishing two more volumes of poetry, Dunbar began giving readings throughout the United States and England. He went on to publish nine more books of poetry, five novels, four short story collections, and a play before his death at the early age of 33.\n "}, {"id": 144, "title": "Dunham (Robert) Park", "address": "\n 4638 N. Melvina Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "Tucked away just south of Lawrence Avenue and east of Narragansett Avenue, Dunham Park is 14.60 acres and serves its west Portage Park community residents with a number of athletic and recreational activities and events. Co-ed\u00a0basketball, boys baseball,\u00a0and girls softball are three mainstay\u00a0partnership sports at the park.\u00a0\n\nFor those who enjoy all sports, Dunham Park offers a variety of different sports that provides practice and preparation for area, regional and citywide athletic tournaments; these may include baseball, floor hockey, volleyball, and basketball. The park also provides recreational tumbling and gymnastics. Smaller children join in Kiddie College classes, Arts & ABC\u2019s, or Moms, Pops and Tots classes (which involve parental interaction).\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\nIn the summer, Dunham offers a fun-filled and affordable 6-week day camp and play camp for community children. There is are 3 separate 1-week camps for ages 6-12.\n\nThe Chicago Park District and Dunham Park are proud to partner with the Dunham Boys Baseball Organization (DBBO), the Dunham Park Girls Softball Association (DPGSA) and the Dunham Youth Basketball League (DYBL) to provide boys and girls ages 5 \u2013 18 the opportunity to play baseball/softball/basketball in some of Chicago\u2019s oldest and finest leagues.\n\nOutdoors, Dunham Park features a senior baseball field, four junior baseball fields, a softball field, three tennis courts, a playground, and a water spray feature.\n ", "history": "In 1945, at the end of World War II, Robert J. Dunham, President of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners, announced a major new initiative to bring the benefits of parks and recreation to every neighborhood in the city. As part of this effort to create new parks for the first time in many years, a citizens' advisory committee submitted a list of recommended sites in 1948. Among them was a 14-acre site in the rapidly growing Portage Park neighborhood. The Park District had to condemn land from reluctant home owners in 1929, 1948, and in 1956, an issue which even led to protesters filing into a 1945 board meeting. \u00a0Then the Chicago Park District acquired land for the park from 1949-1953.\u00a0 After the entire site was acquired in 1956 after land acquisition and condemnation, the Engineering Department created a plan for the new park. The Park District began some improvements in 1953, however all of the houses on the site were not razed until 1958. By the early 1960s, the park included an athletic field, a children's playground, tennis courts, and a comfort station. Finally, in 1976, the district constructed a modern fieldhouse in the park.\n\nWhen the Park District's naming committee made its proposals in the early 1950s, they suggested that one of the new parks be named in honor of Robert J. Dunham (1876-1948). Born and raised in Chicago, Dunham was the oldest son of Captain James Sears Dunham, one of the city's leading mariners. Dunham became a prominent Chicago businessman, responsible for organizing the Universal Oil Products Company. He entered public life during the Depression as Chairman of the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission in 1933. The following year, the city's 22 independent park boards were consolidated into the Chicago Park District, and Dunham was appointed its first president, continuing to serve in that capacity through 1945.\n "}, {"id": 145, "title": "Durkin (Martin) Park", "address": "\n 8445 S. Kolin Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60652\n ", "description": "Located in the Ashburn Community, Durkin Park totals 9.67 acres and features a gymnasium. Outside, the park offers four baseball diamonds, a playground, and a\u00a0multi-purpose court.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, youth and adult sports leagues, tap & ballet. On the cultural side, Durkin Park offers Park Voyagers and painting. After-school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Durkin Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including holiday-themed events.\n\nFor more information on the upcoming Department of Water Management project, please visit\u00a0https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/water/supp_info/durkin-park-water-project.html\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Chicago's Ashburn community remained sparsely populated until the late 1940s, when industrial development on the southwest side and in nearby suburbs brought a surge of residential construction to the area. Ashburn's population increased an amazing 400% during the 1950s. In early 1957, a local civic group, the West Ridge Association, appeared before the Chicago Park District to advocate park development in their quickly-growing neighborhood. Before year's end, the park district used park improvement bond funds to acquire several city blocks between 83rd and 84th Streets. Additional acreage was provided by greening over the three city streets that ran through the park site. \u00a0In 1958, the City of Chicago had streets vacated to acquire land for the park.\u00a0 In 1959, the Engineering Department developed a site plan that included a playground, horseshoe courts, and an athletic field. Improvements followed shortly thereafter.\n\nIn 1962, the site was named for Martin P. Durkin (1894--1955), president of the AFL Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, who lived near the park. Durkin served as President Eisenhower's first Secretary of Labor. Durkin Park's development coincided with the construction of Crerar Elementary School just to the west. From the beginning, the park and the adjacent school property have been jointly operated by the Park District and the Chicago Board of Education. Though Crerar School closed for several years in the 1980s, the Park District continued to use the school property with few interruptions, and the school building has since reopened as Linhart Elementary School. The school's gymnasium doubles as the Durkin Park fieldhouse during non-school hours.\n "}, {"id": 146, "title": "Durso (John) Park", "address": "\n 421 W. Locust St. \n Chicago, IL 60610\n ", "description": "Durso Playground Park is located in the\u00a0Near North\u00a0community. The park is 1.48 acres and\u00a0features a playground and\u00a0basketball courts. It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Jesse White Park and Community Center.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Durso Park's Near North Side community is among the oldest sections of Chicago. Filled with industry and worker housing before 1900, the western portion of the community became increasingly blighted during the first decades of the 20th century.\n\nIn an effort to rid the area of its deteriorating housing, the Chicago Housing Authority in 1943 constructed the Frances Cabrini Homes, a 586-unit complex of row houses and garden apartments. Fifteen years later, CHA expanded Cabrini, more than tripling the size of the original public housing development. To create parkland for the Cabrini complex, the city began leasing a parcel of nearby land from the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago in 1948. The new park soon included a shelter house and sand box, as well as a playfield that could be flooded for skating in winter.\n\nAfter assuming management of the park pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957, the Chicago Park District constructed volleyball and basketball courts, a recreation building, and a spray pool during the following decade. In 1977, the Park District formally acquired the property and an adjacent vacant lot from the Archdiocese, more than doubling the park's size. Game tables and a soft surface playground were added in subsequent years.\n\nKnown for years as Hudson Park for adjacent Hudson Street, in April\u00a01979, the park was renamed in honor of John R. Durso, a neighborhood resident with a long history of service to the community. Durso demonstrated an ongoing interest in the needs of the area's underprivileged children, sponsoring various activities including the local scouting program. Needy neighborhood families also benefited from his generosity during the Christmas season.\n "}, {"id": 147, "title": "DuSable Park", "address": "\n 401 N. Lake Shore Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "**** PLEASE NOTE:\u00a0 The park is not currently open to the public. ****\n\nWe want to know your vision for #DusablePark. We are looking for public feedback for the development of this historic park as design planning begins.\u00a0 Click here to share your feedback.\n\n\u00a0\n\nDuSable Park is an\u00a0undeveloped 3.44 acre peninsula of reclaimed land located along the Lake Michigan shoreline directly east of North Lake Shore Drive and north of the Chicago River.\n\nThe site was created in the 1860s when fill materials were placed along the Lake Michigan shoreline. \u00a0Presently, the site is surrounded to the south, east and north by the waters of the Chicago River and Ogden slip.\n\nThe Chicago Park District has received some funding support from the U.S. EPA to preform land remediation on the site. From July through September 2012, the Chicago Park District completed remediation of this site.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Lake Shore Park.\n ", "history": "Currently under development near the mouth of the Chicago River and the shore of Lake Michigan, DuSable Park honors Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable (ca. 1745-1818), the first non-Native American settler at Chicago. A Haitian of French and African descent, DuSable traveled to New Orleans in 1764. The following year he journeyed up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, where he began to trade with the local Indians and married a young Potawatomi woman. As early as 1772, DuSable moved on to Chicago, establishing a remote trading post near what is now Pioneer Court, just north of the river.\n\nDuSable's world began to change after the Revolutionary War, when the American government claimed the Great Lakes region as its own, and settlers began arriving from the east. In 1800, DuSable sold his property at Chicago and went south to Peoria. Two centuries after DuSable's departure, Chicago is an unimaginably different place, home to nearly three million residents, with skyscrapers lining the Chicago River and the lakefront.\n\nIn the mid-1980s, developers began to improve 60 acres of under-utilized industrial land north of the river with residences and commercial structures. To provide parkland for the new City Center, the Chicago Dock and Canal Trust donated more than three acres of property east of Lake Shore Drive to the Chicago Park District in 1988.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired property from the City of Chicago for the park in 2007.\n "}, {"id": 148, "title": "Dvorak (Anton) Park", "address": "\n 1119 W. Cullerton St. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Located in the Pilsen community, Dvorak Park totals 6.56 acres. Inside, the park features an auditorium, two gymnasiums, a computer room, an art room, meeting rooms and a kitchen. Outside, Dvorak Park offers a swimming pool and interactive water feature, baseball fields, an athletic field for football and soccer, playgrounds and a picnic area.\u00a0\n\nYoung park-goers enjoy coming to Dvorak Park for baseball and seasonal sports at the facility. The park offers theater and performance arts classes, as well as special events, for older kids and teens in partnership with its Arts Partner in Residence, ElevArte.\u00a0Adults come to Dvorak Park to participate in a range of fitness activities, and parents bring their young children to Bitty Basketball, Mighty Fit Kids and other programs for younger children.\n\nDvorak Park also serves as the site for many community festivals, including Mexican Independence\u00a0Day, Fiesta Del Sol and the annual\u00a0Annual\u00a0Dia de Los Muertos\u00a0and We Are Hip Hop festivals. Dvorak Park hosts several fun events for the whole family throughout the year, such as Movies in the Park, the annual Pumpkin Patch, Hispanic Heritage celebrations and other Night Out in the Parks special events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1907, during an era of major political reform, the West Park Commission acquired land and began creating its first three neighborhood parks, Dvorak, Eckhart, and Stanford Parks. These were inspired by a revolutionary system of parks that opened in 1905 to provide breathing space and social services to overcrowded immigrant neighborhoods on Chicago's south side.\n\nThe need for such facilities was even greater on the west side. Because of this population density, the commissioners could only acquire small pieces of property. Dvorak Park was originally only 3.85 acres in size. In recognition of the area's large Bohemian population, the West Park Commission named the park for Anton Dvorak (1841-1904), the famous Czech composer.\n\nJens Jensen, then the West Park Commission's general superintendent and chief landscape designer, developed the original plan for Dvorak Park. Jensen included all of the major components introduced in the south side neighborhood parks: swimming and wading pools, changing rooms and shower baths, an athletic field, a playground, outdoor gymnasiums, and a fieldhouse.\n\nUnlike the south side parks, Jensen's neighborhood parks included children's gardens and Prairie-style architecture. Dvorak Park's fieldhouse and bathhouse were designed by William Carbys Zimmerman, who then served as State Architect. In 1998, the Chicago Park District expanded the park by acquiring an adjacent parcel of land. The expansion includes a new walkway and soccer fields.\n "}, {"id": 149, "title": "Eckersall (Walter Herbert) Park", "address": "\n 2400 E. 82nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the South Chicago community, Eckersall Park is a 2.98 acre\u00a0recreational destination\u00a0enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains a playground and basketball court. At Eckersall Park, park patrons enjoy playing soccer and basketball. The playground is adjacent to Eckersall Stadium, a CPS facility.\n ", "history": "Soon after World War II, the Chicago Park District began a major initiative to create new parks for the first time in many years. This Ten Year Plan identified 43 sites in neighborhoods with few recreational facilities and in undeveloped areas which were starting to boom. Estimating that a total of $60 million dollars would be needed for the ten-year effort, the Park District began selling $24 million dollars of new bonds in 1945 to pay for the initial phase of the project. Among the first properties acquired was the 3.5-acre site for Eckersall Park. \u00a0The Chicago Park District acquired property for the park from 1946-1955 through land acquisition and vacating streets and alleys.\u00a0 The property remained unimproved for several years. Finally in 1956, the Park District planted the landscape, created two playground areas divided by South Philips Avenue, and transformed the bisecting street into basketball courts and a vehicle turn-around.\n\nThe park's name honors Walter Herbert Eckersall (1884--1930) an All-American football player from Chicago. Having played football as a student at Hyde Park High School between 1899 and 1902, Eckersall was pursued by several colleges with winning teams. He decided on the University of Chicago, and went on to set every punting and kicking record between 1903 and 1906. After college, Eckersall became a noted sports critic for the Chicago Tribune. While writing for the newspaper, Eckersall was instrumental in creating the Golden Gloves and Silver Skates competitions.\n "}, {"id": 150, "title": "Eckhart (Bernard) Park", "address": "\n 1330 W. Chicago Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60642\n ", "description": "Located in the West Town community, Eckhart Park totals 8.85\u00a0acres and features an indoor swimming pool, meeting rooms, two gymnasiums, a fitness center and a boxing center. Outdoors, the park offers baseball diamonds, an athletic field for football and soccer, a playground with a water pray feature, and a community garden. The playground was renovated in Summer 2014\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\n\nYoung park-goers come to Eckhart Park for gymnastics, swim lessons and to join the Eckhart\u00a0Panthers\u00a0Junior Bear football and cheerleading teams.\u00a0Youth attend Day Camp in the summer, as well as year-round therapeutic recreation programs.\u00a0Adults participate in a range of activities, including aquatic classes, boxing and seasonal sports, and parents\u00a0gather at Eckhart Park with their preschoolers for Bitty Basketball and other classes and activities for younger children.\n\nIn addition to programs, Eckhart Park hosts fun special events for the whole family, such as Movies in the Park, concerts, plays and other Night Out in the Parks events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The West Park Commission acquired land and created Eckhart Park in 1907 to provide breathing space and social services for one of the overcrowded immigrant neighborhoods the commission served.\n\nTwo years earlier, a revolutionary system of ten neighborhood parks had opened on the city\u2019s South Side. Designed by the Olmsted Brothers and D.H. Burnham & Co., these innovative parks not only provided landscape amenities, but also public bathing, branches of the Chicago Public Library, classes and vocational training, inexpensive hot meals, health care, and a variety of recreational programs.\n\nEckhart Park was among the first in a system of small West Side parks authorized by state legislation in 1905. The park takes its name from Bernard A. Eckhart (1852-1931), who played a prominent role in the neighborhood parks movement.\n\nEckhart, president of the West Park Commission from 1905 through 1908, hired landscape architect Jens Jensen as General Superintendent for the West Park System. Jensen went on to become known as the Dean of the Prairie style of landscape architecture.\n\nIn 1907, Jensen began designing Eckhart Park as one of the first three small parks planned by the West Chicago Park Commissioners to provide breathing space and social services for the congested tenement districts within their jurisdiction.\n\nEckhart Park\u2019s 8-acre site presented Jensen with a major challenge. His initial plan of 1907 illustrates that he began with a rigid and formal layout in order to incorporate all of the ambitious program components. He later modified the plan to provide a looser organization of space, with activities integrated throughout.\n\nEckhart Park\u2019s final plan included a playground, open-air gymnasiums, a swimming Pool with a Prairie style bridge separating the deep and shallow ends, and community gardens where children could learn to plant and tend their plots. It also included a handsome brick field house and natatorium designed by William Carbys Zimmerman who then served as the State Architect for Illinois.\n\nEckhart became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio in 1934 when the 22 park districts were consolidated.\n "}, {"id": 151, "title": "Edgebrook Park", "address": "\n 6525 N. Hiawatha Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "Located in the Forest Glen community just north of Devon Avenue and east of Central Avenue, Edgebrook Park is a 7-acre school/park campus site consisting of baseball fields and open green space.\n\nDuring the school year, the Chicago Park District uses Edgebrook School\u2019s gymnasium to offer after-school programming for community youth.\n\nStop by the park and chat with our staff!\u00a0\n ", "history": "As automobiles became increasingly affordable to Chicago's middle-class residents in the late 1920s, the northwest side's Forest Glen quickly developed as a commuter neighborhood. In 1939, the Board of Education built the new Edgebrook Elementary School to meet the educational needs of the booming community. Thirty years later, the Chicago Park District began leasing property surrounding the school. For more than a decade, the Park District and the Board of Education jointly operated the school and adjacent ball fields and playground. The Park District withdrew from the site in 1983. Only seven years later, however, joint operations were reinstituted after community residents approached the Park District about developing school-based recreational programming for children, teenagers, and adults. The following year in 1991, the Board of Education transferred a five-acre section of the school property to the Park District but retained additional acreage for possible future library construction.\n\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 152, "title": "Edison (Thomas Alva) Park", "address": "\n 6755 N. Northwest Hwy. \n Chicago, IL 60631\n ", "description": "Located on Northwest Highway in the heart of its namesake community, Edison Park is 0.84 acres and\u00a0features a quaint, historic fieldhouse that serves primarily as a community and cultural arts center. Edison Park offers such art classes as: mixed media, drawing, painting, and ceramics.\n\nThe park serves a large number of preschool-age children with programs such as storytime, crafts, as well as Moms, Pops & Tots, an interactive class that involves the parent and child. With its outdoor, soft-surface playground, Edison Park entertains the little ones with their popular and affordable 6-week summer play camp.\n\nMany seniors gather at Edison Park weekly for an active social club always welcoming new members.\n\nUpstairs, the Northwest Society of Model Railroaders meets and works on a public display of an electric model train that twists and turns along a massive, elaborately designed track.\n\nWe invite you to stop by and check out this great neighborhood gathering place!\n ", "history": "Edison Park takes its name from the surrounding Edison Park community, named in 1892 for American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931). The area's first settler, Rev. Christian Ebinger (1812-1879), Sr., headed west from Detroit with his family in 1833. When their horse fell dead from a rattle snake bite 15 miles northwest of Chicago, the Ebingers decided to settle on the spot. In 1907, the Village of Edison Park built a new public school, naming it for Christian Ebinger. After Chicago annexed Edison Park in 1910, Ebinger School came under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Board of Education. The financial pressures of the Great Depression necessitated the consolidation of Chicago's 22 independent park boards into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Two years later in 1936, the Park District began leasing Ebinger School and its site from the Board of Education. Though the Park District inherited more than 100 parks from the 22 independent boards, the Ebinger School property was the first park to be developed by the new agency. Renaming the property Edison Park in 1937, the Park District began rehabilitating the school building and its grounds to provide fieldhouse facilities and an attractive surrounding greenspace. \u00a0The Chicago Park District acquired the property from the Chicago Board of Education in 1986.\u00a0 The fieldhouse soon offered a library; game and club rooms; and spaces for wood working, weaving, and other crafts. In 1988, a new soft surface playground was installed adjacent to the historic fieldhouse.\n "}, {"id": 153, "title": "Edmonds (Molly) Park", "address": "\n 711 W. 60th Pl. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Edmonds Playlot Park is 0.52 acres and it is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing equipment.\n ", "history": "In 1970, the Chicago Park District began addressing the need for additional parkland in the under-served Englewood neighborhood. Using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funds, the Park District acquired this 1/3-acre property in 1972, and soon improved it as a playlot.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired more property from the City of Chicago in 2012.\u00a0 Initially designated Witch Hazel Park as part of a city-wide program to name parks for trees and plants, the site was renamed Edmonds Park in 1992 at the request of local residents, who wished to honor their much-respected neighbor Molly Edmonds. Edmonds an active member of the Englewood community, who organized a youth drill team and served as a beat representative for the police department's 7th District. Edmonds took it upon herself to regularly clean the park, and vigilantly watched over the site to keep it free from gang influences.\n "}, {"id": 154, "title": "Ehrler (William) Park", "address": "\n 2230 W. Cortland St. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "This park is located in the Logan Square community ( two blocks south of Armitage Avenue, approximately 2 \u00bd blocks west of Damen Avenue). The park is 0.92 acres and it contains an updated playground, volleyball court, lots of greenspace for general play. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs at nearby Holstein Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Board of Education acquired property from 1856-1905.\u00a0 The City of Chicago acquired property in 1901.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District established Erhler Park on Board of Education-owned property in 1964. Known first as Cortland and Oakley Park, the 3/4-acre site was improved with an asphalt slab and playground equipment surrounded by lawn and trees.\n\nTen years later, the Chicago Park District renamed the site as Daisy Park as part of a city-wide program to name parks for trees and plants. In 1989, the Bucktown Community Organization asked the Park District to rename the park for William J. Erhler Jr. (1944-1988). A computer analyst for the Chicago Transit Authority, Erhler had been active community leader. He served as President of the Bucktown Community Organization, Chairman of the Holstein Park Advisory Council and board member of the Bucktown Artsfest. Soon after renaming the site, the park district constructed a new soft surface playground there. In early 1991, the Board of Education transferred full ownership of the property to the Chicago Park District, which added ornamental iron fencing along Cortland Street in 1998. The park underwent a complete rehabilitation project with new playground equipment in 2002.\n "}, {"id": 155, "title": "Ellis (Samuel) Park", "address": "\n 3520 S. Cottage Grove Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "Located in the Douglas Community, Ellis Park totals 12.90 acres. Outdoor features include tennis courts, athletic fields for football or soccer and a soft-surface playground.\u00a0\u00a0\n\nIn 2015, the Chicago Park District broke ground to build a new fieldhouse at Ellis Park. Opened in the summer of 2016, the Arts and Recreation Center at Ellis Park, located at 3520 S. Cottage Grove Ave., is a $18 million state-of-the-art facility providing 32,000 square feet of facility space that includes a five-lane competitive pool, a gymnasium, a fitness center, multi-purpose arts and community spaces, a rooftop terrace, locker rooms and administrative space.\u00a0\n\nThe Arts and Recreation Center at Ellis Park also provides afterschool and summer youth programming, family activities, arts and cultural offerings, health and wellness programming, and community events for residents of all ages. The facility is a popular destination for community members to swim, workout or try out a new fitness program.\u00a0\n ", "history": "One of Chicago\u2019s oldest green spaces, Ellis Park honors Samuel Ellis for whom Ellis Avenue is also named. Having arrived in Chicago from Massachusetts in 1831, Samuel Ellis (1790 - 1856) helped defend Chicago during the 1832 Black Hawk War.\n\nEllis purchased more than 135 acres of South Side lakefront property. He owned and ran the Ellis Inn, farmed the land, and served as the area\u2019s milkman. In 1855, Ellis subdivided his land holdings between 31st and 39th Streets, from Lake Michigan to South Park Boulevard (now Martin Luther King Drive), and donated a wedge-shaped parcel to the city for use as a public park.\u00a0\n\nThe area surrounding Ellis Park, known as the Oakland community, had first developed as a fashionable neighborhood, fell into decline at the turn of the twentieth century. At that time, as wealthy residents move out, their homes were divided into apartments and rooming houses. Ellis Park had also been impacted. Its landscape was carved up by adjacent residents who extended sidewalks from their homes and planted trees and shrubs on either side. A decaying bandstand added to the sense of disorder.\n\nIn the early 1900s, the Special Park Commission reclaimed Ellis Park from the encroaching property owners. Acclaimed landscape architect Jens Jensen (1860- 1951), then serving as a Special Park Commission member, redesigned the 3-acre park. His 1906 plan included two ornamental fountains and a circular, tree-edged lawn.\n\nDecades later, the surrounding neighborhood changed again, and the federal government erected the Ida B. Wells housing project. To accommodate the area\u2019s larger population, the city\u2019s Bureau of Parks and Recreation (successor to the Special Park Commission) installed two new wading pools which drew more than 14,000 children the first summer.\n\nThe City of Chicago transferred Ellis Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 In 1962, the Park District purchased additional land east, west, and north of the original park from the City of Chicago, more than tripling its size. Improvements to the enlarged park included ball fields, tennis courts, as well as trees, lawns, and walkways.\n\nOver the years, the neighborhood surrounding Ellis Park continued to change. The Chicago Housing Authority demolished the Ida B. Wells and Madden Park Homes. Today, CHA provides a number of scattered site rental apartments in the neighborhood. For years, the community lacked swimming facilities and other amenities.\n\nIn 2015, ground was broken in Ellis Park for a state-of-the-art field house providing the community with a greatly needed recreational and cultural facility. The Chicago Park District worked with the City of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Housing Authority and its partner The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) to develop the new center.\n\nDesigned by Booth Hansen and Nia Architects, the 32,000-square foot two story building reflects a contemporary aesthetic. Composed of precast concrete, metal framing and glass fiber reinforced concrete wall panels, the building provides an indoor swimming pool; full-sized gymnasium; multi-purpose club rooms for art, education, performance, meetings and exercise; a fitness center with weight and strength training equipment; second-level outdoor patio space with catering kitchen for park and special events and fully equipped and accessible men\u2019s, women\u2019s and family locker rooms. The facility was completed and opened to the public in the summer of 2016.\n "}, {"id": 156, "title": "Elm Park", "address": "\n 5215 S. Woodlawn Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located in the Hyde Park community, Elm Playlot Park is a 0.51 acre recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains a community garden and a gazebo.Park patrons that visit this park enjoy gardening activities, storytelling and other special events.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired property from the City of Chicago in 1964.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District developed this park site in 1964 as part of the Hyde Park - Kenwood Urban Renewal Project. Officially designated Elm Park in 1973, the site was one of a number of park properties named for trees and plants at this time. American elms, the largest and most important variety of elm in North America, have long held an important public role. They served as council trees for Native Americans before Europeans arrived. Around the time of the Revolutionary War, nearly every town had an American elm designated as a Liberty tree. Early in the 20th century, elms lined the streets of Chicago and towns and cities across the nation, creating lovely canopies for the roadways. Unfortunately, just before 1930, Dutch elm disease began to attack these large, elegant shade trees, disrupting their systems for conducting water. Many elms died, and boulevards and yards were stripped bare. Today, individual trees can be protected by injecting or spraying them with fungicide, but Dutch elm disease still spreads from tree to tree unless they are closely monitored.\n "}, {"id": 157, "title": "Elston (Daniel) Park", "address": "\n 3451 N. Troy St. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "Elston Playlot Park is a 0.52 acre park\u00a0located in the Avondale neighborhood (one block east of Kedzie Avenue, 2 \u00bd blocks north of Belmont). \u00a0In summer 2015 the park received a new playground as part of the Chicago Plays! Renovation Program.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Brands Park.\n ", "history": "As World War II drew to a close, the city began creating many new playgrounds and playlots to serve Chicago's growing population of young children. By 1950, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation had created a 1/3-acre playlot on land leased from the Board of Education in the Avondale neighborhood. As the bureau's practice was then to name parks for adjacent streets, the site became known as Elston Park. The street name honors Daniel Elston, a merchant, banker, and real estate speculator who was elected as alderman in 1837, when Chicago had only six wards. The Chicago Park District acquired Elston Park in 1991 from the Board of Education. Park District improvements made the following year include a new soft surface playground.\n "}, {"id": 158, "title": "Emerald Park", "address": "\n 5600 S. Emerald Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Emerald Park is 0.24 acres and is a great recreational destination for the entire family. This park contains a basketball court and benches to relax and enjoy nature.\n ", "history": "As World War II drew to a close, the city began creating many new playgrounds and playlots to serve Chicago's growing population of young children. By 1945, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation had replaced an old fire station with a small playlot that included a sand box; a spray pool; a marble ring; playground equipment; and hopscotch, horseshoe, and basketball courts. As the bureau's practice was then to name sites for adjacent streets, the site became known as Emerald Park. The street name honors the heritage of many Chicago families who originate from lush, green Ireland, often termed the Emerald Isle. In 1957, the City transferred Emerald Park to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. In the late 1970s, the Park District removed the playground equipment and re-developed the park, devoting most of the site to new basketball courts, and adding a planted area.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired more land from the City of Chicago for park expansion in 2012.\n "}, {"id": 159, "title": "Emmerson (Louis) Park", "address": "\n 1820 W. Granville Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60660\n ", "description": "Located in the West Ridge\u00a0community (at the corner of Granville and Ridge Avenues), this 2.60 acre park contains a small fieldhouse with a kitchen, a playground with sandbox and spray pool, two tennis courts and two basketball standards.\n\nDuring the fall, winter, and spring sessions, Emmerson Park offers Park Kids after school program and sports programs for youth.\n\nDuring the summer session, Emmerson Park offers a fun-filled day camp program for youth. Day campers have a blast participating in weekly field trips, arts & crafts, special visits from police and fire department personnel, as well as special-event days, such as pajama day, crazy hat and sock day.\n\nAdditionally, Emmerson Park offers youth crafts to celebrate most holidays and serves as host to the neighborhood\u2019s bi-monthly CAPS meetings.\n ", "history": "In 1931, the Lincoln Park Commission created Emmerson Park, the last of the district's seven neighborhood parks. The population of the West Ridge neighborhood had grown from 7,500 residents in 1920 to 40,000 residents ten years later, and there were few public parks in the area. The park commission acquired a two-acre parcel from the Chicago Town and Tennis Club, adjacent to the Chicago Elk Club in 1920. Although the new park was quite small, it was improved as a lovely green space with a wading pool, a children's playground, tennis courts, gardens, and a comfort station.\u00a0 In 1934, Emmerson Park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the Lincoln Park Commission was consolidated into the Chicago Park District. The Park District remodeled Emmerson Park comfort station into a recreation center in 1961.\n\nEmmerson Park honors Louis L. Emmerson (1863-1941), who was Governor of Illinois during the park's creation. Having served as Secretary of State for three terms beginning in 1916, Emmerson was elected Governor in 1928 and remained in office until 1933.\n "}, {"id": 160, "title": "Essex Park", "address": "\n 7687 S. Chicago Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Grand Crossing/South Shore community, Essex Park is 0.46 acres and it\u00a0is a pleasant location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors and nature. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing equipment.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this playlot in 1974 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1998, the park was named Essex, after a nearby 19th-century settlement. In 1855, real estate developer Paul Cornell (1822-1904) began buying property south of his substantial holdings in the village of Hyde Park. The area soon became known as Essex - after Essex, England - for the large number of British railroad laborers who lived and worked in the area.\n "}, {"id": 161, "title": "Euclid Park", "address": "\n 9800 S. Parnell Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the Washington Heights community area, Euclid Park totals 6.58 acres and features a multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers two baseball and softball fields, basketball and tennis courts, and a playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids after school program and seasonal sports,\u00a0 During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Euclid Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "In the 1920s, as the Washington Heights community area was experiencing a building boom, the Fernwood Park District decided to create a new park before it was too late to acquire vacant land. Serving a neighborhood that was once the old Village of Fernwood, Fernwood Park District had formed in 1908. In 1925, after canvassing local property owners on the most desirable park location, the district acquired a 5-and-a-half acre site. Although there were limited funds for improving the property, the local community helped out. As ballfields were being laid out in 1926, the Fernwood Community Association donated lumber for the back-stop. \u00a0In 1929, the park was expanded after Fernwood Park District acquired more land.\u00a0 An area real estate office structure was moved into the new park for use as a small recreation building.\n\nOriginally named Fernwood Commons, the site likely became known as Euclid Park to avoid confusion with nearby Fernwood and Fernwood Parkway Parks. Making reference to the ancient Greek mathematician who wrote the \"Elements,\" Euclid Park's name was derived from the surrounding subdivision, O'Dell's Addition to Euclid Park.\n\nIn 1933, the City of Chicago acquired land to expand the park.\u00a0 In 1934, Euclid Park became part of the Chicago Park District when all 22 of the city's independent park commissions were consolidated into a single agency. After improving the park's landscape and adding tennis courts, the newly-formed park district began offering glass blowing, model airplane-making, and other crafts classes in Euclid Park's small building.\u00a0 From 1935 until 1970, the Chicago Park District vacated land for park expansion.\u00a0 In 1960, the park was fully rehabilitated and its original structure was replaced with a new fieldhouse. In the late 1970s, the City of Chicago created the Euclid Park Connector by converting a stretch of South Wallace Avenue into parkland. This greenspace provides an attractive and safe connection between Medgar Evers Elementary School and Euclid Park.\n "}, {"id": 162, "title": "Eugenie Triangle Park", "address": "\n 1701 N. LaSalle St. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "This tiny passive recreation area is 0.06 acres and it is located in the Lincoln Park community\u00a0(at the intersection of Clark Street and La Salle Drive). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Lincoln Park Cultural Center.\n ", "history": "Tiny Eugenie Triangle Park lies in the southeastern corner of the Lincoln Park neighborhood, one of Chicago's oldest communities. Improvement of Green Bay Road (now Clark Street) in the 1830s led to the area's initial settlement. \u00a0The City of Chicago acquired land for the park in 1869 and 1871.\u00a0 After the Great Fire of 1871 decimated the neighborhood, it was quickly rebuilt with affordable frame workingmen's cottages. In 1877, the triangle created by the intersection of Clark, LaSalle, and Eugenie Streets was dedicated as public park land. By 1907, the city's Special Park Commission tended Eugenie Triangle's lawn, shrubs, and trees. In 1957, the city transferred the park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act, which has maintained it as greenspace ever since. Eugenie Triangle Park and the adjacent street take their names from Eugenie Wolf, daughter of architect and mechanical engineer Frederick William Wolf (---), who arrived in Chicago from Germany in 1867.\n "}, {"id": 163, "title": "Evergreen Park", "address": "\n 631 W. Belmont Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "This small 0.15 acre playground is located in the Lakeview neighborhood (on Belmont Avenue, \u00bd block west of Broadway Street). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at Gill Park.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago acquired this property in 1958 and transferred it to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957. Officially designated Evergreen Park in 1973, the site was one of several parks named for trees and plants at this time. The name \"evergreen\" is a general term used to describe trees that keep their foliage year round. Evergreens are commonly thought to be synonymous with conifers (cone-bearing trees). In fact, some conifers lose their leaves in winter, and many tropical trees, including palms, are evergreens. Among the most fabled of the evergreens are the coastal and Sierra redwoods. The coastal redwood, which grows in the fog belt along the Pacific Coast from Southern Oregon to Central California, can grow to a towering height of 360 feet. The slightly shorter Sierra redwood or giant sequoia can live to be 3,000 years old. The Earth's largest living thing is a giant Sequoia known as General Sherman. The massive California evergreen stands 295 feet tall and measures 110 feet in diameter.\n "}, {"id": 164, "title": "Fargo (James) Beach Park", "address": "\n 1300 W. Fargo Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Whether you are looking to relax on the sandy beach soaking in some rays or getting active our beaches are a great summer destination right in the middle of a bustling Chicago.\u00a0 Fargo Beach Park is 0.62 acres.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired Fargo Beach Park from 1974-1975 and it is one of 18 street-end beaches acquired by the Chicago Park District. By that time, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had been operating such small municipal beaches since at least 1921. Many of these beaches were located in the Rogers Park neighborhood, where a growing population of apartment dwellers lacked easy access to recreational opportunities. In contrast to the City's larger municipal beaches, the street-end beaches, though manned by lifeguards, had no changing rooms or other facilities.\n\nFargo Street and its namesake beach are named for James C. Fargo (1829--), an active north side real estate developer. Born in Watervale, New York, Fargo at 15 entered the business office of his brother, William G. Fargo, who ran an express-mail delivery service between Buffalo and Albany, New York, and another between Buffalo and Detroit, Michigan. James Fargo moved west to run the Wells & Co. office in Detroit in 1847. In 1855, Fargo came to the Chicago office of the reorganized firm, by then called the American Express Company. (In the meantime, William Fargo and his partner, Henry Wells, founded Wells, Fargo & Company to handle the banking and express needs of California Gold Rush entrepreneurs.) In 1867, Fargo returned to New York to become the general manager of American Express, but he never relinquished his Chicago ties.\n "}, {"id": 165, "title": "Fellger (Charles) Park", "address": "\n 2000 W. Belmont Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "This park is 0.77 acres and it is located in the North Center neighborhood (at the corner of Belmont and Damen avenues). With a soft-surface playground and shaded area to picnic; this quaint playground is very popular with the little ones. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Hamlin Park.\n ", "history": "Fellger Park was one of 42 new city playgrounds and playlots that were being built or opened to the public in 1950. Established by the Bureau of Parks and Recreation on Board of Education-owned property in Chicago's North Center neighborhood, the new park included a spray pool, a sand box, and playground apparatus. \u00a0A Trustee of Schools in Chicago acquired this property in 1883.\n\nIn March 1954, the City Council named the site in honor of Charles L. Fellger, a local civic leader who had worked tirelessly to create the park. By the time the Chicago Park District began managing Fellger Park in 1959, a basketball court had been added to the 3/4-acre site. In 1991, the Board of Education transferred full ownership to the Park District, which extensively rehabilitated the site, replacing the existing playground equipment and basketball court with a large soft surface playground.\n "}, {"id": 166, "title": "Fernwood Park", "address": "\n 10436 S. Wallace St. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the Washington Heights community, Fernwood Park totals 12.20\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium, indoor pool, fitness center, and multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers baseball and soccer fields, basketball and tennis courts, a spray pool and playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, multi-purpose rooms and fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, aquatics, senior club, quilting, Jazzercise, and youth and teens\u2019 swim teams. On the cultural side, Fernwood Park offers tiny tot & youth ballet and tap dance. During the summer, youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Fernwood Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "Fernwood Park takes its name from the surrounding area settled by Dutch farmers in the late 19th century. Prior to its annexation to Chicago in 1891, the Village of Fernwood created a pleasure drive between South 95th and 103rd Streets at South Eggleston Avenue. Known as Fernwood Parkway, for years this narrow strip was the neighborhood's only parkland. In the early 1900s, residents were impressed with the superb nearby parks created by the South Park Commission. Fernwood residents lobbied the commission to extend its boundaries into their neighborhood, but their effort failed. Finally, in 1908, the Fernwood and Washington Heights Improvement Association successfully petitioned the county to form the Fernwood Park District. The new park district acquired a 12-acre farm with orchards, barns, and outbuildings in 1908. John Algots, the City of Chicago's Superintendent of Parks, created a park plan, transforming the property into a landscape of lawn, trees, shrubs, and a wading pool. A house on the site was remodeled as a fieldhouse, and in 1912, a branch of the Chicago Public Library opened in one of its rooms. In 1919, the citizens of Fernwood donated a World War I veterans' monument. In 1926, the remaining park acreage was acquired and additional landscape improvements were made. In 1934, Fernwood Park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the city's 22 independent park commissions were consolidated into the Chicago Park District. A few years later, the newly-formed park district remodeled Fernwood Park's fieldhouse. Despite this, demands for additional interior space continued. In the mid-1980s, the original building was replaced with a modern fieldhouse, which received a natatorium and swimming pool addition in 1996.\n "}, {"id": 167, "title": "Fernwood Parkway Park", "address": "\n 9501 S. Eggleston Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Fernwood Parkway is located in the Washington Heights community. This park is 9.10 acres and it is a passive greenspace for all community members to enjoy and have fun.\n ", "history": "In 1887, the newly formed Village of Fernwood created a wide green parkway between South 99th and 103rd Streets. Trees and lawn were soon planted, and the village extended Fernwood Parkway north to South 95th Street the following year. Though the new parkway provided a lovely setting for new homes and businesses, the sleepy village remained sparsely settled with only a railroad depot, a post office, and a few corner grocery stores. In 1889, many towns and villages outside of Chicago, including the communities on all four sides of Fernwood, voted for annexation to the city. Fernwood residents, however, feared that becoming part Chicago would result in saloons opening and taxes increasing, and thus voted against annexation. Due to its refusal to be annexed, the Village of Fernwood became an island in the city, nicknamed \"the Monaco of Chicago.\" Although the small village retained its independence, it could not afford to pave its streets or build a school. Residents soon began reconsidering their decision. In 1891, the village was annexed to Chicago, and the city assumed management of Fernwood Parkway. Early in the 20th century, the city's Special Park Commission improved Fernwood Parkway by planting additional trees and shrubs, installing a wading lagoon, and enclosing the park with iron fencing. By the late 1920s, the lagoon had been filled, and the parkway was under the management of the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation. The bureau continued maintaining the site until 1957, when more than 250 city-owned properties were transferred to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. The district re-graded and re-planted Fernwood Parkway and installed new lighting in the 1960s and 1970s.\n "}, {"id": 168, "title": "Field (Eugene) Park", "address": "\n 5100 N. Ridgeway Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "Eugene Field serves its diverse Albany Park community with numerous athletic programs such as basketball, soccer, and floor hockey, as well as cardio spinning, and badminton. For the little ones, we have a variety of early childhood programs such as Moms, Pops, and Tots, Art & ABC\u2019s, Preschool and Tot Spot to name a few.\n\nWe invite you to visit the program page to view a complete listing of park programs.\n\nThe Chicago River runs through the 18.94 acre Eugene Field, providing a beautiful natural landscape for visitors. The park also features two baseball fields and outdoor basketball court,\u00a0four tennis courts, and a playground and spray pool. Eugene Field exposes community members to the arts with a number of cultural offerings through programs, performances, and partnerships. We offer various art classes including world art, printmaking, mixed media for youth and teens, and oil painting for adults.\n\nAlbany Park Theatre Project (APTP) is an Arts Partner in Residence at Eugene Field. Formed in 1997, APTP is an ensemble of local teenagers who create original theatre from real-life stories and experiences of this working-class Albany Park community. The group typically presents one full-scale production per year in Laura Wiley Theater at Eugene Field Park. For more information, visit http://www.aptpchicago.org/.\n\nA 45-foot by 10-foot exterior clay and ceramic tile mosaic installed on the exterior of the fieldhouse was designed and created by 15 local teens in the Gallery 37 in the Parks program, the artwork depicts scenes from poems by the late children\u2019s poet Eugene Field, such as \u201cWynken, Blyken and Nod\u201d and \u201cThe Bellflower Tree.\u201d The park also features an interior WPA mural dedicated to the arts.\n ", "history": "Eugene Field Park was created by the Albany Park District, an independent park board formed in 1917 to provide recreational facilities and enhance the Chicago River's banks in the rapidly-developing North Park and Albany Park communities. In 1923, the Albany Park District began purchasing nearly ten acres of riverside land in the center of its territory. Although land acquisition took a full decade, landscape architect Henry J. Stockman soon prepared a plan that took full advantage of the picturesque river bank site, and improvements began in 1925. In 1928, Clarence Hatzfeld, a member of the park board and architect of many northwest side recreational, commercial, and residential buildings, designed a Tudor Revival-style fieldhouse for the park. A stone grotto and fountain originally graced the front of the fieldhouse. Inside, a Federal Works Progress Administration artist created a mural entitled \"The Participation of Youth in the Realm of the Arts.\" \u00a0The Albany Park Commissioners acquired land for Field Park from 1923-1933.\u00a0 In 1934, the financial stresses of the Great Depression prompted consolidation of the city's 22 independent park boards, including the Albany Park District, into the unified Chicago Park District. By 1938, Eugene Field Park had a playground, a wading pool, tennis courts, and a lovely wooded picnic area. A decade later, the Park District expanded the site by more than two acres, improving the new property with baseball and football fields. In 1980, the Park District began leasing additional city land along the riverbank.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired more land through acquisition and vacating streets and land to expand Field Park from 1946-2015.\u00a0 Recent park improvements include a soft surface playground and ornamental fencing along Foster Avenue.\n\nThe park honors writer and poet Eugene Field (1850-1895), a nationally-renowned children's author. Among Field's best known works are \"Little Boy Blue,\" \"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod,\" and the \"Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat.\" Born in St. Louis, Field worked for a number of western and midwestern newspapers before being recruited by the Chicago Daily News to write a humor column in 1883. Field made his home on Chicago's north side.\n "}, {"id": 169, "title": "Filbert Park", "address": "\n 1822 W. Larchmont Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60613\n ", "description": "This small playground with sandbox is 0.11 acres and it is located in the North Center neighborhood (one block south of Irving Park Road, on the block west of Ravenswood Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Chase Park.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago acquired this property in 1958 and transferred it to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957.\u00a0 Officially designated Filbert Park in 1973, the site was one of several parks named for trees and plants at this time. Filberts are small trees or shrubs valued for their edible nuts. The filbert takes its name from Saint Philibert, a Benedictine who founded the Abbey of Jumieges in 684. The saint's August feast day fell at the height of the nut harvesting season, causing the Normans to name the nuts philberts in his honor. Strictly speaking, filberts are native to Europe, although Americans often refer to hazelnuts by that name.\n "}, {"id": 170, "title": "Flower (Lucy) Park", "address": "\n 2554 W. Moffat St. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Lucy Flower has long been considered the \u201chidden gem\u201d of West Bucktown. This lovely family friendly park is 0.37 acres and it has recently received a newly renovated playground from the Chicago Plays! playground renovation program. The playlot is surrounded by mature trees provides patrons plenty of summertime shade, and an intimate setting that makes it particularly attractive to families with small children.\n\nFeatures in the new playground include a soft play surface, modern playground equipment with age-appropriate features, two new benches, three picnic tables, and a small water feature. The designs also retain the existing sandbox and raised flower beds.\n\nOver the last several years, Lucy Flower received grant money to install raised beds and planter boxes, upgrade the water supply, and beautify the park with plants and flowers. The Lucy Flower Garden Club was formed, several \"community clean-up days\" were organized, and a free Children\u2019s Garden Club was held at the park every other Saturday during the summer months.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this property in 1973.\u00a0 Formerly known as People's Park, the site was renamed Lucy Flower Park in 2005 as part of an effort by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to recognize the contributions of Chicago women.\n\nLucy Louisa Flower (1837- 1921) was a social reformer who spearheaded many Chicago and Cook County initiatives to improve the lives of women and help children and eliminate juvenile delinquency. After briefly working in the US Patent Office in Washington D.C., Lucy moved to Madison, Wisconsin where she taught in the public schools. In 1873, some years after marrying a Madison attorney, James Monroe Flower, Lucy and her family moved to Chicago. She soon became active in charitable efforts. In 1880, Lucy helped to found the Illinois Training School for Nurses (later named the Cook County School of Nursing). At a time when County nursing positions were generally doled out through political patronage, the school sought to provide professional training for nurses, establish standards, and make nursing a respectable profession for women. Serving on the Chicago Board of Education from 1891 to 1894, Lucy Flower inspired progressive initiatives in the schools such as manual training and kindergartens, and providing bathing facilities for children who lived in the tenement districts. Lucy also championed compulsory school attendance, which became law in 1897. She led the movement to create a new type of court for children under the age of 16. The resulting bill, approved in 1899, established the Cook County Juvenile Court, the first of its kind in the world. Peoples Park is located approximately 2 \u00bd miles from Lucy Flower\u2019s home at 1920 W. Wellington Ave.\n "}, {"id": 171, "title": "Flying Squirrel Park", "address": "\n 6600 S. Woodlawn Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn community, Flying Squirrel Park is 0.34 acres and it is an idyllic location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors and nature. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, along with climbing apparatus.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this once-vacant lot for recreational use in 1969, and officially named it Flying Squirrel in 1998. \u00a0Years later in 2007, the City of Chicago transferred more property to the Chicago Park District for the park.\u00a0 Flying squirrels were among the many animals that inhabited Cook County when European settlers arrived in the early 19th century. They still can be seen here occasionally today. With loose folds of furred skin between their fore and hind legs, flying squirrels are able to glide through the air in a way that most mammals cannot.\n "}, {"id": 172, "title": "Forest Glen Park", "address": "\n 5069 W. Berwyn Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "This small playground 0.43 acres and it\u00a0is located in the Forest Glen\u00a0community (one block northeast of Elston Avenue and the Soo Line train tracks). In 1990, the Chicago Park District thoroughly rehabilitated the playground. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs offered at nearby Gladstone Park.\n ", "history": "Forest Glen Park takes its name from that of the surrounding community, largely composed of land once belonging to Billy Caldwell, the half-Indian, half-English chief of the Pottowattomis. Nicknamed \"The Sauganash,\" meaning \"The Englishman,\" Caldwell sold most of his land to farmers when his tribe was removed from the area in 1836. Though the territory was annexed to Chicago in 1899, it remained sparsely settled until the mid-1920s, when modern real estate development began. New Forest Glen residents soon sought to form their own park district to provide recreational facilities in their developing community, thereby enhancing the area and raising property values. After successfully preventing annexation by the neighboring Jefferson Park District, Forest Glen residents voted to create the independent Forest Glen Park District in 1929. The new Park District created just one park. Early in 1933, the Forest Glen Park District purchased an irregularly-shaped, one-third-acre property soon known as Forest Glen Park. The Park District immediately installed beautiful plantings and equipped the site with playground equipment. The district also commissioned architects to develop fieldhouse plans and secured a construction loan from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. In mid-1934, the Great Depression forced consolidation of the 22 independent park boards into the Chicago Park District. The newly-formed Chicago Park District acquired the park as part of its portfolio and decided not to pursue the fieldhouse plan, instead maintaining Forest Glen Park as a playground and greenspace.\n "}, {"id": 173, "title": "Fosco (Peter) Park", "address": "\n 1312 S. Racine Ave \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Located in the Near West Community, Fosco Park totals 6.05 acres and features an indoor Olympic-sized zero-depth swimming pool, a fitness center, meeting rooms and a kitchen. Outdoors, the park offers two playgrounds, including one with interactive water features.\n\nYoung park-goers come to Fosco Park to participate in the Junior Bears football and cheerleading programs, to learn to swim, or to enjoy after school activities like table games and\u00a0 arts & crafts. In the summer, youth attend the Park District's popular day camp or participate in one of the fitness partnerships offered at the park.\n\nAdults and seniors enjoy a range of activities at Fosco Park, including swimming in the pool or working out in the fitness center. Parents also gather at Fosco Park with their preschoolers for Bitty and Tiny Tot recreation programs.\n\nIn addition to programs, Fosco Park hosts fun special events for the whole family, including holiday activities, Movies in the Park screenings and other Night Out in the Parks events.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Near West Side, one of Chicago's most fashionable neighborhoods in the mid-nineteenth century, had experienced significant decline by the Depression Era. Soon after the founding of the Chicago Housing Authority in 1937, it began replacing deteriorated buildings in the neighborhood with new multi-unit public housing developments. Built between 1938 and 1961, the area's four large housing complexes, known jointly as ABLA, include: the Jane Addams Houses, Robert H. Brooks Homes and Extension, Loomis Courts, and Grace Abbott Homes.\n\nIn 1945, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation created Fosco Park on Board of Education property to serve the growing population. The two-acre park included a playing field and a small brick recreation building. The city named the park for Peter Fosco (1894--1975), president of the Laborer's International Union of North America and former Cook County Board commissioner.\n\nIn 1959, the Chicago Park District assumed management of Fosco Park. The following year, the Park District also began leasing an adjoining 1/2-acre housing authority property which included the Robert H. Brooks Homes Community Center. The Board of Education transferred ownership of its two acres to the Park District in 1991.\u00a0 In 2010 and 2015, the Chicago Housing Authority transferred property to the Chicago Park District for the park.\n\nAt the turn of the 21st century, Fosco Park and its surrounding neighborhood experienced significant changes. Some of the existing ABLA housing units were rehabilitated, while others were replaced with new low-rise residences. Fosco Park's small brick recreation building and the adjacent community center were razed and a new state-of-the-art facility was erected at 1312 S. Racine. The 80,000-square-foot Community Center opened in Summer 2005 and is jointly programmed by the Chicago Park District and Marcy Newberry Association.\n "}, {"id": 174, "title": "Foster (J. Frank) Park", "address": "\n 1440 W. 84th St. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Auburn Gresham community, Foster Park totals 23.15\u00a0acres and features a fitness center, swimming pool, two gymnasiums, a youth wellness center, woodshop, and multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers a soft surface playground, interactive water park, tennis courts, basketball courts, walking/running track, baseball diamonds, and softball diamonds. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose rooms and fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports,\u00a0sewing, walking club and woodcraft.\u00a0 During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\u00a0\n\nIn addition to programs, Foster Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday themed events.\n ", "history": "Foster Park honors J. Frank Foster (1852-1926), long-time South Park System superintendent and a leader in park management throughout the United States. Having begun as engineer in the 1870s, Foster became superintendent in 1891 when the South Park Commission was preparing for the World's Columbian Exposition to open in Jackson Park two years later. Besides assisting with the fair and transforming its site back into parkland, Foster is credited with developing the nation's first neighborhood parks. \n\nConceived as lovely green \"breathing spaces\" to provide recreation and social services in the city's most congested tenement districts, the first ten new south side parks opened in 1905. The revolutionary parks included the nation's first fieldhouses and offered public bathing; the city's earliest branch libraries; English lessons and other classes; inexpensive hot meals; health care; and a variety of recreational programs. Foster's concept was so successful that President Theodore Roosevelt declared it \"the most important civic achievement in any American city.\" Shortly after Foster's death in 1926, the South Park Commission decided to name one of its newest projects in his honor. Located in the growing Auburn Gresham community, the site was envisioned as an impressive 30-acre park with many of the features originated by Foster.\u00a0 Alleys and streets were vacated in 1890 for the park.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the commissioners had to make 50 separate land purchases between 1921-1932, and the park developed very slowly. By the early 1930s, Foster Park consisted only of an athletic field, tennis courts, and a comfort station. In 1934, the Great Depression necessitated the consolidation of the city's 22 individual park commissions. The newly-formed Chicago Park District acquired the park as part of its portfolio and improved Foster Park's landscape and constructed a small recreation building there. Over the years, demands for additional indoor facilities continued. In 1950 the park district constructed an attractive Art Moderne-style fieldhouse, which was designed by the prominent Chicago architectural firm Shaw, Metz & Dolio.\n "}, {"id": 175, "title": "Franklin (Benjamin) Park", "address": "\n 4320 W. 15th St. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "Located in the North Lawndale community, Franklin Park totals 9.31 acres and features a fieldhouse with a kitchen, gymnasium and meeting rooms. Outside, the park features a swimming pool, refurbished basketball courts with the Nike logo, an athletic field for soccer and football, playgrounds and an interactive water spray feature.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental, including the basketball courts.\n\nPark-goers come to Franklin Park to play basketball, baseball and swim at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Franklin Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as gym showcases, holiday parties and Back to School community gatherings.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The West Park Commissioners acquired property in 1911 and 1915 for this park.\u00a0 In 1914, renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen presented a plan for Franklin Park that was considered a \"radical change\" from earlier neighborhood parks. An innovative system of south side parks had inspired the West Park Commission to begin creating its own neighborhood parks in 1907. The small sites and numerous space requirements limited Jensen's ability to incorporate naturalistic elements.\n\nAfter several years of experimentation, Jensen created Franklin Park, evocative of the native Illinois landscape, though only 8.5 acres in size. Minimizing the amount of space devoted to indoor facilities, Jensen included playing fields enclosed by native plantings, a bird garden, and a shady \"old folks corner.\" Irregularly-shaped pools with rocky ledges emulated country swimming holes. In the \"spirit of Indian lore,\" the park also had an area for a campfire on the player's green, an elevated \"clearing\" used for outdoor dramatics and small gatherings.\n\nDespite Jensen's intention to devote the park primarily to outdoor activities, there were increasing demands for additional indoor facilities. In 1926, the park's original fieldhouse was expanded to meet these needs, but demand continued to grow.\u00a0 When the 22 park districts were consolidated in 1934 to form the Chicago Park District, the park became part of the District\u2019s portfolio.\u00a0 Finally, in 1972, the Chicago Park District replaced the original building with a larger, modern fieldhouse. In addition, changing recreational needs unfortunately led to the demise of Franklin Park's historic landscape elements.\n\nThe park honors inventor, author, and American patriot, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). Having begun his career as a printer, Franklin became editor and owner of the Philadelphia Gazette. After inventing the Franklin stove in 1744, he conducted the earliest studies identifying lightning as electricity, including the famous kite-flying experiment. As a member of the Continental Congress, Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence. Franklin served as Ambassador to France, and later as a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.\n "}, {"id": 176, "title": "Fuller (Melville) Park", "address": "\n 331 W. 45th St \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Fuller Park is located in Fuller Park community. The park totals 11.41 acres and features a fieldhouse with a kitchen, a fitness center, two gymnasiums, an auditorium and meeting rooms.\n\nOutside, the park features a swimming pool, a refurbished patio and fountain area, basketball courts, an athletic field for soccer and football, a baseball field, tennis courts, a playground and an interactive water spray feature.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental, including the fountain area, which is popular for weddings.\n\nPark-goers come to Fuller Park to enjoy basketball, baseball and swimming. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Fuller Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, including Black History Month celebrations, gym showcases and holiday events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Planned in 1903 as part of the South Park Commission's revolutionary neighborhood park system, Fuller Park did not open to the public until 1911. The first ten south side neighborhood parks: Armour, Cornell, Davis, Russell, and Mark White Squares, and Bessemer, Ogden, Sherman, Hamilton, and Palmer Parks, were completed in 1905. Nationally influential, they provided \"breathing spaces\" as well as social and recreational services to their congested neighborhoods.\n\nCommunity protests about the proposed location for Fuller Park delayed its development until a nearby site was selected in 1908. \u00a0The South Park Commissioners acquired property for the park from 1905-1908.\u00a0 The new site had some difficult conditions; however, landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers were able to make these problems into assets. For instance, unsightly raised train tracks were hidden by an attractive grandstand.\u00a0 The South Park Commissioners had alleys and streets vacated in 1910 to expand the park.\u00a0 The park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the 22 park districts were consolidated in 1934.\n\nFuller Park's delay gave architect Edward H. Bennett of D. H. Burnham and Co. an opportunity to refine design concepts. Unlike Bennett's earlier fieldhouses, the first of the building-type nationally, Fuller Park's facility consisted of a symmetrical complex of buildings flanking a central outdoor children's courtyard. Commissioner Judge John Barton Payne donated funds for murals in the fieldhouse assembly hall. Painted by renowned muralist John Warner Norton, the artworks feature scenes of Spanish and French Explorers.\u00a0\n\nFuller Park honors Melville W. Fuller (1833-1910), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1888 until 1910. A leader of the Chicago Bar, Fuller served as counsel for the City of Chicago in riparian rights disputes related to the development of parkland on the lakefront. Fuller served as a South Park Commissioner from 1882 until 1887.\n "}, {"id": 177, "title": "Gage (George) Park", "address": "\n 2411 W. 55th St. \n Chicago, IL 60632\n ", "description": "Located in the Gage Park community, Gage Park totals 25.14 acres and features two gymnasiums, an auditorium, fitness center, and multi-purpose clubrooms.A green feature of the park includes a Harvest Garden. Outside, the park offers five ball diamonds, a track, hand ball/ basketball/ and tennis courts, playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our auditorium, gymnasiums, and multi-purpose clubrooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, Special Recreation, American Sign Language,\u00a0Senior Club and seasonal sports. During the summer, youth can participate in the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Gage Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "When prominent businessman, attorney, and South Park Commissioner George W. Gage (--1875) died in office in 1875, his fellow board members decided to name a newly-developing park in his honor. \u00a0The South Park Commissioners expanded the park from 1874-1930 through land acquisition and vacating streets and alleys.\u00a0 In 1874, the commission had begun acquiring land for an elegant green square at the intersection of Western Avenue and what is now known as Garfield Boulevard. This property occupied a prominent location at the turning-point of the South Park Commission's boulevard system. Despite this, little had been done to complete Gage Park by the late 1890s. Frustrated by the park's unfinished condition, surrounding residents repeatedly asked for improvements. Finally, in 1903, the commission added ball fields, tennis courts, a wading pool, and a beautiful sunken garden with a formal reflecting pool and colonnade. In 1918, several small land purchases were made to extend the park's southern boundary. The following year, the commission constructed a swimming pool, separate men's and women's outdoor gymnasiums, and a children's playground in this area. Although in 1905 the South Park Commission had pioneered the development of the nation's earliest fieldhouses, by the 1920s, Gage Park still did not have one. After receiving petitions from residents, the commissioners finally agreed to build a fieldhouse in Gage Park in 1926. The classical structure, designed by in-house architects, was constructed two years later, and jointly dedicated by the South Park Commissioners and the Gage Park Citizens Improvement Club. Within a few years, two murals adorned the building's interior. One of them, located in an office, portrays folkway traditions of local immigrants. The auditorium mural, painted by acclaimed artist Tom Lea in 1931, depicts explorers and pioneers looking westward as a heavenly figure in the clouds points the way.\u00a0 The park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the 22 park districts were consolidated in 1934.\n "}, {"id": 178, "title": "Galewood Park", "address": "\n 5729 W. Bloomingdale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60639\n ", "description": "Located in the Austin\u00a0community (two blocks north of North Avenue, mid-way between Central and Austin Avenues), Galewood Park\u2019s small fieldhouse sits on 2.30 acres. Outdoors, the park offers a quarter-mile walking path, two softball fields, a combination football-soccer field, a repaved picnic or party area, two basketball courts, a volleyball court, plus a soft-surface playground with a spray feature.\n\nGalewood Park provides a Game Room and various dance classes for all ages. Recreation also includes Teen Club, Senior Citizens Club, adult kickboxing and step aerobics classes. The majority of programs at Galewood Park are geared to youth (ages 6-12), such as tumbling, Sports Club, Kids\u2019 Fitness, Homework Time, and Spring Drop-in Camp.\n\nIn the summer, youth and young teens can participate in Day Camp, Teen Leadership Camp, Dance Camp, as well as basketball instruction/league.\n\nAnd, of course, Galewood Park opens its door to the community for its annual Halloween party.\n\nWe invite you to stop by Galewood Park and check out the offerings!\n ", "history": "Galewood Park serves the neighborhood known for many years by that name. The community was named for Abram Gale (1795-1889), whose land was subdivided in 1870 to form the suburb of Galewood. Having arrived from New York City in 1835, Gale purchased 320 acres in the Town of Jefferson in 1837, and began to build a house there. \"I brought all my household goods along,\" he said, \"and among them was a Chickering piano, the second ever made. It was the first and only one in the village for a good many years, and it was a great card for me. The Indians would walk around the house mysteriously whenever my daughter played on it, staring in wonderment at the strange sounds.\" Gale also said that when he arrived he was installed at once as a member of the fire company. He went on to say \"Every man was armed with two buckets, and we would all stand in a line with one end of the line at the lake and the other at the fire, and we would pass the buckets along.\" When one of his neighbors tried to take his land, Gale dug a ditch all around his claim. Gale's heavily-wooded property proved hard to plow. He eventually quit farming, and the hamlet of Galewood emerged there. The park's creation dates to the 1920s, when the North Austin Manor Neighborhood Club purchased the property and began developing a playground and ball fields there. In 1925, the neighborhood club petitioned the Northwest Park District, one of 22 park commissions later consolidated into the Chicago Park District, to take over the site. \u00a0From 1928-1929, the Northwest Park District purchased the parkland, along with adjoining property to expand the park. \u00a0The park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the 22 park districts were consolidated in 1934.\u00a0 After the Chicago Park District took over, it installed recreational facilities including an ice-skating rink and a small fieldhouse.\u00a0 Streets and alleys were vacated in 1935 to expand the park.\n "}, {"id": 179, "title": "Garfield (James) Park", "address": "\n 100 N. Central Park Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "Located in the East Garfield Park Community, Garfield Park totals 172.57 acres and features the historic Golden Dome field house. The field house holds a gymnasium, auditorium, dance studio, fitness center, boxing center, grand ballroom and meeting rooms.\n\nOutside, the park offers a swimming pool, baseball fields, athletic fields for football or soccer, a fishing lagoon, tennis courts, floral gardens and playgrounds that were recently renovated as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program. The park also offers an artifical turf where children can play in Owls LaCrosse teams and other park district and community programs. Garfield Park sits adjacent to the Garfield Park Conservatory, a popular destination for special events, educational field trips and flower shows.\n\nMany of the spaces in Garfield Park are available for rental, including the grand ball room, which is popular for wedding receptions.\n\nPark-goers come to Garfield Park to enjoy baseball, basketball or tennis. On the cultural side, Garfield Park offers dance, music and arts classes with partnership organizations including the Najwa Dance Troupe and the Chicago West Music Center. Afterschool programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Garfield Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, including Movies in the Park, Black History festivals, Halloween Haunted Houses, concerts and other Night Out in the Parks events.\n ", "history": "In 1869, the Illinois state legislature established the West Park Commission, which was responsible for three large parks and interlinking boulevards. \u00a0This park was first named Central Park in accordance with a resolution adopted by the West Park Commission in 1869.\u00a0 The West Park Commissioners acquired property for the park from 1870-1932.\u00a0 This was the park name until 1881, when the name was changed to \u201cGarfield Park\u201d to honor President James A. Garfield (1831- 1881) after his assassination in 1881. \u00a0Plans for Garfield, Humboldt, and Douglas Parks had been completed ten years earlier, by William Le Baron Jenney.\u00a0 \n\nJenney is best known today as the \u201cfather of the skyscraper.\u201d\u00a0 His ambitious plans for these three large parks could not be realized all at once, Garfield Park was the earliest developed of these three great original West Side parks, it was developed in stages, beginning with the east lagoon.\u00a0 The lagoons and a unique suspension bridge designed by Jenney remain today.\u00a0 Garfield Park remains the best example of Jenney\u2019s landscape efforts in Chicago.\u00a0 Some notable components of the park were the first Refectory (Casino or Pavilion) Building that was completed and opened to the public in 1884. This was the first building of its kind in a park. In 1893, a Pagoda Building was erected, and the first stone bridge was constructed over the lagoon connection.\u00a0 In 1906, construction started for replacements for these buildings.\u00a0 A Lunch Room in the new Refectory Building opened to the public in 1908.\u00a0 Other recreational facilities were also constructed, roque courts, an eight hole golf course, and a bandstand that still exists today.\u00a0 \n\nJens Jensen, a Danish immigrant who began working as a laborer for the West Park System in the 1880\u2019s, and after a decade, worked his way up to the position of Superintendent of Humboldt Park. At that time, the West Park System was entrenched in political graft. In 1900, the commissioners fired Jensen because of his efforts to fight the corruption. Five years later, during major political reforms, new commissioners appointed him General Superintendent and Chief Landscape Architect. Deteriorating and unfinished sections of the parks allowed Jensen to experiment with his evolving Prairie style. For instance, when he took over, each of the three parks had small, poorly maintained conservatories. Rather than repairing these structures, which each displayed similar collections, Jensen decided to replace them with a single centralized facility. Designed in conjunction with an engineering firm, Hitchings and Company, Jensen conceived the Garfield Park Conservatory as a work of landscape gardening under glass. This Conservatory replaced the one that was built in 1887.\u00a0 Jensen\u2019s Conservatory was considered revolutionary when it opened to the public in 1908, the form of the building emulated a \"great Midwestern haystack,\" while inside the rooms were wonderful compositions of water, rock, and plants.\u00a0 The first midwinter Flower Show in the City was held in December 1909 at the new Conservatory. \n\nIn 1928, the West Park Commission constructed the \"Gold Dome Building\" in Garfield Park to provide a new administrative headquarters for the West Park Commission. Architects, Michaelsen and Rognstad, designed the structure.\u00a0 This firm designed other notable park buildings including the Humboldt, Douglas, and LaFolette Park Fieldhouses. With the Park Consolidation Act in 1934, Garfield Park became part of the Chicago Park District, when the City's 22 independent park commissions merged into a single citywide agency. At that time, due to the Park District consolidation the administrative offices were no longer needed and the \"Gold Dome\" building became Garfield Park's fieldhouse.\u00a0 \n "}, {"id": 180, "title": "Garfield Park Community Plaza on Madison Street", "address": "\n 4008 W. Madison Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "Garfield Park Community Plaza on Madison Street (4008 W. Madison)\n\nThe Garfield Park Community Plaza on Madison Street celebrated a community opening, adding yet another fun, recreation option for East and West Garfield Park youth and teens. Open Tuesday through Saturdays 11:00am-7:00pm with roller skating, and outdoor movies each Friday through the end of August 2021.\n\nThe plaza was funded with money from the state\u2019s Cannabis Regulation Fund. It has tables beneath a white tent on one side of the rink and more under green and orange umbrellas on the other side. Another rest area across from the rink includes benches and logs for sitting.\n\nThe City of Chicago has plans to erect a permanent structure by next summer, with construction starting in the fall. The temporary plaza will remain open until fall.\u00a0 Admission to the plaza and rink is free.\n\nThe free programming includes; roller skating, outdoor movies, concerts, and rolling recreation mobile recreation vans.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 181, "title": "Garibaldi (Giuseppi) Park", "address": "\n 1520 W. Polk St. \n Chicago, IL 60607\n ", "description": "Garibaldi Playground Park is located in the\u00a0Near West\u00a0community. The park totals 2.55 acres and features a playground with a seating area, shaded green space and the Giuseppi Garibaldi Monument, which dates back to 1901. The playground was renovated in 2015 as part of the Chicago Plays! program. Garibaldi is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Sheridan\u00a0Park for recreation in the gym, swimming in the indoor pool, classes in the Fitness Center or baseball on the artificial turf.\n ", "history": "In 1901, the Special Park Commission began transforming city-owned land into a municipal playground in the congested Little Italy neighborhood. The park was originally named in honor of John McClaren (1836 -1916), a prominent Chicago businessman who served on the Board of Education.\n\nThe site included a small fieldhouse, playground equipment, a basketball court, and a playing field that was flooded in winter for ice skating. By 1905, nearly 180,000 people used the park annually, and McClaren Playground teams competed in baseball, football, and basketball.\n\nIn 1957, the City transferred McClaren Playground to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. Within a few years, the Park District demolished the fieldhouse, upgraded the playground, and re-planted the landscape.\n\nIn 1979, the park was renamed in honor of Giuseppi Garibaldi (1807-1882), the Italian general known for the conquest of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1860. (The City had recently vacated a nearby street named for Garibaldi.)\n\nNeighborhood residents, the park district, and the city's Department of Urban Renewal together arranged to move the statue of Garibaldi, which had been unveiled in Lincoln Park in 1901, to the recently-renamed Garibaldi Park. The monument was installed at its new location in 1982.\u00a0 In 1996, the City transferred more property to the Chicago Park District expanding the park.\n "}, {"id": 182, "title": "Gately (James) Park", "address": "\n 10201 S. Cottage Grove \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the Pullman community ( inside the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track and Field Center), Gately Park totals 27.78 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers a playground, softball/baseball diamonds, basketball courts. This park is adjacent to Gately Stadium, a CPS facility.\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, cheerleading, Teen Club, Sports Club. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Sports Camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Gately Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n\nNew Track & Field Facility \nThe Dr. Conrad Worrill Track and Field Center\u00a0is now open in Gately Park:\u00a0\u00a0Learn more about this world-class facility:\u00a0 www.gatelytrackandfield.com\nSee the construction of this facility through the following timelapse video link:\n\n\n\nGately Park Indoor Track & Field Facility Construction Video\u00a0from victor powell on Vimeo.\n ", "history": "In the years during and after World War II, the population of Gately Park's Pullman neighborhood increased by more than one third. Established in 1947 on former Pullman Car Company land, Gately Park was part of a ten-year Chicago Park District plan to increase recreational opportunities in under-served Chicago neighborhoods. Park improvements began in 1950 and included a grandstand, locker rooms, and an office building. High school football teams from both the Chicago Public Schools and the Catholic League quickly put the new facilities to use. In 1953, the park was named for James H. Gately (1883-1972), a longtime businessman in the nearby Roseland community, and then President of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners. (Gately himself voted against the name change, which broke with tradition by naming the park for a living person.) Appointed Commissioner in 1945, Gately was elected President of the Board in 1946, serving in that position until 1967. During his long tenure, the park district sold $79 million in park improvement bonds, increased the total number of parks from 135 to 430, and expanded overall park acreage to 6,800 acres. In 1959, Gately oversaw the transfer of more than 250 city-owned parks to the Chicago Park District.\n "}, {"id": 183, "title": "Gill (Joseph) Park", "address": "\n 825 W. Sheridan Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60613\n ", "description": "Located in the Lakeview community (two blocks south of Irving Park Road, on Sheridan Road slightly west of where Clarendon Avenue and Broadway Street join together), Gill Park sits on 2.41 acres. The fieldhouse is air conditioned and contains a fitness center, indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, assembly hall (with portable stage), kitchen, and several clubrooms for rental. Outside, the park is equipped with a t-ball field and a playground.\n\nGill Park is one of the sites for the popular Park Kids after school program for youth\u2014with special programming available on school holidays. Teens can make new friends in Teen Club, as tots can do in Play Group. On the cultural side, the park offers arts & crafts, drawing, and painting.\n\nWith Gill Park\u2019s focus on fitness, there\u2019s a large variety of aquatics programs\u2014plus Pilates, yoga, walking club, and gymnastics. Sports include basketball, dodgeball, flag- and NERF-football, kickball, seasonal sports, soccer, softball,and volleyball. During the summer, there\u2019s day camp, sports camp\u2014plus baseball instruction/league.\n ", "history": "Gill Park honors Lake View resident Joseph L. Gill (1886--1972), a Chicago Park District Commissioner, and local Democratic party leader. Gill served as 46th Ward Democratic Committeeman for more than 60 years. He was chairman of the Democratic County Central Committee from 1950 to 1953, and is said to have engineered Richard J. Daley's first nomination for mayor in 1955. Gill served the public in various capacities, including as controller of the Forest Preserve District beginning in 1919, as Illinois state representative from 1926 to 1930, and as clerk of the Municipal Court for most of the subsequent three decades. In 1960, Mayor Daley appointed Gill to the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners. Gill was serving as Park District vice president at the time of his death in 1972. Two years before, the Park District had decided to establish a recreational facility on West Sheridan Road in the densely-populated Lake View neighborhood.\u00a0 In 1970, the Chicago Park District acquired the site with the help of funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and plans had been developed for a multi-story fieldhouse with a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and an assembly hall. Neighbors refer to the impressive structure as the \"high-rise fieldhouse.\" The Park District installed a new soft surface playground at Gill Park in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 184, "title": "Ginkgo Park", "address": "\n 1448 S. Trumbull Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "This small playground totals 0.17 acres and it is located in the North Lawndale Community.\u00a0It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Franklin Park for recreation in the gym and fun in the outdoor pool.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this once-vacant lot in 1969, with the help of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Officially designated Gingko Park in 1974, the playlot was one of a number of parks named for trees and plants at this time.\n\nThe gingko is a deciduous tree with unusual broad, fan-shaped, heavily-veined leaves that turn from pale green to bright yellow in the fall. Often called a living fossil, the gingko is the sole survivor of a primeval order of plants that lived during the time of the dinosaurs. Buddhist monks in ancient China apparently preserved the tree by cultivating it in their monastery gardens. Interestingly, the ancient tree has proved ideal for modern urban environments, tolerating the effects of pollution and poor-quality soil with relative ease.\n "}, {"id": 185, "title": "Gladstone (William) Park", "address": "\n 5421 N. Menard Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "Tucked away in the Gladstone\u00a0community (between Milwaukee Avenue & Northwest Highway and between Central & Austin Avenues) Gladstone Park covers 1.74 acres of land.The park offers a small fieldhouse, a t-ball field and junior soccer field, a new ADA accessible soft-surface playground and spray pool, as well as a small outdoor basketball court.\n\nGladstone Park is bursting with programs for children! The park offers pre-school, playschool activities, tumbling, mom\u2019s pop\u2019s & tot\u2019s (which involves parent participation), arts & crafts, ballet classes, and seasonal sport activities.\n ", "history": "Gladstone Park is one of six neighborhood parks created by the Jefferson Park District. Established in 1920, the Jefferson Park District was one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. In 1923, the Gladstone Park Community Club approached the Jefferson Park District about locating a park in the former Gladstone Park subdivision, named for British Prime Minister William Gladstone (1809-1898). The Jefferson Park District took action in 1924 and 1925, purchasing parkland and naming it after the community group. In 1930, the landscaped park gained a small fieldhouse designed by Clarence Hatzfeld, architect of many Chicago park buildings, including the nearby Jefferson Park fieldhouse.\n "}, {"id": 186, "title": "Gladys (Gunderson) Park", "address": "\n 3301 W. Gladys Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "This small playground totals 0.42 acres and it is located in the East Garfield Park Community. It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Garfield Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Gladys Park is one of many small parks created by the Bureau of Parks and Recreation to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. The City acquired this .29-acre property along West Gladys Avenue in the East Garfield Park neighborhood in 1947. The Bureau developed the site as a playlot shortly thereafter, transferring it to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 In 2012, the Chicago Park District acquired land from the City of Chicago to expand the park.\n\nThe park takes its name from the adjacent street. Gladys Avenue is named for Gladys Gunderson, a member of the Norwegian-American family that formed a successful 19th-century Chicago real estate firm, S.T. Gunderson & Sons. The family named another city street, Langley Avenue, for a second relative, Esther Gunderson Langley. Langley Park also bears her name.\n "}, {"id": 187, "title": "Goldberg (Louis) Park", "address": "\n 7043 N. Glenwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "This small playground totals 0.24 acres and it is located in the Rogers Park\u00a0community (one long block west of Sheridan Road, two blocks south of Touhy Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at Pottawatomie Park.\n ", "history": "In 1972, the Chicago Park District purchased this property using funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The newly-developed playlot was briefly known as Quince Park. In late 1975, the Park District officially redesignated the site Goldberg Park, in honor of Louis Goldberg. Goldberg was an author, naturalist, horticulturist, conservationist, and union leader.\n "}, {"id": 188, "title": "Golden Gate Park", "address": "\n 13000 S. Eberhart Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60627\n ", "description": "Located in the Riverdale community, Golden Gate Park is 6.41 acres and features baseball fields, basketball fields, and water spray facilities.\n ", "history": "Golden Gate Park takes its name from the neighboring subdivision. Although its name conjures images of the large San Francisco Park, Chicago's Golden Gate Park comprises only five acres. The Chicago Park District began planning the park in 1965. The Park District aimed to reserve recreational space as real estate development progressed in the surrounding Rosedale community.\u00a0 In 1966, the Park District purchased land for the park with the help of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Park improvements began in 1969.\n "}, {"id": 189, "title": "Gompers (Samuel) Park", "address": "\n 4222 W. Foster Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "Located at the corner of Foster and Pulaski Avenues in the North Park community, Gompers Park covers 42.17\u00a0acres. The park straddles the Chicago River and features rehabilitated wetlands and a lagoon with pier access that lends itself to many environmental activities.\n\nThe park hosts a Uban Camp and Under Illinois Sky, Family Campout, River Rescue Clean-up, as well as stewardship and gardening opportunities.\n\nIn addition to an outdoor pool, Gompers Park has a playground, three junior baseball fields, one football field,\u00a0one basketball courts, five tennis courts, a roller hockey-skating area, and a spray pool. Inside the\u00a0fieldhouse are several activity rooms, a gymnasium, and an auditorium with a stage.\n\nGompers Park's preschool programs include ballet, arts& crafts, preschool activities, tiny tot tumbling, seasonal sports--as well as Tots Spot (for 12 to 36-month-olds).\n\nYouth participate in sports such as basketball, volleyball, floor hockey, and soccer. Other popular activities include Kids Nite Out, tap, ballet, Park Kids after school program and gymnastics.\n\nTeens enjoy basketball and gymnastics - as well as getting involved with the new\u00a0park teen club.\n\nSeniors can participate in conditioning and stretching classes.\n ", "history": "Gompers Park was created by the Albany Park District, one of 22 independent park districts consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. In 1926, not long after the Albany Park District identified nearly 40 acres of wooded farmland along the North Branch of the Chicago River, landscape architect Henry J. Stockman prepared a plan to transform the property into parkland. Improvements began almost as soon as initial land purchases were completed in 1927.\u00a0 Albany Park District acquired more land for the park in 1928 and in 1931.\u00a0 By 1932, in addition to wooded areas and a natural stream dammed to create lagoons, the property had basketball courts, archery ranges, football fields, and playgrounds. Clarence Hatzfeld, a Chicago architect and member of the Albany Park board, designed the park's Tudor Revival-style fieldhouse. In 1934, financial pressures created by the Great Depression prompted formation of the Chicago Park District and the park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio. Using federal funding through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Park District soon began rehabilitating the southern portion of the park, constructing tennis courts, a footbridge over the river, a dam and spillway for the lower lagoon. After adding a wading pool in 1946, the park district built a full-sized swimming pool 30 years later.\u00a0 In 1950, the Chicago Park District acquired land to expand the park.\u00a0 In 1979, the Chicago Park District gave some of the park land to the City of Chicago.\u00a0 In the mid-1990s, with tremendous community support, the Park District began restoring the wetlands along the south bank of the river according to plans prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In its earliest days, Gompers Park was briefly known as Matson Park, for Samuel Matson, Superintendent of the Albany Park District. Albany Park District President Henry A. Schwartz, an official of the shoemakers' union, soon convinced the park board that it was inappropriate to name the park for a living person.\n\nIn 1929, the District renamed the site in honor of Samuel Gompers (1850-1924), long-time president of the American Federation of Labor. Elected president of his local cigar makers' union in 1875, Gompers progressed quickly through the ranks, becoming the AFL's first president in 1886. During his 40-year tenure, AFL membership grew from 150,000 to 2,900,000, and the average wage for skilled labor increased by 250%. \n "}, {"id": 190, "title": "Gooseberry Park", "address": "\n 4648 N. Malden St. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "This small playground covers 0.20\u00a0acres and it is located in the Uptown neighborhood (1 \u00bd blocks south of Lawrence Avenue and three blocks east of Clark Street).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Chase Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this once-vacant lot in 1971, with the help of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Officially designated Gooseberry Park in 1974, the playground was one of a number of parks named for trees and plants at this time. The edible gooseberry has been widely celebrated in festival and song. Gooseberry fairs and shows were common entertainments in Elizabethan England. Since at least 1700, \"gooseberry fool\" has been a favorite British dessert. This fruit trifle is made from crushed stewed or scalded gooseberries mixed with milk, cream, or custard.\n "}, {"id": 191, "title": "Goudy (William) Square Park", "address": "\n 1249 N. Astor St. \n Chicago, IL 60610\n ", "description": "Goudy Square Playground\u00a0Park\u00a0is located in the\u00a0Near North\u00a0community. The 0.61 acre park features a soft surface\u00a0playground that was renovated in Fall 2014 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program. It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Seward Park for recreation.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Goudy Square, originally known as Union Square (and later Astor Square), came into the city's possession in 1847, when real estate developer H.O. Stone dedicated the site as parkland. Nearly fifty years later, in 1891, the City Council placed the park under the control of the Lincoln Park Board of Commissioners, but the board did not obtain actual title from the City of Chicago until 1926.\n\nThe Chicago Park District took jurisdiction in 1934, with the consolidation of the city's 22 independent park commissions. Though the park had never been formally renamed, it was by this time known as Goudy Park, in honor of William C. Goudy (1824-1893). Goudy, a highly-respected attorney, acted as counsel to the Lincoln Park Board and served as its president between 1887 and 1893.\n\nIn 1877, Goudy went before the U.S. Supreme Court to argue the watershed Munn v. Illinois case, which established the authority of states to limit rates charged by private industries acting in the public interest. In 1991, the Chicago Park District created a custom-designed playground for Goudy Square Park. It includes ornamental metal fencing, period light fixtures, brick paths, and a limestone and bronze drinking fountain with a turtle, frog and fish produced by Walter Arnold.\n "}, {"id": 192, "title": "Grand Crossing Park", "address": "\n 7655 S. Ingleside Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Greater Grand Crossing community, Grand Crossing Park totals 18.77\u00a0acres and features two gymnasiums, fitness center, woodshop and multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers baseball and football fields, basketball and tennis courts, pool, spray pool and playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasiums, fields, and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids afterschool program, seasonal sports, senior club, Cubs Care, Inner City Sports, and officiating classes. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Grand Crossing Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire and holiday themed-events.\n ", "history": "Grand Crossing Park and its surrounding community take their name from a historic train wreck, which occurred less than a mile away from the site of the park. In the early 1850s, a number of railroad lines linking southern states to downtown Chicago began extending through the neighborhood. In 1853, a terrible collision between Illinois Central and Michigan Southern Railroad trains resulted in 18 deaths and 40 injuries. Public officials responded by forcing all trains to come to a complete stop at 75th Street and South Chicago Avenue, the site of the accident. Although signal lights were installed, the intersection remained dangerous until the tracks were finally elevated in 1912. Because of the extensive railroad service, the area developed early. By the 1880s, Greater Grand Crossing included numerous factories and workers' homes. The neighborhood was annexed to Chicago in 1889. The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in nearby Jackson Park spurred further growth. By 1907, the South Park Commission began efforts to create a park for the expanding population. Bolstered by the recent success of its ten revolutionary parks, the South Park Commissioners wanted to provide similar facilities for Grand Crossing, including a playground, a playing field, wading and swimming pools, and a fieldhouse. After acquiring 17 acres of land between 1908 and 1910, the South Park Commission hired the Olmsted Brothers, landscape designers of the previous neighborhood parks, to lay out Grand Crossing and three other new parks. In-house South Park Commission designers modified the Olmsteds' proposals to create a single plan for both Grand Crossing and Trumbull Parks. The plans differed only in that their orientation was reversed. The two parks also have identical classically designed fieldhouses, constructed in 1914.\u00a0 Since 1934, Grand Crossing Park has been part of the Chicago Park District when the 22 park districts consolidated.\u00a0 In 2010, streets and alleys were vacated for park expansion.\n "}, {"id": 193, "title": "Grand Park", "address": "\n 3529 W. Grand Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "Grand Playground\u00a0Park is located in the\u00a0Humboldt Park community. The 0.39 acre park\u00a0features a playground that was renovated in Fall 2014 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out nearby\u00a0Kedvale Park for recreation programs or to enjoy a game of soccer on the artificial turf.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1926, the Chicago City Council acquired a small plot of land along West Grand Avenue in the growing Humboldt Park community. Initially used as a ward yard, the property was later transferred to the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation.\n\nBy 1950, the bureau had improved the site with a spray pool, a sand box, and playground equipment. Following its practice of the time, the bureau named the playlot for the adjacent street, Grand Avenue.\n\nOriginally known as Whisky Point Road, the street's more elegant name may have been borrowed from Colonel Thomas Jefferson Vance Owens (1801-1835), an early Chicago Indian Agent. Owens, elected the first president of the Town of Chicago in 1833, once proclaimed Chicago \"a grand place to live.\"\n\nIn 1957, the City transferred Grand Park, along with more than 250 other properties to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. Several years later, the Park District removed the spray pool and rehabilitated the park site. Further improvements came in 1991, with the installation of a new soft surface playground.\n "}, {"id": 194, "title": "Grandparents Park", "address": "\n 5445 N. Chester St. \n Chicago, IL 60656\n ", "description": "This picturesque 1.78\u00a0acre park has both a gazebo and a playground. It is located in the O\u2019Hare\u00a0community (one block west of Cumberland Avenue, approximately five blocks north of Foster Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs at nearby Oriole Park.\n ", "history": "The Richmond Joint Venture donated this park site near O'Hare Airport to the Chicago Park District in 1997. At the request of the community, the Park District officially designated the site Grandparents Park in 1998. Shortly after the park's creation, a neighborhood advisory group suggested the name, and, ever since, the park has been known as Grandparents Park by neighborhood residents. The advisory group believed that the new playlot's most frequent users would be grandparents and their visiting grandchildren, who would need more room to play than is generally available in the neighborhood's small yards.\n "}, {"id": 195, "title": "Grant (Ulysses) Park", "address": "\n 331 E. Randolph St. (Columbus Drive) \n Chicago, IL 60601\n ", "description": "Proudly referred to as \"Chicago's Front Yard,\" Grant Park totals 312.98 acres and is a public park located in Chicago\u2019s central business district in the Loop Community area. Grant Park\u2019s most notable features include Millennium Park, Maggie Daley Park, Buckingham Fountain, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum Campus.\u00a0\n\nA city centerpiece much like New York\u2019s Central Park, Grant Park is home to some of Chicago's most iconic landmarks and attractions. The park includes Museum Campus, the site of world-class museums the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. Grant Park's centerpiece is the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain, built in 1927 to provide a monumental focal point while protecting the park's breathtaking lakefront views.\n\nGrant Park is also home to baseball diamonds, tennis courts and breathtaking gardens. The park plays host to some the city's largest food and music festivals, including The Taste of Chicago \u2014 a large food and music festival held around the Independence Day holiday \u2014 and The Grant Park Music Festival. Grant Park is also the site of the start and finish lines for the Chicago Marathon\u00a0and\u00a0Lollapalooza, a popular outdoor music festival.\u00a0\n\nGrant Park has been the site of many large, historic civic events. In 1911, it hosted the major Chicago International Aviation Meet. In 1968, it was the scene of clashes between Chicago Police and demonstrators during the Democratic National Convention. In 1979, Pope John Paul II delivered an outdoor mass to a large crowd in the par,k, and in the 1990s, championship celebrations for the Chicago Bulls were staged here. The park was also the location for President Barack Obama's Election Day victory speech on the night of November 4, 2008.\n\nNamed for U.S. President and Civil War General\u00a0Ulysses S. Grant, Grant Park was developed as one of Chicago's first parks and expanded through land reclamation. The park was the focus of several disputes in the late 1800s and early 1900s over open space use. It is bordered on the north by Randolph Street, on the south by Roosevelt Road, on the west by Michigan Avenue and on the east by Lake Michigan.\u00a0\n\nGrant Park offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park is generally flat. It is crossed by large boulevards and pedestrian bridges are used to\u00a0connect Millennium Park and Maggie Daley so that patrons may cross S. Columbus Drive with ease. There are also several parking garages underneath the park, near Michigan Avenue.\n\nNotable features of Grant Park\n\nMillennium Park\nThe northwestern corner of Grant Park was renovated between 1998 and 2004 to become Millennium Park, a contiguous area with a variety of artistic features by architects and artists. Millennium Park features some of Chicago's most popular attractions, including the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain and the Lurie Garden. The park is connected to Maggie Daley and the east side of Grant Park\u00a0by the BP Pedestrian Bridge and the Nichols Bridgeway.\n\nMaggie Daley Park\nThe former Daley Bicentennial Plaza site was transformed into magnificent Lakefront recreation center now called Maggie Daley Park. The park features an ice skating ribbon, a fieldhouse, a massive playground apparatus and a climbing wall. The Skating Ribbon at Maggie Daley provides a skating experience unlike any other. With the City\u2019s skyline as a backdrop, park patrons can skate along a ribbon of ice integrated into the landscape for a multisensory, \u201calpine in the city\u201d experience. The ribbon's winding path provides twice the length of a lap around a traditional skating rink. Complementing the ribbon are places to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, rent skates and scale the climbing wall. In the summertime, the ribbon is used for roller-skating and scooters, gallery exhibitions and special events.\n\nThe Field House in Maggie Daley Park is the central hub for indoor and outdoor programming throughout the seasons. Traditional Chicago Park District programming such as Day Camps is offered, as well as specialized activities that utilize the new park features, including the climbing park and skating ribbon. Some rental spaces are available in the field house for special events.\n\nBuckingham Fountain\nThe center piece of Grant Park is Buckingham Fountain, one of the world's largest fountains. The fountain, built in a rococo wedding cake style, was dedicated in 1927 as a gift to the city from Kate Sturges Buckingham in memory of her brother Clarence. The fountain operates seasonally, generally from May to October, with water displays every 20 minutes and a light and water display from 9:00-10:00 p.m.\n\nCongress Plaza\nCongress Plaza is located in the center of Grant Park on its west side. The two semicircular plazas, created by East Congress Plaza Drive and bisected by East Congress Parkway, contain gardens, fountains and artwork, including the large bronze warrior statues, \"The Bowman\" and \"The Spearman\" that are positioned like gatekeepers to the park.\n\nPetrillo Music Shell\nThe Petrillo Music Shell is home music performances and large, annual events, including the Chicago Jazz Festival, Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza. Located at 235 S. Columbus Drive, the music shell's area encompasses the entire block bounded by Lake Shore Drive to the east, Columbus Drive to the west, East Monroe Street to the north and East Jackson Street to the South. The structure was relocated to this site in 1978 from the south end of the park. The amphitheater and paved surface for public seating is in the southwest corner.\n\nMuseum Campus\nChicago's Museum Campus is a 57-acre addition to Grant Park's southeastern end. The Museum Campus is the site of three of the city's most notable museums, all dedicated to the natural sciences: Adler Planetarium, Field Museum of Natural History, and Shedd Aquarium. A narrow isthmus along Solidarity Drive, dominated by Neoclassical sculptures of Kosciuszko, Havlicek and Copernicus, connects to Northerly Island where the planetarium is located.\n\nArt Institute of Chicago\nBuilt in 1893 and sitting on the western edge of Grant Park, the Art Institute of Chicago is one of the premier art museums and art schools in the United States. The Institute is known especially for the extensive collection of Impressionist and American art, such as \"A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte\" and \"American Gothic.\"\n\nHutchinson Field\nMuch of the southern end of Grant Park is given over to Hutchinson Field, an open space for large events and a dozen baseball or softball diamonds.\n\nChicago Lakefront Trail \nThe Chicago Lakefront Trail is an 18-mile multi-use path along the coast of Lake Michigan. It is popular with cyclists and joggers. From north to south, it runs through Lincoln Park, Grant Park, Burnham Park and Jackson Park.\n\nMarinas and Harbors\nThere are two pleasure and leisure boat marinas on Lake Michigan, which are accessed from Grant Park. Monroe Harbor provides 1000 mooring cans, tender service, and facilities in the expansive harbor east of the park. It is the home of the Chicago Yacht Club and the Columbia Yacht Club. DuSable Harbor (formerly Chicago Harbor), northeast of the park, offers 420 boat docks and a harbor store. Both harbors may be accessed off Lake Shore Drive near Monroe Street.\n\nThe Skate Park in Grant Park\nThe Chicago Park District transformed 1.86 acres of open space at the southwest corner of Grant Park into a new recreational space with an outdoor event/art exhibit space and a\u00a0multi-use recreation area with wheel-friendly elements for scooters, rollerblades, skate boards and BMX bikes.\u00a0The skate park's design elements include multi-skill level concrete ramps, grinding rails and handrails, bench seating and native landscape plantings, among other site amenities.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "Grant Park's beginnings date to 1835, when foresighted citizens, fearing commercial lakefront development, lobbied to protect the open space. As a result, the park's original area east of Michigan Avenue was designated \"public ground forever to remain vacant of buildings.\"\n\nOfficially named Lake Park in 1847, the site soon suffered from lakefront erosion. The Illinois Central Railroad agreed to build a breakwater to protect the area in exchange for permission for an offshore train trestle. After the Great Fire of 1871, the area between the shore and trestle became a dump site for piles of charred rubble, the first of many landfill additions.\n\nIn 1901, the city transferred the park to the South Park Commission, which named it for Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), 18th President of the United States. Renowned architect Daniel H. Burnham envisioned Grant Park as a formal landscape with museums and civic buildings. However, construction was stalled by lawsuits launched by mail-order magnate Aaron Montgomery Ward, who sought to protect the park's open character.\n\nFinally, in 1911, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in Ward's favor. New landfill at the park's southern border allowed construction of the Field Museum to begin, and the park evolved slowly. In 1934, the South Park Commission was consolidated into the Chicago Park District, which completed improvements using federal relief funds.\n\nAt the turn of the 21st century, the north end of Grant Park underwent a multi-million-dollar facelift, and what was once old railbeds\u00a0were transformed into Millennium Park, a major landscape and festival site.\"\n "}, {"id": 196, "title": "Grape Park", "address": "\n 2850 W. Avondale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "This tiny playground totals 0.16 acres and it is located in the Avondale neighborhood (one block north of Diversey Parkway and abutting the Kennedy Expressway).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Brands Park.\n ", "history": "Located in the Avondale community, Grape Park provides playground facilities to the area east of the Kennedy Expressway. Grape Park was developed in 1996 as part of the Expressway Property Development Plan initiated by the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago. The Chicago Park District created the park on land remaining undeveloped after the construction of the Chicago Expressway system, and still leases the site from the Illinois Department of Transportation. The wild grape vine plant is native to the Illinois duneland, and can be found growing in the inland dunes and the oak woods beyond them. The woody stems of the wild grape produce a dark purple fruit which can be used to make excellent jellies and jams.\n "}, {"id": 197, "title": "Graver (Philip) Park", "address": "\n 1518 W. 102nd Pl. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the East Beverly/Morgan Park community area, Graver Park totals 4.97\u00a0acres and features an auditorium, science lab, woodshop and a multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers a water park, tennis courts, playground, softball, baseball, and soccer fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, lacrosse, arts & crafts, gymnastics, young scientist, woodcraft, model car making, and Moms and Tots. On the cultural side, Graver Park offers Park Voyagers. Nature programming that is offered includes Garden Buddies. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Graver Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday themed-events.\n ", "history": "Graver Park was created by the Ridge Park District, one of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Between 1920 and 1930, the population of the Ridge Park District's fashionable Beverly neighborhood increased by nearly 80%. To meet the recreational needs of those living in the southeast corner of its territory, the Ridge Park District began to purchase land there in 1928 and continued until 1931 when streets and alleys were vacated for park expansion. \u00a0After the Chicago Park District acquired the park in 1934 when the 22 park districts were consolidated, it added many outdoor athletic facilities. Though land acquisition continued through 1935, the district almost immediately decided to build a fieldhouse in the new park. Designed by Hetherington & Sons, Architects, and completed in 1929, the yellow brick fieldhouse had an assembly hall, three small club rooms, and two banquet halls. The following year, the Beverly-based Hetherington firm designed a shelter house and laid out a landscape plan for the park. The most recent improvement is an interactive waterplay area, constructed in 1998 when the Chicago Park District acquired more land for park expansion.\n\nThough the 1929 park dedication program referred to the site as \"Geringer Park,\" this never became its official name. At a park board meeting the following month, only Board President John Geringer voted in favor of that name. The park was variously known as Church Street Park (for an adjacent street) and Park No. 179 until the early 1950s, when the Chicago Park District designated the site Graver Park. The name honors Beverly resident and Chicago Park Commissioner Philip S. Graver (1878-1945). An official of the Graver Corporation, a producer of steel plate, Graver served on the South Park Board between 1928 and 1934. He was named commissioner of the Chicago Park District in 1936, and served as its vice president from 1937 until his death in 1945.\n "}, {"id": 198, "title": "Green (Jeffrey) Park", "address": "\n 6500 N. Algonquin Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "This park contains a playslab with a basketball standard and a playground with a sandbox. Neighbors had nicknamed the site Choo-Choo Park for the toy train that children play in.\u00a0Jeffrey S. Green Park totals 1.36 acres and it is\u00a0located in the Forest Glen neighborhood, one block northwest of Central Avenue, and 1 \u00bd blocks northeast of Caldwell Avenue (beyond the railroad tracks parallel to Lehigh Avenue).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs offered at nearby Edgebrook Park.\n ", "history": "Located on land once owned by Billy Caldwell, an early Chicagoan of Irish and Native American blood, Edgebrook Park, as it was previously known, takes its name from the surrounding Edgebrook Manor subdivision, created in 1922. Seven years later in 1930, the developers donated a triangle of land along the Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul Railroad tracks to the City of Chicago for use as parkland. By the close of World War II, the City had expanded the park, then known as Edgebrook Manor Triangle, into the right-of-way of adjacent Kinzua Avenue by vacating Kinzua Avenue in 1933, adding a tennis court. In the early 1950s, the City\u2019s Bureau of Parks and Recreation removed the tennis court and installed a basketball court and playground equipment. The City transferred Edgebrook Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957, along with more than 250 other properties pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. \u00a0In 1964, the park was expanded through land acquisition.\u00a0 The Park District rehabilitated the playground in 1965, and again in 1990.\n\nIn the mid-1990s, a library was proposed at Edgebrook Park.\u00a0 In response, local resident and environmentalist Jeffrey S. Green (1938-1999) successfully prevented the potential loss of parkland by finding another location for the community library. In 2000, the Park District recognized Green's efforts by naming the park in his honor. Green also left his mark on the city as a whole. A life-long environmental activist, Green was a founder and president of Friends of the Chicago River, an organization whose goal is to revitalize the river. He was also a board member of Friends of the Parks for over six years and served as the organization's president. As a leader of both groups, Green worked diligently to improve Chicago's parks.\n "}, {"id": 199, "title": "Green Briar Park", "address": "\n 2650 W. Peterson Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60659\n ", "description": "Green Briar Park, prominently located on West Peterson Avenue just east of California Avenue, serves\u00a0West Ridge\u00a0community residents with a number of athletic and unique recreational opportunities. The historic fieldhouse features a gymnasium on the first floor and an auditorium on the second floor, which is available for rental for private events and parties. As part of its after-school\u00a0Park Kids\u00a0program, Green Briar Park is 4.03 acres and it offers homework time coupled with recreational activities aimed at physical fitness and health.\n\nThe park also provides bitty basketball, youth basketball, and a teen club. For those who enjoy all sports, Green Briar Park offers a Seasonal Sports class that provides practice and preparation for regional and citywide athletic tournaments, which may include flag football, wrestling, volleyball,\u00a0soccer, or floor hockey, for example. For adults, Green Briar offers 4-on-4 basketball, volleyball, 14\u201d softball, and jewelry making/lapidary. All ages are invited to participate in the park\u2019s instrumental music classes with instruction\u00a0available on several different instruments such as piano, guitar, and bass guitar.\n\nIn the summer, Green Briar keeps children active with a day camp\u00a0ideal for working parents. The camp includes early bird camp extending the camp time by one hour in the morning. Outdoors, Green Briar Park features two basketball standards, two junior baseball fields, a tennis court, a volleyball court, a playground, and a spray pool.\n ", "history": "Chicago's West Ridge community grew significantly between 1920 and 1930, its population increasing from 7,500 to nearly 40,000 during that decade. In 1925, the River Park District purchased a 3.3-acre tract of land in the Green Briar subdivision of the West Ridge community - the northernmost section of that park district's territory. The following year, landscape architect and River Park District board member Jacob L. Crane, Jr. developed a plan for the rectangular park. The plan was featured as a model of good recreational design in Parks: A Manual of Municipal and County Parks. Lack of funds delayed park improvement until 1928, however, when the Chicago Landscape Company implemented a modified version of Crane's plan. That same year, the park district erected an elegant, 2-story, tile-roofed brick fieldhouse with a 300-seat assembly hall designed by Chicago architect Clarence Hatzfeld. Hatzfeld designed a number of notable buildings in Chicago's parks, including revival-style fieldhouses in Indian Boundary, Portage, and Independence Parks. In 1934, the River Park District and Chicago's 21 other independent park boards were consolidated into the newly-created Chicago Park District. Shortly thereafter, the Chicago Park District constructed a wading pool and tennis courts at Green Briar Park. A new soft surface playground was added in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 200, "title": "Greenebaum (Henry) Park", "address": "\n 4300 W. Wabansia Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60639\n ", "description": "This playlot is located in the Humboldt Park community, three blocks south of Armitage Avenue and six blocks west of Pulaski Road. It sits on 4.49 acres\u00a0and is comprised of a softball field, a playslab with two basketball standards, a spray feature, and a playground with a sandbox. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs at nearby Hermosa Park.\n ", "history": "Greenebaum Park was the last of the thirteen parks created by the Northwest Park District, one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. The Northwest Park District purchased 1.75 acres for the park in 1931, at the request of the Tripp Avenue Improvement Club. Due to financial constraints, no park improvements were made until after the Chicago Park District took jurisdiction.\n\nIn 1953, the Chicago Park District officially designated the site Greenebaum Park in honor of Henry Greenebaum (1833-1914), a 19th-century civic leader. A Chicago banker and real estate developer, Greenebaum was known as \"the father of Humboldt Park.\" Greenebaum actively promoted the creation of the three original Chicago Park systems. Greenebaum served two terms as a member of the West Park Commission after its formation in 1869. He also served one term on the City Council, where he headed the finance committee.\n "}, {"id": 201, "title": "Griffin (Marion Mahony) Park", "address": "\n 1230 West Jarvis Avenue \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Marion Mahony Griffin Beach Park\u00a0 located at Jarvis Avenue at Lake Michigan, is formerly known as Jarvis Beach.\u00a0Whether you are looking to relax on the sandy beach soaking in some rays or getting active our beaches are a great summer destination right in the middle of a bustling Chicago. There is limited street parking available nearby.\u00a0 The park is 1.04 acres.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 2015, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners renamed Jarvis Beach Park in honor of Marion Mahony Griffin, an internationally significant architect who, until recently, had been largely forgotten.\u00a0 In 1917, the North Shore Park District acquired property for the park.\u00a0 The \u00bd-acre site was one of two dozen street end beaches that were operated by the city\u2019s Bureau of Parks and Recreation in the 1920s. Although lifeguards manned these small municipal beaches, they had no changing rooms or other facilities. In the early twentieth century, the small beaches were especially important because they provided open space and lake access to Rogers Park\u2019s growing population.\u00a0 In 1934, the park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the 22 park districts were consolidated.\u00a0 In 1960, the City of Chicago acquired property for the park and transferred the property to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957.\n\nLike other street-end beaches, Jarvis Beach Park had taken its name from the adjacent street. In this case, the roadway honors R.J. Jarvis. Chicago\u2019s City Council renamed a street previously called Bryan Avenue in 1913. Despite the renaming, little is known about R.J. Jarvis. The New York Times described Marion Mahony Griffin (1871\u20131961) as \u201cHeroine of Chicago Architecture.\u201d Born in Chicago and raised in Winnetka, Illinois, Marion Mahony received a degree in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1894 and began her career in office of her cousin, Prairie School architect Dwight Heald Perkins. The following year, Marion found employment with Frank Lloyd Wright and soon played an important role in his office. She helped design of some of Wright\u2019s most significant commissions and produced exquisite drawings of his work that wove architecture and nature together in a unique way. When Wright abruptly abandoned his studio in 1909, Marion Mahony completed several of his unfinished architectural commissions. Marion married Walter Burley Griffin, another successful Prairie School architect, in 1911. Marion and Walter began practicing together, and soon entered a competition to design Australia\u2019s new capital, Canberra. Marion Mahony Griffin produced extraordinary renderings for their submission. The couple won first prize and moved to Australia in 1914 where they helped oversee the execution of the Canberra Plan and also received many other commissions to design architecture throughout the country. In the late 1930s, the Griffins moved to India and continued practicing architecture together. When Walter Burley Griffin died suddenly in 1937, Marion returned briefly to Australia, but then decided to come home to Chicago. She lived on W. Estes Avenue for the remainder of her life. During these years, Marion Mahony Griffin continued practicing architecture and also wrote a beautifully illustrated memoir entitled \u201cMagic of America.\u201d Among extant examples of Marion Mahony Griffin\u2019s work in Chicago is a two-panel mural in Armstrong School, a public elementary school in the West Rogers Park community.\n "}, {"id": 202, "title": "Gross (Theodore) Park", "address": "\n 2708 W. Lawrence Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "Gross Park is 1.56 acres and it is\u00a0located in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. It features four basketball standards, a junior soccer field, and an ADA accessible soft surface playground.\n\nThe staff offers\u00a0soccer and basketball instructional programs, touch football, plus a soccer league for youth. In the winter we offer\u00a0a drop-in afterschool program and Kiddie\u00a0Kollege for the little ones. Once summer comes around we offer our popular Play Camp for the kiddos! We hope to see you at the Park.\n ", "history": "In 1898, the City of Chicago purchased nearly an acre-and-a-half of property in the Lincoln Square community for use by the Department of Sewers. Fifty years later, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation established a park at the site. Initially known as Washtenaw Playlot and later Lawrence Playlot for the adjacent streets, the park was well-equipped with playground equipment, a spray pool, a sand box, a small brick recreation building, and a playfield that could be flooded for ice skating in winter.\n\nIn 1952, the city council renamed the site in honor of Theodore A. Gross, who developed this park and countless others during his 44 years as the City's Superintendent of Playgrounds. The Chicago Park District began leasing Gross Park from the City in 1960. After making improvements in the late 1970s, the Park District rehabilitated Gross Park in 1990, and updated the recreation building the following year.\n "}, {"id": 203, "title": "Haas (Joseph) Park", "address": "\n 2402 N. Washtenaw Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "The Logan Square community area is now served by a new fully accessible 10,244 square foot fieldhouse. The single story targeted to be LEED Gold building includes a half size gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, fitness center and community rooms. The building is designed to achieve maximum efficiency with the use of natural light, rain water harvesting, a living \u201cgreen\u201d roof, and geothermal mechanical systems.\n\nHaas Park is 1.69 acres.\u00a0 On the park grounds the community will find a newly renovated ADA accessible playground along with a water spray feature.In addition, there is a large open green space \u2013 ideal for special events such as movies in the park or a picnic in the park.\n\nIn Fall 2012 a\u00a0new soccer field was unveiled at Haas Park.\u00a0 The new feature was made possible through the generosity of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the United States and Manchester City Football Club. Built in partnership with the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation's \"Take the Field Initiative\" and the Chicago Park District, the field will benefit all of Logan Square community.\u00a0 com co\n ", "history": "Haas Park honors Joseph F. Haas (1857-1928), a widely-respected public servant. Over his 42-year career in public office, Haas was a school trustee in the Town of Jefferson, a Chicago alderman, Secretary of the Sanitary District, a state senator, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Recorder, and Secretary of the West Park Commission.\n\nThe City purchased the land for this park just two months after Haas' death in 1928, and completed park plans before year's end. At the time, the surrounding Logan Square neighborhood was in the midst of a residential building boom. Large courtyard apartment buildings were springing up beside existing graystones, and open space was quickly disappearing. The new park included a small recreational building with an open-air shelter house, which the City's Department of Parks and Recreation enclosed around 1947. The City transferred the park site, along with more than 250 others, to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 In 2005, the Chicago Park District acquired land to expand the park.\u00a0 In 2006, Fairfield Avenue was closed for park expansion and the Chicago Park District entered into an agreement for the State of Illinois Department of Natural Resources to use park land.\n "}, {"id": 204, "title": "Haines School Park", "address": "\n 247 W. 23rd Pl \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Haines School Park is located in the\u00a0\u00a0Armour Square Community.\u00a0In partnership with Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Park District runs recreational programs on school properties for after school and sports activities.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 205, "title": "Hale (Nathan) Park", "address": "\n 6258 W. 62nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60638\n ", "description": "Located in the Clearing community area, Hale Park totals 16.88\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium,multi-purpose rooms and a preschool room. Outside, the park offers a swimming pool, baseball fields and a playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, fields, and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, gymnastics, and floor hockey. On the cultural side, Hale Park offers theater. Nature programming includes Garden Buddies and painting. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Hale Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including a pumpkin patch, Spring and Fall theater plays, Park Showcase, Lunch with the Easter Bunny and other holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Lying adjacent to Hale Elementary School, Hale Park is among a number of sites within the city that are operated jointly by the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Board of Education. The Park District acquired the property in 1947, as part of a ten-year plan to increase recreational opportunities in under-served neighborhoods in post-World War II Chicago.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District continued to acquire property to expand the park until 1962.\u00a0 Hale Park is now home to an outdoor swimming pool (ca. 1968) and a modern fieldhouse, designed by the firm of Schroeder, Murchie, Laya, Associates, Ltd., and dedicated in late 1998.\n\nIn 1953, the park was named for American patriot Nathan Hale (1755-1776). Hanged by the British as a spy, Hale may be best known for his famous last words: \"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.\"\n "}, {"id": 206, "title": "Hamilton (Alexander) Park", "address": "\n 513 W. 72nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Hamilton Park\u00a0Cultural Center totals 28.88 acres and features two gymnasiums, an auditorium, dance studio, archery range and a multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers a swimming pool, baseball/softball diamonds, basketball, handball, and tennis courts, playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, auditorium, fields, dance studio and multi-purpose room.\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids, seasonal sports, archery, Teen Club. \u00a0\u00a0On the cultural side, Hamilton Park offers ballet, jazz and hip hop dance classes. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer youth can participate in the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Hamilton Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as our annual jazz concert.\n ", "history": "The South Park Commission acquired property in 1903 and created Hamilton Park in 1904 as part of a revolutionary system of neighborhood parks providing relief to Chicago's congested tenement districts.\u00a0 The South Park Commission continued to acquire land to expand the park until 1905.\u00a0 The City's existing parks were far away from the noisy, overcrowded immigrant neighborhoods in the center of the City.\u00a0 The park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio in 1934 when the 22 park districts were consolidated.\u00a0 Superintendent J. Frank Foster envisioned a new type of park that would not only provide beautifully landscaped \"breathing spaces,\" but also a variety of services and educational functions. Nationally renowned landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers and architects Daniel H. Burnham and Company designed the entire system of new parks. The first ten neighborhood parks opened to the public in 1905.\n\nOf the ten parks, Hamilton was the only one named for a national political figure. It honors Alexander Hamilton (1755-?1804), advisor to George Washington and first secretary of the U.S. Treasury, who was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr. The theme of national political history is beautifully conveyed in the Hamilton Park fieldhouse murals, executed by noted Chicago artist, John Warner Norton. The other nine parks, Sherman, Ogden, Palmer, and Bessemer Parks, and Mark White, Russell, Davis, Armour and Cornell Squares, were named for figures who were significant to the development of Chicago.\n "}, {"id": 207, "title": "Hamlin (Hannibal) Park", "address": "\n 3035 N. Hoyne Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "Located in the North Center community (two blocks south of Belmont Avenue, with its eastern border abutting Damen Avenue), Hamlin Park sits on 9.08 acres. The fieldhouse contains a fitness center, two gymnasiums, an assembly hall (with stage), a kitchen, and clubrooms available for rental. Outside, there\u2019s a swimming pool, two senior and two junior baseball fields, named Legends Field for Chicago Cubs Greats Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ryne Sandberg, Ron Santo, a combination football-soccer field, a basketball court, two tennis courts, a playground, and an assembly area. Dog owners appreciate that Hamlin Park is one of the sites containing a designated dog-friendly area.\n\nWith a strong focus on fitness, Hamlin Park offers Qi Gong, yoga, Kids Fitness, Olympic weightlifting, and walking club.Sports include baseball, basketball, boxing, dodgeball, floor hockey, Junior Bears Youth football, kickball, seasonal sports, soccer, softball, track & field, and volleyball. Parents will appreciate the opportunity for their of tots / preschoolers to increase their socialization skills in programs such as: Moms Pops & Tots Interaction, Tot Spot, Tiny Tot Tumbling, Fun & Games, Arts & Crafts, and Music & Movement.Teens can make new friendships in the park\u2019s Teen Club. During the summer, besides regular programming, Hamlin Park will keep youth and young teens involved and well supervised with its popular and affordable six-week Day Camp, Teen Leadership Camp, Music Camp, and Sports Camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Hamlin Park host special events, such as its annual Boxing Show. Chicago Moving Company is Hamlin Park\u2019s Arts-Partner-in-Residence.CMC is a modern dance company which offers beginner, intermediate, and advanced dance classes to the community.Come out to Hamlin Park Theater to attend a performance by CMC or other dance companies from the community. Hamlin Park Baseball Association is a not-for-profit organization which provides competitive baseball for boys and girls, ranging from ages 5 to 19.HPBA is staffed by parent volunteers.\n ", "history": "The Lincoln Park Commission acquired land and created Hamlin Park in 1909. Although the park commission had been established in 1869 to improve and manage Lincoln Park, in the early 1900s administrators began creating new parks and playgrounds in congested neighborhoods within their jurisdiction. In 1908, residents of the area around Damen and Belmont Avenues petitioned the commission for a new park in their neighborhood. The following year, 210 members of the nearby Galilee Baptist Church submitted a letter urging the park's development. Later in 1909, the Lincoln Park Commission acquired the eight-acre park site. Dwight H. Perkins of the firm Perkins, Fellows, and Hamilton designed the Hamlin Park fieldhouse. Perkins played a significant role in Chicago's progressive reform movement and was a noted Prairie School architect. In addition to the Hamlin Park fieldhouse, he designed several Lincoln Park buildings including the Daily News Fresh Air Sanitarium (now Theater on the Lake), Seward Park's fieldhouse, and Stanton Park's original fieldhouse. Of the fieldhouses, Hamlin Park's was most extensive. It had men's and women's gymnasiums, locker and changing rooms, an assembly hall, club rooms, a lunch room, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, and an outdoor swimming pool. In the 1930s, architect Clarence Hatzfeld made alterations to the building.\u00a0 In 1934, the park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the 22 park districts were consolidated.\u00a0 The Lincoln Park Commission named most of their neighborhood parks in honor of members of President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet. Hamlin Park honors Hannibal Hamlin (1809-1891), Lincoln's vice-president.\n "}, {"id": 208, "title": "Hansberry (Lorraine) Park", "address": "\n 5635 S. Indiana Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn area, Lorraine Hansberry Park totals 0.73 acres and it is an idyllic location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing , enjoying nature and the outdoor.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The population of Chicago's South Side Washington Park community increased by 29% during the Depression and World War II. Many of the new arrivals were African-Americans from the rural south. Others moved to Washington Park from the nearby Grand Boulevard neighborhood, Chicago's original Black Belt. During the mid-1950s, the City purchased a quarter-acre property to provide additional recreational space for the growing community. The City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation soon installed playground equipment and a basketball court. The City of Chicago transferred this site, originally known as Indiana & 56th Park, to the Chicago Park District in 1957, along with more than 250 other properties pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. Due to neighborhood population decline and the park's proximity to Washington Park, the Chicago Park District periodically considered selling off the small playlot. The agency eventually decided to keep the site and improve it, removing the basketball court, planting new trees, and rehabilitating the playground in the mid-1990s. \u00a0In 2012, the Chicago Park District acquired land from the City to expand the park.\n\nAs part of an initiative to recognize the contributions of Chicago women, the Park District renamed the site in honor of Lorraine Hansberry in 2004. Hansberry (1930 \u2013 1965) was an important African American playwright. She was born on the south side of Chicago and educated at Engelwood High School, where she became president of the debating club in 1947. During her early childhood, Lorraine\u2019s father challenged housing restrictions by purchasing a home in an all-white neighborhood and participating in a lawsuit against housing restrictions. The family suffered discrimination and racial violence, a theme that later influenced her work. Lorraine attended the University of Wisconsin, the Art Institute of Chicago, Roosevelt University and also pursued studies in Mexico. In 1950, she moved to New York and became a reporter for Paul Robeson\u2019s periodical, known as Freedom. In 1956, she wrote A Raisin in the Sun, which won the New York Drama Critics\u2019 Circle Award for Best Play of the Year in 1959. She was the youngest person and first African American person to win this prestigious award. Although she died at the young age of thirty-four, Lorraine had completed several other plays including The Sign in Sidney Brunstein\u2019s Window, Les Blancs, and the Drinking Gourd. During her high school years, Lorraine lived at 5936 S. Parkway (now Dr. Martin Luther King Drive) only about \u00bd mile away from Indiana and 56th Park.\n "}, {"id": 209, "title": "Harding (Frederick) Park", "address": "\n 3917 W. Division St. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Humboldt Park\u00a0community. The park totals 0.44 acres and it features a playground and swings. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Kedvale Park.\n ", "history": "Frederick Harding Park is one of many small parks created by the City of Chicago to meet growing recreational demands after World War II.\u00a0 The City of Chicago acquired property for the park in 1954.\u00a0 Improvements to the property at Harding Avenue and Division Street in the Humboldt Park neighborhood began in 1955, and the new park opened to the public the following year.\n\nIn 1957, the City transferred Frederick Harding Park to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 The City of Chicago acquired property to expand the park in 1963 and 1966.\u00a0 In 2012, the City of Chicago transferred this portion of the property to the Chicago Park District adding to the property the Chicago Park District acquired in 1957.\u00a0 A new soft surface playground replaced the original playground equipment and basketball court in 1990.\n\nBoth the park and the adjacent street honor Frederick Harding, a Civil War captain who organized Chicago's first company of Union troops. Harding's family developed substantial areas of northwest Chicago during the 19th-century, including a nearby subdivision that also bears his name.\n "}, {"id": 210, "title": "Harding (George) Park", "address": "\n 4912 S. Calumet Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Grand Boulevard\u00a0community. The park totals 0.74 acres and it\u00a0features a playground and basketball court. It is an active community park. \u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Taylor Park in Bronzeville\u00a0for recreation in the gym, fun in the outdoor pool and workout opportunities in the Fitness Center.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago acquired property and created George F. Harding Park to provide playground facilities to the rapidly changing Grand Boulevard neighborhood in 1928. Prominent early settlers established this lovely area of mansions and fine single-family houses in the 1860s and 1870s. By the turn of the century, many wealthy German-Jewish families had begun moving into the neighborhood.\n\nAround World War I, during the \"Great Migration,\" more than 50,000 African-Americans from the rural south moved to Chicago to find greater economic opportunities. Many of these new Chicagoans settled in Grand Boulevard. By 1925, this area had become the center of \"Bronzeville,\" a thriving, culturally-rich neighborhood of black-owned homes and businesses.\n\nIn 1928, when George F. Harding Park opened to the public, it included playground equipment, separate playfields for boys and girls, and a small brick fieldhouse. The site remained a city park until 1957, when it was transferred to the Chicago Park District along with approximately 250 other properties pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. The park received a major playlot renovation in 1988, and in 1995, the park district demolished the site's small brick fieldhouse.\n\nThis small park honors George F. Harding (1868-1939), who served as alderman of the 27th Ward from 1905 to 1915, and later as a state senator and county treasurer. An avid collector of art, armor, and weapons, Harding built a castle-like museum on his property at 49th and Lake Park Avenue. Between the 1964 demolition of his museum and 1981, the collection was displayed in Chicago's Crerar Library. In 1982, after the library was razed, the Art Institute of Chicago received the George F. Harding collection. This was one of the largest gifts in the museum's history.\n "}, {"id": 211, "title": "Harris (Harriet) Park", "address": "\n 6200 S. Drexel Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn community, Harris Park totals 2.37 acres and features a gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, fitness center, youth wellness center and a multi-purpose room. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose room.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, adult & youth fitness classes, along with aquatic programs. In the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Harris Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family such as holiday themed-events.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this property in 2003.\u00a0 Formerly known as Park 524, \u201cHarris YMCA,\u201d 6200 S. Drexel Ave., the site was renamed Harriet M. Harris Parkin 2004 as part of an effort by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to recognize the contributions of Chicago women. Harris was a philanthropist and the namesake of the Harriet M. Harris YWCA which operates out of the park. Harris, who grew up in the Woodlawn Community, provided funding in 1971 to build the Harris Center. Her commitment to women and children is exemplified in more than 30 years of initiatives sponsored by the Harris Family Fund and Harris Bank.\u00a0 This park is located in the Woodlawn Community area.\n "}, {"id": 212, "title": "Harris (Ryan) Memorial Park", "address": "\n 6781 S. Lowe Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Ryan Harris Memorial Park is an idyllic location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors and nature. This park totals 3.13 acres and it\u00a0contains a playground with swings, slides, along with climbing apparatus.With an open green space, park patrons that visit this park participate in baseball, softball and picnics.\n ", "history": "In 1999, the Chicago Park District named this three-acre greenspace in the heart of the Englewood neighborhood in honor of Ryan Harris, an eleven-year-old resident who was tragically murdered. For more than 100 years, the site had been known as Normal Park, for the Cook County Normal School, a teachers' training school established in the Englewood area in 1868. When Chicago annexed Englewood in 1889 as part of the Town of Lake, the parkland became city property.\u00a0 In 1898 and 1899, the City of Chicago acquired property for the park.\u00a0 After 1905, the City's Special Park Commission replanted the site with trees, shrubs, and grass. The local Neighborhood Improvement Association heralded improvements here and at neighboring 72nd Street Park (now Lily Gardens) with a festive program of speeches and music in 1908. By 1916, the park had white enamel drinking fountains and an extensive sprinkler system. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation assumed management of the park shortly thereafter, adding flower beds and tennis courts. The City transferred the park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\n "}, {"id": 213, "title": "Harrison (Carter) Park", "address": "\n 1824 S. Wood St. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Located in the Pilsen community, Harrison Park totals 18.58 acres and features a fieldhouse with a gymnastics center, an indoor swimming pool, a gymnasium,\u00a0meetings rooms and a reception rotunda featuring a bust of Emiliano Zapata, one of the most prominent figures of the Mexican Revolution. Outside, the park offers tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball fields, a large artificial turf field that is used for baseball and\u00a0football or soccer and a playground.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Harrison Park is also located adjacent to the National Museum for Mexican Art and offers many cultural opportunities in partnership with the museum.\u00a0\n\nPark-goers come to Harrison Park to play soccer, baseball and tennis, or go swimming in the indoor pool. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District's popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and special recreation camps for children and adults are offered throughout the year.\n\nIn addition to programs, Harrison Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Movies in the Park and other holiday activities.\n ", "history": "The West Park Commission created Harrison Park in 1912 to provide breathing space and social services to the overcrowded and industrialized lower west side.\u00a0 The West Park Commission acquired the majority of the property for the park in 1912 along with a portion of land in 1913.\u00a0 The commission's first three neighborhood parks, Dvorak, Eckhart, and Stanford Parks, were so successful that the State passed a bill permitting additional neighborhood parks in 1909. (Stanford Park no longer exists.)\n\nThe Special Park Commission identified several potential park sites, including an eight-acre parcel previously used for lime production. The West Park Commission acquired the lime kiln site and renowned landscape designer Jens Jensen created the park's original plan. Swimming and wading pools and a natatorium building were constructed in 1914.\n\nWithin the next several years, other recreational features including children's gardens were added, however, the park did not have a fieldhouse until 1928.\u00a0 In 1934, the park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the 22 park districts were consolidated.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District expanded the park in 1946 and 1949.\u00a0 In 1950, the Chicago Park District expanded the intensively-used small park by acquiring a stone quarry at its western boundary.\n\nDuring the following years, the neighborhood's Latino population grew, and in 1987, the natatorium was converted to the National Museum of Mexican Art. In 1993, a new state-of-the-art fieldhouse replaced the original facility.\n\nThe park honors one of Chicago's most popular mayors, Carter H. Harrison, Sr. (1825-1893). A native Kentuckian who settled near Union Park, Harrison served as mayor for five terms between 1879 and 1893. He was assassinated by a disappointed office seeker late on the day of October 28, 1893. Ironically, the day had been designated Mayor's Day in Harrison's honor because it marked the closing of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago's first world's fair. There is a monument to Harrison in Union Park.\n "}, {"id": 214, "title": "Harsh (Vivian G.) Park", "address": "\n 4458-70 S. Oakenwald Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "This small park is located in the\u00a0Kenwood Community. The park is 0.31 acres and it\u00a0features a playground that was renovated in Summer 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Kennicott Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District began creating this park in 1960. It was officially named Beech Park in 1974, when a number of properties were named for trees and plants. In 2005 it was renamed Vivian Gordon Harsh Park as part of an effort by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to recognize the contributions of Chicago women.\u00a0 In 2012, the Chicago Park District acquired land from the City of Chicago to expand the park.\n\nVivian Gordon Harsh (1890 \u2013 1960) was a librarian who established research collections related to African American history well before the public became aware of this topic and its importance. Harsh received a degree from Simmons College Library School in Boston and in 1924, she was the first African American ever appointed as the head librarian for a branch of the Chicago Public Library. Many prominent African Americans believed that blacks on Chicago\u2019s south side were underserved by the library system, and in the 1920s, a movement was underway to open a full-service branch in Bronzeville.\n\nPhilanthropist Julius Rosenwald, who agreed to help finance the new library, awarded Harsh a traveling scholarship that allowed her to visit African American collections in other cities. The branch opened in 1932. It was named for Dr. George Cleveland Hall, Chief of Staff at Provident Hospital, who had served on the Chicago Public Library board of directors and pushed for the south side branch library to be built. Harsh continued to work for the Chicago Public Library for more than twenty-five years.\n\nThis park is less than a mile from Harsh\u2019s childhood home was located at 536 E. 44th Street.\n "}, {"id": 215, "title": "Hartigan (David) Beach Park", "address": "\n 1050 W. Albion Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Whether you are looking to relax on the sandy beach soaking in some rays or getting active our beaches are a great summer destination right in the middle of a bustling Chicago.\u00a0 Hartigan Beach Park is 2.56 acres.\n ", "history": "Hartigan Beach Park is one of 18 street-end beaches acquired by the Chicago Park District from the City of Chicago pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957. The City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation was operating 27 such beaches by 1937; some were in existence as early as 1921. Although lifeguards manned these small municipal beaches, they had no changing rooms or other facilities. In Rogers Park, the beaches met the summertime recreational needs of the many residents who lived in the attractive brick apartment buildings built in the eastern portion of the community between 1900 and 1930. The park site was long known as Albion Beach and Park for its location on Albion Street, where, atypically for Rogers Park, single-family residences lined the block approaching the lakeshore.\n\nIn September 1960, the city council adopted a resolution requesting that the Park District rename Albion Park in honor of 49th Ward Alderman David L. Hartigan (1906-1959), who had recently died. A graduate of St. Ignatius and Northwestern Law School, Hartigan was an attorney in the City Treasurer's Office between 1943 and 1954, and served briefly as City Treasurer. After being elected alderman in 1955, Hartigan sat on the Committee on Forestry and Recreation, and was very active in creating additional parks and recreational space. The Park District officially renamed the park Hartigan Beach and Park in 1965.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired land from the City of Chicago in 2007 to expand the park.\n "}, {"id": 216, "title": "Hasan (Elliot) Park", "address": "\n 6855 S. Oglesby Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60649\n ", "description": "Located in the South Shore community, Hasan Playground is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park totals 0.33 acres and it contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing apparatus.\n ", "history": "In the early years of the twentieth century, the City of Chicago Water Department constructed an attractive brick pumping station at the corner of 68th Street and Oglesby Avenue in the thriving South Shore neighborhood. The area had begun to develop in the wake of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition which took place in nearby Jackson Park. By the 1920s, the area was booming. Construction surged again in the 1950s and 1960s, when South Shore approached its highest population ever. In 1967, the Chicago Park District arranged to lease a portion of the greenspace surrounding the 68th Street pumping station to meet the recreational needs of South Shore residents. The Park District soon constructed a playground on the leased property, thoroughly rehabilitating it in 1990.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired land from the City of Chicago in 2013 to expand the park.\n\nIn June, 1968, the new playground was named Hasan Park, a tribute to Elliot Hasan (1907-1967), \"dean of the high school coaches.\" One of Chicago's most successful football and basketball coaches, Hasan coached at Hyde Park High School for 39 years, and was serving as the school's athletic director at the time of his death. Beginning in the 1940s, Hasan acted as summer tour director for the Harlem Globetrotters. He also refereed Big Ten football for 20 years. Hasan was remembered especially fondly by students, for whom he always had time despite his many activities and responsibilities.\n "}, {"id": 217, "title": "Hayes (Francis) Park", "address": "\n 2936 W. 85th St. \n Chicago, IL 60652\n ", "description": "Located in the Ashburn/Wrightwood community area, Hayes Park totals 20.26\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, fitness center, and a multi-purpose room.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, adult & youth fitness classes, aquatics. During the summer, youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Hayes Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday themed-events.\n ", "history": "At the close of World War II, the Chicago Park District adopted a ten-year plan to increase recreational opportunities in under-served Chicago neighborhoods. The southwest side Ashburn neighborhood had remained sparsely settled as late as 1940, but its population began to surge immediately after the war. In 1946, the Park District selected a 20-acre park site at 83rd and South Richmond. Though land acquisition was completed before the end of 1948, park development did not begin for a number of years. In 1956, the Park District sold several acres at the north end of the Ashburn Park site to the Board of Education for a much-needed elementary school. Park improvements began at about the same time, and the new Ashburn Park with its winding walkways, ballfields, and small recreational building opened to the public in 1957. For twenty years, the park district and the Board of Education jointly operated Ashburn Park and Carroll Elementary School, offering recreational programming at both. In the mid-1970s, the Park District and the Board of Education terminated their joint venture, and the Park District built a new brick fieldhouse.\n\nAt the same time, the park was renamed in honor of respected local figure Father Francis D. Hayes (1903--1976). Ordained as a Catholic priest in 1927, Fr. Hayes came to the \"wide open spaces\" of Ashburn in 1946 to found a parish there. Under Hayes' leadership, the St. Thomas More Parish grew with the Ashburn community. Hayes retired in 1972, but was still serving as St. Thomas More's pastor emeritus at the time of his death in 1976.\n "}, {"id": 218, "title": "Hazelnut Park", "address": "\n 5949 W. Huron St. \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Austin Community. It is an active community park totaling 0.29 acres.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Austin Town Hall\u00a0Park for recreation in the gym and fun in the indoor pool.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "A portion of the 1873 Burkhart Farm, one of Austin's original farmsteads, was subdivided for development in 1888. Streets and houses soon appeared near the original barn. As the new community expanded over the following decade, many of the farmstead's Hazelnut bushes continued to thrive on Central Avenue, between Chicago Avenue and Rice Street. Hazelnut Park lies within blocks of this location. The Chicago Park District acquired this park property in 1973 and named the park Hazelnut Park in 1998.\n "}, {"id": 219, "title": "Hegewisch Marsh Park", "address": "\n 13200-13298 S. Torrence Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60633\n ", "description": "At one time the heart of Chicago and global industry, the Calumet region is a surprising host to many uncommon species of wildlife; bald eagles, black-crowned night herons and Blanding\u2019s turtles are all endangered or protected animals which call the area home for some or all of the year. Additionally, forty percent of Illinois endangered plants can be found in parks, preserves and open land within Calumet. The area holds great potential to become a regionally and nationally recognized place for wildlife habitat restoration and wildlife conservation. Its grand open spaces and historic wetlands are also promising for the development of land and water trails unparalleled in an urban setting. \u00a0These elements together form the basis for creating the Calumet Open Space Reserve, a plan bringing together state and local agencies to protect and enhance 3,900 acres of important wetland, forest and prairie habitat. An emphasis of the Reserve is connectivity \u2013 both in the form of trails for human use, and greenway corridors allowing wildlife to safely cross wider swaths of land without the risks posed by roadways and industrial plants. The Chicago Park District owns and manages over 800 of these acres while the remaining land is split between the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.\u00a0 Hegewisch Marsh Park is 132.95 acres.\n\n\u00a0\n\nCalumet features not only the Chicago Park District\u2019s largest landholdings, but some of its most impressive displays of biodiversity. Habitat variety spans marshes, prairies and woodlands that are host to over 200 species of birds, 20 species of fish, and rare mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Currently the Park District is working alongside sustainable development and conservation experts in addition to community members and other landholders in the region. The Calumet vision is to increase local recreation opportunities while connecting the region to the larger natural landscape to the north, south and west. Community economic development projects are also a priority of the Park District. Perpetuating the Calumet region\u2019s legacy as a hub of production in line with societal needs through contributing to the renewable energy sector and other sustainable businesses is a focus for the present and years to come. \u00a0 \u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Where now exists industrial plants and retired landfills once laid a vast network of rivers and swales meandering between marshes, lakes and seasonal ponds. (The word \u201ccalumet\u201d is believed to have come from a Potawatomi word for \u201clow body of deep, still water\u201d). Low ridges accommodated drier prairies, but most of the area was flat and grassy at the time of Joliet and Marquette\u2019s expedition through the region in the late 1600s.\n\nAs predicted by prominent planners in the area such as Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett, Calumet in the post-Civil War era became a national epicenter for manufacturing \u2013 most notably of steel. The vast landscape surrounding the inland Lake Calumet (at that time almost twice its current size and no more than six feet deep at its lowest point) contained all of the elements necessary to become a tremendous hub of production: fresh water for cooling during the manufacturing process, plentiful cheap land, and numerous waterways to connect producers to growing markets. Starting as early as the 1860s, coal from southern Illinois was shipped in large quantities north to Chicago, soon met by iron ore shipped south down the great lakes from Michigan\u2019s Upper Peninsula. The first mill in the region was John Brown\u2019s Iron and Steel Mill at 119th Street, and it was followed by many to come.\n\n\u00a0The Illinois and Michigan Canal, completed in 1848, served as the first direct connection between the Great Lakes and international waters through the Gulf of Mexico, precipitating a huge boom in business and population. At its height, the steel industry employed over 200,000 people who moved from across the country and the world to work in the plants. (Even today, with steel production falling by 30 to 40 percent, the amount of steel produced in southeast Chicago and northwest Indiana greatly overshadows any other steel producing region in the nation). The steel that built the Chicago skyline also drove the construction of the railroad, further raising the area\u2019s status as a shipping capital. In fact, as of a 2001 city report, Chicago was the United States\u2019 largest center for intermodal freight shipping \u2013 over 9 million containers are shipped in and out of Calumet annually, twice the amount of any other metropolitan region in the country, and third only to Hong Kong and Singapore.\n\n\u00a0By the 1970s, the demand for steel began to drop as massive urban building and infrastructural projects were largely completed, and aluminum and plastic began to replace steel in popular products such as cans and auto interiors. By 1982, the steel industry in Chicago was only a skeleton of what it once was, and thousands of people lost their jobs. This industry crash affected workers in diverse sectors that either relied on the steel plants for business or served the employees of the steel plants and their families. Aside from mills and processing plants, stores, restaurants and country clubs all went out of business, leaving vacant lots, industrial grounds and many open spaces that remain today.\u00a0\n\n\u00a0While its industrial roots are important in understanding the current state of the Calumet region, it is also important to recognize the area\u2019s rich cultural and natural history. \u00a0Throughout the 19th century, Calumet remained so sparsely populated that it maintained a reputation for excellent hunting, fishing and recreation. Many local residents practiced subsistence hunting, while businessmen took a one-hour train ride from downtown Chicago to hunt at private hunting reserves. While several of these reserves, such as Woodman\u2019s Tavern and Douglas\u2019s Duck Pond have since been taken over by industry (the Acme Coke plant in South Deering), others like the Southeast Sportsmen\u2019s Club in Hegewisch remain today. Chicagoans from the North Side often vacationed in Calumet, spending the summer at the many hotels or summer homes established around Lake Calumet, which hosted sailing and crew regattas in the summer as well as skating and ice sailing on the lake in the winter.\n\n\u00a0Local and statewide efforts to identify and protect Calumet\u2019s natural resources have been in motion since the later part of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1970s, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) determined a plot of 3,000 acres to be a natural area of statewide significance. In 1998 the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County adopted City Space: An Open Space Plan for Chicago. As a result of this project, Lake Calumet was identified as the most important wetland and natural area within the city and in urgent need of protection.\n\n\u00a0The Calumet area has attracted federal interest as well, starting with $200,000 given to several local partners by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1999 to develop a sustainable land use plan for nature and industry. In the acquisition and restoration of land, the Chicago Park District and its partners have acquired grants from federal and state agencies as well as private business fulfilling mitigation requirements.\u00a0 The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) acquired land from the City of Chicago in 2003.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District entered into a lease agreement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for use of park property in 2012.\u00a0 The City of Chicago acquired land from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in 2013.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired property for this park in 2011 and 2013 from the City of Chicago to expand the park.\n "}, {"id": 220, "title": "Heritage Green Park", "address": "\n 610-30 W. Adams St. \n Chicago, IL 60606\n ", "description": "Heritage Green Park is located in the\u00a0Near West\u00a0Community. It is an active community park totaling 1.06 acres.\n\nFormerly known as Park No. 537, this park was officially named Heritage Green in 2007. It features passive green space with a sculpture by Irish artist Maurice Harron. Known as \"Grainne,\" the artwork is located at the Southwest corner of the park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Union Park for recreation in the gym, fun in the outdoor pool and exercise in the Fitness Center.\u00a0\n ", "history": "After acquiring a one-acre site at Des Plaines & Adams in 2004, the Chicago Park District began improving the landscape to create a passive park in 2005. An advisory committee was formed to facilitate the installation of a major artwork project in the park through the Sister Cities program. This sculpture, installed in March of 2007, commemorates the City of Galway and Chicago\u2019s historical relationship with Ireland.\n\nBased on the suggestion of the advisory committee, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners named the site Heritage Green Park in 2007. The name pays homage to the area\u2019s rich and varied heritage and makes reference to our nation's historical town greens, which provided America with some of its earliest public parks.\n\nThe community around Des Plaines and Adams was the port of entry for many groups, including Irish, German and Greek immigrants. The adjacent Old St. Patrick\u2019s Church, dedicated in 1856, is among Chicago\u2019s oldest extant pre-fire structures.\n "}, {"id": 221, "title": "Hermitage Park", "address": "\n 5839 S. Wood St. \n Chicago, IL 60636\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Hermitage Park totals 4.31 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers a multi-purpose field, playground, spray pool, volleyball/tennis courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our ball fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, Teen Club, Sports Club. The Park Kids after school program is offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include dance and sports camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Hermitage Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Hermitage Park is one of many city parks created to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. Established by the Bureau of Parks and Recreation in 1949, by the following year the four-acre site had playground equipment, a shelter house, and an athletic field. In 1957, the City transferred the West Englewood community park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. Installing a new spray pool in 1966, the Park District made subsequent improvements over the years, including a 1991 soft surface playground. \u00a0At one time, Chicago had two properties named Hermitage Park. The other one, located on Hermitage Avenue in Chicago's North Center community, was renamed Helen Zatterberg Park in 2004. Hermitage Park's name pays tribute to the nation's seventh president, Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), whose Nashville, Tennessee estate is known as \"The Hermitage.\" \u00a0Chicago's Jackson Boulevard also honors the former president.\n "}, {"id": 222, "title": "Hermosa Park", "address": "\n 2240 N. Kilbourn Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60639\n ", "description": "Located in the Hermosa community (south of Fullerton Avenue, and mid-way between Cicero & Pulaski avenues), Hermosa Park\u2019s fieldhouse sits on 4.63 acres.The fieldhouse is equipped with several meeting rooms and a small kitchen.\n\nOutdoors, the park offers two walking paths (appx. one-quarter mile, each), one senior and two junior baseball fields, one softball field, a combination football/soccer field, a basketball court, a volleyball court, plus a playground with a sandbox and spray pool.\n\nDepending on age and season, a large variety of programs are offered for youth & teens: Drop-In (after school program), Sports Club, basketball, football, and Teen Leadership Club.In the summer, youth can participate in our traditional 6-week day camp as well as sports camps (baseball, football, softball); teens can continue with the Teen Leadership Program.\n\nParents gather at Hermosa Park with their preschoolers for classes such as: Art & ABCs, Preschool, Fun & Games, and our summer Play Camp.Adults can join the fitness class and walking club.\n\nWe invite you to stop by and check out the program offering at Hermosa Park!\n ", "history": "Hermosa Park takes its name from that of the surrounding neighborhood, originally known as Garfield's subdivision, and redesignated Hermosa in 1889 at the request of the City of Chicago. The park was created by the Northwest Park District, one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. The Hermosa Improvement Association asked the Northwest Park District to develop a park in its neighborhood, and the district purchased property in 1915. The park was slow to take shape, however. Increasing industrial development adjacent to the park site initially caused many to question the location, and there was talk of selling it. The community became frustrated by the slow pace of the park's development. In late 1917, 750 citizens petitioned the district to begin park development immediately. Still, no action was taken until mid-1919, when the park district implemented a few temporary improvements.\u00a0 In 1922, the Northwest Park District vacated streets and alleys to expand the park.\u00a0 Landscape architects were not hired until two years later. In the meantime, local groups had been making regular use of the Hermosa Park property. Between 1925 and 1927, the park district finally erected a permanent fieldhouse designed by Albert A. Schwartz, the architect for a number of Northwest Park District facilities.\n "}, {"id": 223, "title": "Hiawatha Park", "address": "\n 8029 W. Forest Preserve Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60634\n ", "description": "Located within the Dunning community, Hiawatha Park totals 13.88 acres and features a large gymnasium, fitness center, and club rooms. Outdoors, the park offers tennis courts, baseball fields, football/soccer field and a playground\u00a0for the young ones. Popular in summertime, the water spray feature offers children a place to play and cool down while having a blast!\n\nYoung park-goers can play a variety of seasonal sports including basketball, flag football, floor hockey and volleyball at the facility. In the summer, youth attend our popular day camp.\n\nTeens in the neighborhood should check out the weightlifting program and teen club activities as well as sports club.\n\nAdults participate in a range of activities, including fitness, walking club, yoga. Plus, sign up for leagues such as\u00a016\" Softball and\u00a0basketball. Parents gather at Hiawatha Park with their preschoolers for moms, pops and tots. Play group, preschool, tap and ballet, tiny tot tumbling and bitty basketball are also available for preschool-age residents.\n\nThe seniors in the community enjoy getting together for a game of bridge and socializing at the senior citizen club during the week.\n\nThe staff at Hiawatha Park invites everyone to come out and play year-round at the park!\n ", "history": "Hiawatha Park was one of many parks created through a ten-year program providing additional recreational space for post-World War II Chicago.\u00a0 Acquisition began in 1946 and in 1947, the Chicago Park District selected a 12-acre park site in the Dunning community. Land acquisition moved slowly and was finally completed in 1955. Improvements began nearly a decade later, and Hiawatha Park opened to the public in 1958. The Park District installed a fieldhouse in subsequent years. Hiawatha Park honors an Onandaga Indian chief, who formed the League of Five Nations, the famed Iroquois confederation. Over the centuries, Hiawatha (ca. 1570) became an almost mystical figure for Native Americans, and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) further mythologized him in \"The Song of Hiawatha.\" The park name was suggested by community residents, who wished to carry on the tradition of naming Chicago parks for Indian tribes, people, and places.\n "}, {"id": 224, "title": "Hickory Park", "address": "\n 4834 N. Winthrop Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "This small park is located in the Uptown\u00a0community (two blocks west of Sheridan Road, \u00bd block north of Lawrence Avenue). The park totals 0.26 acres and it has a soft surface playground for children and families to spend the day. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Broadway Armory Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this park site in 1967, and officially designated it Hickory Park in 1973. The park was one of a number of properties named for trees and plants at this time. A member of the walnut family, the Hickory tree produces nuts that are an important source of food for squirrels, other mammals, and larger birds. Until the mid-20th century, the Shagbark Hickory, common in Chicago and the surrounding area, was the most popular material for making skis. Surprisingly, a cord of Shagbark wood produces almost as much heat as a ton of anthracite coal.\n "}, {"id": 225, "title": "Hoard (Edison) Park", "address": "\n 7201 S. Dobson Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Greater Grand Crossing community, Hoard Park is a pleasant location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors and nature. This 2.72 acre park contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing equipment, basketball courts, baseball diamond, sandbox, and spray\n ", "history": "In the late 1960s, the City of Chicago began plans to revitalize the depressed Grand Crossing neighborhood. After deeming the community a \"Slum and Blighted Area,\" the Department of Urban Renewal proposed to build new residential housing on the existing 1/3-acre Greenwood Park, and replace the lost open space with a new two-and-a-half acre park. The new park would supplement the playground at nearby Paul Revere Elementary School, and provide improved recreational facilities for the entire community. The Chicago Park District acquired the proposed park site on South Dobson Avenue south of Oakwood Cemetery in 1972. In response to requests from many community groups, the Park District named the site in honor of Edison L. Hoard (1933-1974). A Chicago Public School counselor and teacher who began practicing law in 1965, Hoard was involved in community service for many years. He served on the Mayor's Commission on Youth Welfare, and on the boards of the Better Boys Foundation, Center for New Horizons Inc., and the Chicago Commons Foundation. Hoard died tragically in an airplane crash on a return flight to Chicago after attending a director's meeting of the Better Boys Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio.\n "}, {"id": 226, "title": "Hodes (Barnet) Park", "address": "\n 1607 E. 73rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60649\n ", "description": "Hodes Park is a 0.32 acre\u00a0greenspace lying along Stony Island Avenue in the South Shore community. The City of Chicago Water Fund has leased this site to the Chicago Park District since 1960.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 2013, the Chicago Park District acquired this park land from the City of Chicago.\u00a0The park is much older, however. As early as 1935, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation was maintaining the property as parkland. At that time, the park held a small shelter house, a rock garden, and swings. Of the original park design, only a stone walk remains.\n\nThe park honors Barnet Hodes (1900-1980), alderman for the South Shore community from 1921 to 1935. Hodes served as Chicago's Corporation Counsel from 1935 until 1947, and was a member of numerous other public and private boards over his long career. As head of the Patriotic Foundation of Chicago, Hodes was instrumental in commissioning sculptors Lorado Taft (1860-1936) and Leonard Crunelle (1872-1944) to create the patriotic monument now standing in Wacker Drive's Heald Square. Dedicated on December 19, 1941, the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, the bronze statue depicts George Washington and fellow-patriots Haym Salomon and Robert Morris. Salomon, a Polish-born Jew, and Morris, an Englishman, were the primary financiers of the American Revolution. Through Hodes' further efforts, the City declared the monument its first sculptural landmark in 1971.\n "}, {"id": 227, "title": "Holly Park", "address": "\n 4046 S. Ellis Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Oakland community. The park totals 0.45 acres and it features a playground and spray pool that were renovated in 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Mandrake Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1970, the Chicago Park District acquired a vacant lot on South Ellis Avenue in the Oakland community with a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Improving the property with a shelter house, a spray pool, and playground equipment, the park district made some improvements in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1990, the park was upgraded with a soft surface playground for tots and older children.\n\nOfficially designated Holly Park in 1973, the park was one of a number of properties named for trees and plants at the time. The holly is a berry-producing tree or shrub that may be either evergreen or deciduous, depending on the variety. The most widely-known, the American Holly, is an evergreen. For centuries, the deep green, spiny leaves and red shiny berries of this holly have been associated with the Christmas season. American Holly was common to the colonial gardens of Virginia. George Washington grew this variety at Mount Vernon, mentioning it frequently in his journal.\n "}, {"id": 228, "title": "Hollywood Park", "address": "\n 3312 W. Thorndale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60659\n ", "description": "Located at the corner of Jersey and Peterson Avenues, Hollywood Park totals 7.14 acres, with a small fieldhouse, two softball fields, four basketball standards, tennis court, volleyball court, Chicago Plays! playground, and a spray pool.\n\nFor its youngest park-goers, Hollywood Park offers preschool, play group, recreational tumbling, and, in the summer, play camp. Youth participate in programs such as arts and crafts, fun and games, after school drop-in, or table fun and games. Teenagers play basketball or become a member of teen club. Adults can help beautify the North Park neighborhood by lending a hand with the park\u2019s community garden. Table tennis is available to be played by all.\n ", "history": "One of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934, the Hollywood Park District formed in 1926 to provide recreational space for the northeastern portion of Chicago's North Park community. The fledgling park district began purchasing property two years later in 1928, acquiring 2.75 acres through 25 separate purchases by 1931.\u00a0 Land acquisition for the park was not completed until 1949.\u00a0 The site was known as Hollywood Park. Both the park and the district take their names from Hollywood Avenue, which runs through the North Park neighborhood. John Lewis Cochran, the subdivider of nearby Edgewater and a one-time resident of California, named the street for the West Coast Hollywood. Improvements began in 1931, as soon as land acquisition was complete. Within a year or two, Hollywood Park had an attractive rocky-edged goldfish pond. Concealed pipes brought water to the high points of the stone work, sending streams cascading into the pool below. Although the pool had prairie-style influences, it incorporated a variety of flowers and trees from China and Japan. Hollywood Park's design also featured a flagstone walk, a playground, a wading pool, and a baby pool with a pergola shelter. A neighboring lot was flooded for ice skating in winter. Due to the financial crisis caused by the Great Depression, this was the sole project of the Hollywood Park District. The Chicago Park District took control of the park in 1934, and rehabilitated the pond the following year. The Park District acquired additional property after World War II, more than doubling the park's size. In constructing a fieldhouse and various outdoor recreational facilities in the enlarged park, the pond and much of the original stonework was removed. Twenty years later, the Park District constructed a new spray pool and a fieldhouse addition. Improvements made during the 1990s included installation of a soft surface playground and ornamental iron fencing.\n "}, {"id": 229, "title": "Holstein Park", "address": "\n 2200 N. Oakley Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Located in the Logan Square community (two blocks east of Western Avenue and three blocks south of Fullerton Avenue), Holstein Park sits on 3.25 acres.\n\nThe fieldhouse is equipped with two gymnasiums, an assembly hall (with stage), and clubrooms for rental.Outside, the park offers a swimming pool with a wading pool, a senior baseball field, a softball field, a volleyball court, and a playground with a spray water feature.\n\nHolstein Park is one of the sites for the popular Park Kids after school program for youth\u2014with special programming available on school holidays.Teens, Pre-Teens, and Seniors can make new friendships in their age-oriented clubs. Parents will appreciate the opportunity for their tots/preschoolers to increase their socialization skills in programs such as Art & ABCs, Moms Pops & Tots Interaction, Play Group, Tot Spot, Play School Activities, Music & Movement, as well as Recreational Tumbling.\n\nFor recreation, the park offers baseball, basketball, cheerleading, dodgeball, kickball, seasonal sports, soccer, and softball\u2014as well as Sports Camp, Kids Fitness, and MightyFitKidz. During the summer, there\u2019s a variety of summer aquatics programs, an arts camp for 13 yr. olds, and our popular day camp for youth.\n\nAnnual special events held at Holstein Park include\u00a0Family Valentine Dance, Spring Break Camp, and an Easter Egg Hunt.\n ", "history": "In 1854, real estate speculators Sherman, Clark, and Westmore reserved two acres of their subdivision as Holstein Park to enhance the area and its property values. The surrounding area was known as Holstein, an enclave of laborers and craftsmen from Schleswig - Holstein, now a region of Germany. Although the developers expected the city to beautify Holstein Park, it remained unimproved for more than 40 years. Finally, in 1901, the City transferred the park to the West Park System, which made initial improvements. By 1910, the West Park Commissioners had created several new neighborhood parks. These included the earliest west side fieldhouses, offering residents of the surrounding congested neighborhoods important services and programs such as public bathing, English lessons and other classes, and athletics. Efforts soon began to build fieldhouses in some of the existing small parks, including Holstein Park. A handsome brick fieldhouse, designed by Illinois state architect William Carbys Zimmermann, opened to the public in 1912. In 1917, the West Park Commissioners created Holstein Park by purchasing 16 lots north of what is now Palmer Street. Visionary designer Jens Jensen, then consulting landscape architect to the West Park Commission, conceived a plan to cooperatively operate Holstein Park with the adjacent Logan School. He hoped to combine the two properties, build a new school, a separate gymnasium, and an indoor swimming facility. He also wanted to create prairie-like playfields, council rings, an outdoor theater, and school gardens. Although the commissioners began negotiating with the Board of Education, the plan was never realized. Jensen's innovative idea was ahead of its time.\u00a0 In 1928, streets and alleys were vacated for park expansion and from 1928-1929, the City of Chicago acquired control of some park land.\u00a0 In 1934, the park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the 22 park districts were consolidated.\u00a0 In 1949, the Chicago Park District acquired more land for the park.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired land for the park from the City of Chicago pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957.\u00a0 In 1995, the Chicago Park District transferred part of the park to the City of Chicago.\u00a0 A recent collaboration between the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, and Board of Education has resulted in approximately 100 campus parks throughout the city.\n "}, {"id": 230, "title": "Homan (Joseph) Park", "address": "\n 2140 S. Homan Avenue \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the South Lawndale Community. The park totals 0.20 acres and it\u00a0features a playground that was renovated in Fall 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! program. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Douglass Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Homan Park is one of many small parks created by the Bureau of Parks and Recreation to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. The City identified this .17-acre site along South Homan Avenue in the South Lawndale neighborhood in 1948. Using Playground Bond Funds, the bureau acquired the property and installed a spray pool, a sand box, and playground equipment from 1949-1950.\n\nFollowing its practice of the time, the City named the park for the adjacent street. Homan Avenue honors Joseph Homan, a prolific builder and contractor whose company, Homan and Brown, constructed homes throughout Chicago between 1873 and 1888. The City transferred Homan Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\n "}, {"id": 231, "title": "Homan Square Community Center Park", "address": "\n 3559 W. Arthington \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "Located in the North Lawndale community, Homan Square totals 5.44\u00a0acres and is part of the Homan Square Community Center campus. The campus was completed in December 2001 and serves as a recreation, health, family and education center that is home to many nonprofit service providers.\n\nHoman Square Park offers community recreation facilities including an Olympic-size indoor swimming pool, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a gymnasium, a kitchen and several meeting rooms that host games and other activities for seniors and children. Outside, the park's rolling lawn space includes a scenic pation and a children\u2019s playground.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental, including the patio, which is popular for wedding receptions.\n\nPark-goers come to Homan Square Park to play basketball and volleyball or to go swimming in the indoor pool. On the cultural side, Homan Square Park offers popular dance programs and camps for children. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Homan Square Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, including the popular UMOJA Black History Month Celebration and other Night Out in the Parks special events.\n ", "history": "In the late 1980s, after the old Sears Headquarters had been closed down and its vast facilities had remained largely vacant for many years, developer Charles Shaw began efforts to transform the North Lawndale site into the Homan Square Community Center, a vibrant mixed-income community.\u00a0\n\nThe Chicago Park District acquired this park property in 2001. Today, Homan Square Community Center includes housing, two schools, a medical facility, and a 5-acre Chicago Park District facility that opened in 2001.\n "}, {"id": 232, "title": "Honeysuckle Park", "address": "\n 4635 S. Champlain Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "Honeysuckle Park totals 0.25 acres and it\u00a0is located in the\u00a0Grand Boulevard\u00a0community area. This small playground features\u00a0benches and swings. The playground was renovated in 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! Program. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Kenwood Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired property in 1971 and created Honeysuckle Park to provide recreational facilities for the previously under-served Grand Boulevard neighborhood. The park was one of a number of park properties named for plants and trees in the early 1970s. Honeysuckles are ornamental shrubs grown for their handsome flowers and attractive berries. One species, the Japanese honeysuckle, was introduced to America by Dr. George Hall, founder of the Hospital for Seamen in Shanghai, who mailed a cutting home from China in 1862. The Japanese honeysuckle soon spread over the entire East Coast, quickly becoming a pest.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 233, "title": "Honor\u00e9 Palmer (Bertha) Park", "address": "\n 916 N. Honore St. \n Chicago, IL 60622\n ", "description": "Bertha Honor\u00e9 Palmer Park is located in the\u00a0West Town\u00a0Community. The park is 0.16 acres and it features a playground, swings and community garden. The playground was renovated in Summer 2014 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! program.\u00a0It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Commercial Club Playground Park.\n ", "history": "In September of 2014, a new playground was dedicated at Palmer Park. The project was part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! playground redevelopment program.\n\nEarlier in the fall, when the playground was under construction, members of the nearby Commercial Club Advisory Council had proposed naming this site in honor of Bertha Honor\u00e9 Palmer. Bertha Honor\u00e9 Palmer (1849 \u2013 1918) was an important Chicago philanthropist, civic leader, and proponent of women\u2019s rights. The daughter of a successful businessman and real estate investor, Bertha Honor\u00e9 was born in Louisville, Kentucky. At the age of six, she moved with her family to Chicago. After she attended finishing school in Washington D.C., she returned to Chicago and soon married self-made millionaire Potter Palmer, who started a dry goods store that became known as Marshall Field and Company.\n\nThe couple opened the fashionable Palmer House Hotel, which operated only briefly before its\u2019 destruction by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The Palmers quickly rebuilt the hotel, as well as their personal fortune. Bertha Honor\u00e9 Palmer played a leading role in women\u2019s clubs, cultural organizations, and civic groups that influenced the development of Chicago in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These include the Chicago Woman\u2019s Club, the Society of Decorative Arts, Fortnightly Club and the Chicago Civic Federation. She often used her influential role in society to advance women\u2019s causes.\n\nAs President of the Board of Lady Managers for the World\u2019s Columbian Exposition of 1893, Bertha Palmer made sure that the Word\u2019s Fair highlighted a broad and diverse representation of women\u2019s achievement. Bertha and Potter Palmer were avid art enthusiasts and collectors. They lent put some of their most priceless Impressionist paintings to provide the public access to them in the Exposition\u2019s Fine Arts Building. The Palmers also bequeathed a substantial collection of world-class artworks to the Art Institute of Chicago.\n "}, {"id": 234, "title": "Horan (Albert) Park", "address": "\n 3035 W. Van Buren St. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "This playground is located in the East Garfield Park Community. The park totals 3.22 acres and it offers a softball field, basketball courts, green space and a playground that was renovated in 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! Program. The small fieldhouse is currently closed.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, for athletic permits and activities\u00a0we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Homan Square Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1924, the City of Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation began leasing land to create a small park in the rapidly growing East Garfield Park neighborhood. The new park soon included playground equipment, a small brick recreation building, and a playing field that was flooded in the winter for ice skating.\n\nThe City named the park for Albert J. Horan (1894-1960), who had been elected alderman of the surrounding 29th ward the previous year--at the time, the City regularly named parks for the standing aldermen of the wards in which the sites were located. Having served as an aviator in World War I, Horan was co-founder of Cornwall Post of the American Legion. In addition to serving seven years as alderman, he was Democratic Committeeman of the 29th Ward for two decades, and Municipal Court bailiff for as long a period. Horan Park's land was officially purchased by the City in 1948. Five years later, the park was reduced slightly in size, when the southeast corner was taken for the construction of the Eisenhower Expressway. The City transferred Horan Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 In 1976, the Park District enlarged Horan Park by greening over South Albany Avenue at the edge of the park, and acquiring two acres between Albany and Kedzie Avenues. In 1978, streets were vacated to expand the park.\u00a0 Ball fields were installed in the expanded park, and new playground equipment and basketball courts were added in the old park. In the late 1990s, Horan Park's fieldhouse underwent a substantial rehabilitation project after suffering damage from a 1992 fire.\n "}, {"id": 235, "title": "Hornbeam Park", "address": "\n 1416-26 S.Hamlin Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "Hornbeam Playground Park is located in the North Lawndale community. The park totals 0.35 acres and it features a playground and water feature that were renovated in Fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays! program. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Franklin Park for recreation in the gym and fun in the outdoor pool.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this once-vacant lot in 1969, officially designating it Hornbeam Park in 1974. The playlot was one of a number of parks named for trees and plants at this time.\n\nThe American hornbeam is a small deciduous tree also known as the blue-beech, the musclewood, and the ironwood. North American pioneers favored American hornbeams for carving bowls, dishes, and tool handles because their hard, heavy wood is not prone to splitting. Today hornbeam wood is most often used to manufacture piano striking hammers. The name hornbeam itself recognizes the tree's strength: in old English, \"horn\" means tough, while \"beam\" means tree.\n "}, {"id": 236, "title": "Horner (Henry) Park", "address": "\n 2741 W. Montrose Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "At 57.97 acres, Horner Park is one of the largest parks on the North Side and boasts nine softball fields, three senior baseball diamonds with night baseball on two diamonds, two football/soccer fields, four outdoor basketball standards, five tennis courts, a playground, a relaxing nature area and 13 picnic groves.\n\nThe park, located at the major intersection of Montrose and California Avenues, plays a prominent role in its Irving Park neighborhood.Horner Park hosts a number of holiday and seasonal special events, including an annual pumpkin patch, movies/concerts in the park, their popular Doggie Egg Hunt along with various public community meetings.The park offers programming to meet every possible age group, interest and need.\n\nArea youth and teens play sports, such as basketball, football, volleyball, softball, track & field and floor hockey.Youth also participate in recreational tumbling and gymnastics. Preschoolers get started as early as age three, building skills in tumbling and tap & ballet.The park offers traditional early childhood recreation classes\u2014preschool; playschool; Moms, Pops & Tots and playgroup. Adults join in athletics with basketball, volleyball and softball leagues.\n\nOn the cultural side, Horner Park offers woodcraft for all ages in its downstairs shop.Youth and teens choose from multi-cultural art, piano and guitar. For adults there are more specialized classes, such as tile mosaic, clay/hand building, open pottery studio and Horner Park Jazz Band.\n\nHorner is one of the few parks to teach two levels of American Sign Language, plus offers programs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community such as park kids and Friday Night teen club.\n ", "history": "After 1900, Chicago's northwest side Irving Park community developed quickly. Residential construction boomed, and industries soon located along the North Branch of the Chicago River. Among these was a brick manufacturer, which excavated its riverside property for brick-making clay. Some years later, the company abandoned the site, and the clay pits became a garbage dump. Because community organizations opposed this new use, the property was eventually down-zoned from its industrial designation.\n\nIn the spring of 1946, the Chicago Park District began acquiring the nearly 55-acre site as part of a ten-year, citywide plan to increase recreational opportunities throughout the city. In 1949, the Park District began demolishing the brick kilns and industrial structures and acquired more property to expand the park through land acquisition and vacating streets and alleys.\u00a0 Filling and grading were soon underway. By the early 1950s, the park had a large tobogganing hill, tennis courts, a playground, and a comfort station. A large, open meadow bordered with trees stretched across the southern section of the park. A fieldhouse was added in 1956. After adding handball courts in the 1970s and making various upgrades in the 1980s, the Park District installed a large new soft surface playground with separate areas for tots, young children, and older children.\n\nThe park honors Henry Horner (1878-1940), Illinois' first Jewish governor, who served from 1933 to 1940. A native Chicagoan, Horner was appointed attorney for the Cook County Board of Assessors in 1907, and was elected judge of the Cook County Probate Court seven years later. Having gained an early, solid reputation for integrity, he won increasing popularity with diverse segments of the community. This broad-based support propelled Horner to the governorship, and fostered acceptance of a state sales tax to fund much-needed welfare programs during the Depression. A red granite monument in the northwest corner of Horner Park depicts the former governor's accomplishments. The art deco relief, carved by sculptor John David Brcin (b. 1899) in 1948, stood in Grant Park until 1956, when it was moved in time for the Horner Park fieldhouse dedication.\n "}, {"id": 237, "title": "Houston (Jessie \"Ma\") Park", "address": "\n 5001 S. Cottage Grove Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Kenwood Community. The 4.01 acre park features a playground, basketball courts and mural honoring civil rights activist Jessie \u2018Ma\u2019 Houston.\u00a0It is an active community park. The playground at Houston Park was renovated in 2015\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Kenwood Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "The Kenwood neighborhood, once known as the prestigious \"Lake Forest\" of Chicago's south side, experienced major changes between 1940 and 1960. African-Americans began moving in during World War II and the area's population had grown significantly by 1960. As the more affluent residents moved out, large mansions and elegant apartment houses were divided into many smaller units and the neighborhood began to decline. To reverse this trend, the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference formed in 1949. In the early 1960s, urban renewal efforts began when a Hyde Park-Kenwood Conservation Area was established. Among the revitalization initiatives within the conservation area was the creation of a 4-acre park. The Chicago Housing Authority conveyed property to the Chicago Park District in 1963. The Park District installed volleyball and basketball courts, a playground, lawn, and plantings. The park received a new soft surface playground in 1990.\n\nIn 1991, the Park District officially named the site in tribute to Rev. Jessie \"Ma\" Houston (1899-1980). After overcoming a case of childhood paralysis, Ma Houston settled in Chicago in her 20s, and began helping other disabled people. In addition to actively participating in the civil rights movement, Ma Houston was instrumental in prison reform. She was the first woman allowed to serve as a minister to prisoners on Death Row in Illinois. Under three administrations, she served on the governor's correction advisory panel. In addition, she provided support to families of incarcerated people. The Ma Houston Prison Outpost and the Washington Park Advisory Council suggested the park name.\n "}, {"id": 238, "title": "Howard (Ure) Beach Park", "address": "\n 7519 N. Eastlake Terrace \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Whether you are looking to relax on the sandy beach soaking in some rays or getting active our beaches are a great summer destination right in the middle of a bustling Chicago.\u00a0 Howard Beach Park is 1.05 acres.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago acquired property in 1958 and 1969 that would become Howard Beach Park.\u00a0 Howard Beach Park is one of 18 street-end beaches acquired by the Chicago Park District from the City of Chicago pursuant to the 1957 Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. By that time, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had been operating such small municipal beaches since at least 1921. Many of these beaches were located in the Rogers Park neighborhood, where a growing population of apartment dwellers lacked easy access to recreational opportunities. In contrast to the City's larger municipal beaches, the street-end beaches, though manned by lifeguards, had no changing rooms or other facilities.\n\nHoward Avenue and the adjoining beach are named for Howard Ure (1896-1984), scion of a Rogers Park pioneer family. John Calder Ure began to farm in the Rogers Park area in the mid-19th century. His son, John F. Ure, founded the Ure Dairy on his father's property, and later donated the right-of-way for Howard Avenue. Howard Ure, a banker, became a director of the Howard Avenue Trust and Savings Bank at the early age of 26. Between 1953 and 1973, he served as a director of the North Shore National Bank of Chicago.\n "}, {"id": 239, "title": "Hoyne (Thomas) Park", "address": "\n 3417 S. Hamiltion Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Located in the McKinley Park Community, Hoyne Park totals 2.38\u00a0acres and features a small field house that is currently closed. Outside, the park offers a playground, basketball court, baseball field and athletic field for football or soccer.\n\nPark-goers can play soccer or football at the facility. For permits, contact the Area Manager's office at McKinley Park.\n ", "history": "In response to the post-World War II baby boom, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation began creating dozens of new parks and playgrounds in the late 1940s. Among many sites acquired for park development was a two-and-a-half acre property in the McKinley Park neighborhood that the City of Chicago acquired in 1949. Beginning construction by 1950, the City named the site Hoyne Park for the street on which it is located.\u00a0 The park was transferred to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\n\nThomas Hoyne (1817-1883) was a lawyer who served as a judge, U.S. attorney, and U.S. Marshall. Elected mayor of Chicago in May of 1876, Hoyne served for only three months. Due to disputes about the validity of his election, the circuit court removed him from office in July of 1876. He was not re-elected.\n "}, {"id": 240, "title": "Hubbard (Gurdon) Park", "address": "\n 4942-58 W. Hubbard St. \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Austin Community. It is an active community park that totals 0.62 acres.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Moore Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "Hubbard Park is one of many playgrounds established by the City of Chicago after World War II.\u00a0 In 1881 and in 1894, the Chicago Board of Education acquired property that would be used for the park.\u00a0 By 1950, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation had developed this playlot on property owned by the Board of Education in the Austin community. Several years later, the bureau added a basketball court to the original sandbox, spraypool, and playground equipment.\n\nThe property was transferred to the Chicago Park District in 1991. The Park District installed a new soft surface playground in 1989, and purchased the property from the Board of Education the following year.\n\nHubbard Park takes its name from the adjacent street, which honors one of Chicago's earliest and best-known citizens, Gurdon S. Hubbard (1802-1886). In 1818, Hubbard arrived in Chicago at the age of 16 as a representative of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Trading Company. The Native Americans with whom he traded knew him as Papamatabe, meaning \"Swift Walker.\"\n\nIn 1834, Hubbard discontinued his fur trading ventures, establishing himself as a permanent resident of Chicago. Hubbard went on to become a successful shipper, commission merchant, meat packer, and investor in real estate, among other things, but lost much of his fortune in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Hubbard also participated extensively in Chicago's public life, serving as one of the new community's first trustees and later as a city alderman.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 241, "title": "Huckleberry Park", "address": "\n 6200 S. Kimbark Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn community, Huckleberry Park is an idyllic location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing, enjoying nature and the outdoors. This park is 0.31 acres and it contains a soft- service playground with swings, slides, and climbing elements.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this park site in 1969, officially naming it Huckleberry Park in 1974. The park was one of a number of properties named for trees and plants at this time. The huckleberry, or gaylussacia, is a small evergreen shrub. Some varieties of huckleberry are grown for their attractive flowers, others for their edible fruits. The plant's Latin name honors noted French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778-1850). Gay-Lussac's law concerning the volume of gases permitted the development of the food-canning industry. In his time, Gay-Lussac was also known for his hot air balloon experiments. In 1804, he ascended to 22,000 feet.\n "}, {"id": 242, "title": "Humbert (James) Park", "address": "\n 3050 South Lowe Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Humbert Park is located in the\u00a0New City community. The\u00a0park is 0.41 acres and it features a small playground that was renovated in Summer 2014 as part of the Chicago Plays! Program. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0McGuane Park for recreation in the gym, swimming in the indoor pool or to play ball on the baseball diamonds.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Humbert Park lies near the former Union Stock Yards, in the New City community area. The City of Chicago purchased the park site in 1916, intending to build a police station there. When those plans fell through, the City Bureau of Parks and Recreation took over, and the property became a playground.\n\nThe City transferred the park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. Throughout most of its existence, the park was officially known as Lowe Playlot Park, after the street on which it lies. Neighbors, however, had for many years called the playground Humbert Park, in honor of a local World War II veteran, James A. Humbert (1924-1945).\n\nA Seaman First Class in the U.S. Navy, Humbert was killed in action in the Philippines on January 10, 1945. The Park District officially designated the site Humbert Park in 1999.\n "}, {"id": 243, "title": "Humboldt (Alexander Von) Park", "address": "\n 1440 N. Humboldt Boulevard \n Chicago, IL 60622\n ", "description": "Located in the heart of the Humboldt Park Community, Humboldt Park totals 197.26 acres and is home to a large, historic fieldhouse with a fitness center, two gymnasiums and meeting rooms, as well as an inland beach and the historic lagoons and boat house.\u00a0\n\nRecreational facilities at the park include an artificial turf soccer field, a junior soccer field,\u00a0baseball fields, tennis courts and\u00a0a replica of the Chicago Cubs stadium known as \u201cLittle Cubs Field.\" The park is home to several playgrounds that were recently renovated\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\n\nWith the support of the community, Puerto Rican leaders in Chicago began leasing the historic Humboldt Park stables near Paseo Boricua. This landmark location now houses\u00a0The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. It is the only museum in the nation that is completely dedicated to the history of Puerto Rican arts and culture.\n\nTake the Humboldt Park Audio Tour\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. The grand ballroom in the field house is a popular location for wedding receptions and graduation parties. The outdoor soccer fields and Little Cubs Field frequently host competitive sports tournaments. \u00a0\n\nPark-goers come to Humboldt to enjoy baseball, soccer and tennis, as well as fishing by the lagoon. On the cultural side, Humboldt Park is host to the Latin Jazz Festival and the Puerto Rican Festival. The park is also the site of a wind turbine filtration system for the lagoons.\n\nAfter school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer, youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, including baseball camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Humboldt Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, including Shakespeare in the Park, Movies in the Park and other Night Out in the Parks special events.\n\nThe park was named for Alexander Von Humboldt, a German naturalist and geographer famed for his five-volume work Cosmos: Draft of a Physical Description of the World, though his single visit to the United States did not include Chicago. The creation of Humboldt and several other Westside parks is a key part of Chicago's history that provided beautiful green space and linked together the city's historic boulevard system.\n ", "history": "In 1869, shortly after the creation of the West Park System, neighborhood residents requested that the northernmost park be named in honor of Baron Freidrich Heinrich Alexander Von Humboldt (1759-1859), the famous German scientist and explorer. Two years later, completed plans for the entire ensemble of Humboldt, Garfield, and Douglas parks and connecting boulevards were completed by William Le Baron Jenney, who is best known today as the father of the skyscraper.\n\nHaving studied engineering in Paris during the construction of that city's grand park and boulevard system in the 1850s, Jenney was influenced by French design. The construction of Humboldt Park was slow, however, and the original plan was followed only for the park's northeastern section.\u00a0 Land acquisition for the park was not completed until 1913.\n\nJens Jensen, a Danish immigrant who had begun as a laborer, worked his way up to Superintendent of Humboldt Park in the mid-1890s. Unfortunately, the West Park System was entrenched in political graft at the time. The commissioners fired Jensen in 1900 because of his efforts to fight the corruption.\n\nFive years later, during major political reforms, new commissioners appointed him General Superintendent and Chief Landscape Architect. Deteriorating and unfinished areas of Humboldt Park allowed Jensen to experiment with his evolving Prairie style. For instance, Jensen extended the park's existing lagoon into a long meandering \"prairie river.\" Inspired by the natural rivers he saw on trips to the countryside, Jensen designed hidden water sources that supplied two rocky brooks that fed the waterway. Nearby he created a circular rose garden and an adjacent naturalistic perennial garden.\n\nJensen designated an area diagonally across from the rose garden as a music court for dances, concerts and other special events. He commissioned Prairie School architects Schmidt, Garden, and Martin to design an impressive boat house and refectory building which still stands at one end of the historic music court.\n\nIn 1928, the West Park Commission constructed a fieldhouse in Humboldt Park. The structure was designed by architects Michaelsen and Rognstad, who were also responsible for other notable buildings including the Garfield Park Gold Dome Building, the Douglas and LaFolette Park Fieldhouses, and the On Leong Chinese Merchant's Association Building in Chinatown.\n\nIn 1934, Humboldt Park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the city's 22 independent park commissions merged into a single citywide agency.\n "}, {"id": 244, "title": "Hurley (Timothy) Park", "address": "\n 1901 W. 100th St. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Beverly community area, Hurley Park totals 1.54 acres and it is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a soft-surface playground with swings, slides, and climbing equipment.\n ", "history": "Hurley Park was created by the Ridge Park District, one of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Between 1920 and 1930, the population of the Ridge Park District's fashionable Beverly neighborhood increased by nearly 80%. In January, 1923, residents living in the vicinity of 100th Street and Longwood Drive petitioned for creation of a neighborhood community center there. The Ridge Park District took quick action, purchasing a 1.21 acre parcel of land the following year in 1924. In 1928, Beverly-based Hetherington & Son, Architects, designed a wading pool, shelter house, and comfort station for the small site. Long since demolished, these features nestled into the natural grades of the Tinley ground moraine. This glacial slope provides the well-drained high ground that nurtures the park's impressive stand of burr, red, and white oaks.\u00a0 The park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio in 1934 when the 22 park districts were consolidated.\u00a0 Historically, the park was informally known as 100th Street Park and Park No. 178.\n\nIn 1973, the Chicago Park District officially named the property Shamrock Park as part of a city-wide program to name parks for trees and plants. In 1984, the park district renamed the site in honor of Father Timothy J. Hurley (1870--1946). Born in Ireland and ordained in Baltimore, Maryland, Father Hurley organized Beverly's St. Barnabas Catholic parish in 1924, and oversaw construction of its church building just a block from the park. Father Hurley served as St. Barnabas' pastor from its 1924 formation until his death in 1946.\n "}, {"id": 245, "title": "Independence Park", "address": "\n 3945 N. Springfield Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "Located on Irving Park Road just east of Pulaski, Independence Park is surrounded by a nice quiet neighborhood in Old Irving Park.\n\nThe park is 8.82 acres and has a number of features including a playground, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, a water spray area for kids to play in, and lots of great trees. Plus, a field house with an indoor pool, a big party room, locker rooms, fitness center and a small gymnasium.\n\nAt the park field house, youth enjoy sports and tumbling programs as well as cultural opportunities. For the little ones we have our popular Moms, Pops and Tots program and Tiny Tot tumbling, among others.Enjoy the pool for open swim time or join a class.\n\nIndependence Park also provides activities for developmentally disabled adults and children through its therapeutic recreation programs.\n\nOn the grounds at Independence Park is the \u201cWomen\u2019s Community Club Building.\u201d Today, the recently renovated Bungalow is using green technology. The Bungalow Renovation Project\u00a0 incorporates green building initiatives and\u00a0is utilized as a national model showing its use of cutting-edge green technology.\n\nThe Independence Park Bungalow was constructed in the early 1920s as a single family residence. In 1930 the Bungalow was converted into the \u201cWomen\u2019s Community Club Building of the Irving Park District.\u201d The Chicago Park District purchased and incorporated the Bungalow in 1936 into Independence Park.\n ", "history": "Land acquisition for this park began in 1904.\u00a0 In 1907, Irving Park area residents petitioned Mayor Fred Busse for the creation of parks in their neighborhood. Mayor Busse referred the request to the City's Special Park Commission, which inspected potential park properties, including the longtime site of the neighborhood's annual Independence Day celebration. With the City's most congested districts as their focus, the commissioners could not justify creating a park in this spacious, middle-class neighborhood. State enabling legislation offered an alternative. By popular vote in 1910, community members established the Irving Park District.\n\nThe new Park District soon began acquiring the previously-identified site. Though acquisition took several years, improvements began and the neighborhood continued holding its annual 4th of July festivities there. Recognizing the importance of this community celebration, the site was named Independence Park. In 1914, the park district constructed an attractive brick fieldhouse designed by Hatzfeld and Knox. Several years later, Independence Park was enlarged to Byron Street. The new property included a single-family brick home which was converted for use by the Women's Community Club. In response to requests from the public, the park district created a beautiful sunken garden with fanciful rockwork, trimmed hedges, and elaborate plantings. Colored lights illuminated the garden at night. By 1930, in addition to the garden, Independence Park included horseshoe and tennis courts, two 18-hole putting greens, playgrounds, and a wading pool.\u00a0 Land acquisition for this park was completed in 1931.\n\nIn 1934, the park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when all of the City's 22 independent park agencies were consolidated into the Chicago Park District. As part of a federal Works Progress Administration arts initiative, artist M.R. Decker created a patriotically-themed painting for Independence Park's fieldhouse auditorium. In 1950, the Park District replaced the sunken garden with ball fields.\n "}, {"id": 246, "title": "Indian Boundary Park", "address": "\n 2500 W. Lunt Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60645\n ", "description": "Indian Boundary Park is 13.22 acres.\u00a0 In the\u00a0Nature Play Center, kids use their imagination and get creative while playing in this incredible outdoor space. The kids don\u2019t have to say anything\u2026you just look at the smiles on their faces and hear their contagious laughter as they explore. It\u2019s magical. It\u2019s peaceful. It\u2019s awesome. Next time you visit the park check it out the Nature Play Center. The \"magical\" nature play\u00a0center is open for special events during the winter.\n\nThe water spray feature has dancing bears and spray misters cool off community children and adults!\n\nTucked away in the West Ridge\u00a0community sits a community treasure\u2014Indian Boundary Park and Cultural Center. Beyond the quaint Tudor-style field house, visitors can discover a beautifully restored nature area and duck-filled lagoon, a children\u2019s spray pool, and four tennis courts.\n\nAs a designated cultural center, Indian Boundary thrives with various painting, piano, dance and voice lessons for both children and adults. Check out the stained glass and weaving class options. Some classes take place on the park\u2019s back porch so that artists can use the park\u2019s scenery as inspiration.\u00a0\n\nIndian Boundary is a residency site in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago\u2019s program, offering free, family-oriented and interactive concert performances for the community throughout the year. T. Daniel Productions in Residence offers a free Mime Class\u00a0for Kids, an Adult\u00a0Mime\u00a0Class, Intensive\u00a0Mime\u00a0Studies and\u00a0a Season of\u00a0performances\u00a0of\u00a0Mime & Music productions for the community.\u00a0 In addition, Fury Theatre is in residency here at the park. They produce a number\u00a0of fine Shakespeare productions throughout the year.\u00a0\n\nParties of 20 or more need to have a permit. Please contact the park staff.\n\nCommunity residents enjoy the numerous special events produced by the park staff such as; Do-It-Yourself Nutcracker; Valentine's Daddy/Daughter - Mother/Son Party; and Community Halloween Bash to name a few.\n\nAwards: May 2014: Indian Boundary Park Field House received an award for Preservation Excellence by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.\n\nThe Indian Boundary fieldhouse, designed by Clarence Hatzfeld, features Native American-themed ornament inspired by the park\u2019s name, taken from a territorial boundary established between the Pottawattomie Indians and the United States Government. Inside is a beautiful auditorium with stage, used for programs, theater productions, concerts, community meetings and private rentals.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Indian Boundary Park takes its name from a territorial boundary established by the Treaty of 1816 between the Pottawattomie Indians and the U.S. government. The boundary line, which ran through the land that is now the park, remained in effect only through 1833, when the Pottawattomies were forced entirely from the area in the face of white settlement.\n\nIndian Boundary Park was the second and largest of the four parks created by the Ridge Avenue Park District. The others were Morse (now Matanky), Chippewa, and Pottawattomie. The Ridge Avenue district was the first of 19 neighborhood park commissions established after 1896 to serve areas recently annexed to the City. Chicago's three original park districts had authority only to create parks within the 1869 city limits.\n\nThe Ridge Avenue Park District began acquiring land for Indian Boundary Park in 1915. Richard F. Gloede, a designer of North Shore estate landscapes, developed an early plan for the park. In the mid-1920s, the Ridge Avenue Park District opened a small zoo, one of only two zoos in Chicago and initially housing only a lone black bear. \u00a0Land acquisition for the park was completed in 1926.\u00a0 The 1929 Tudor-Revival fieldhouse designed by architect Clarence Hatzfeld features Native American-themed ornament inspired by the park's name. Indian Boundary Park is unusual in that its eastern lawn flows seamlessly into the front yards of neighboring apartment buildings. This park feature was so well-received that in the 1960s the Chicago Park District closed off part of adjacent Estes Avenue as well.\n\nIn 2005 Indian Boundary Fieldhouse was designated a Historical Landmark by the City of Chicago and is also listed in the National Register of Historical Places.\n "}, {"id": 247, "title": "Indian Ridge Marsh Park (Park No. 565)", "address": "\n 11600 S. Torrence Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Indian Ridge Marsh is 150 acres of marsh, wet prairie, and savanna habitat in the Calumet region. The park is split into a north and a south section. Both sections have parking lots and walking trails. The trails provide fantastic views of the marshlands which provide important habitat for local wetland birds.\n\nHelp keep wildlife wild, safe, and healthy by following posted signage andNatural Areas Rules and Regulations.\n\n\n\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District entered into a lease agreement with the City of Chicago in 2015 to use property for Indian Ridge Marsh Park.\n "}, {"id": 248, "title": "Indian Road Park", "address": "\n 6010 W. Matson Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "Indian Road Park is 3.50 acres and it is located in the Norwood Park community, just south of Devon Avenue between Central and Narragansett Avenues.\n\nWith an ADA accessible playground and water spray feature, Indian Road Park attracts a number of young residents. Early childhood programming includes:preschool, playgroup, arts& crafts, story-time, and other crafts classes. This Fall, a Pre-Teen Club as well as kids' fitness classes will be offered at the park. Weeknights--during the Spring and Fall--the field is reserved for adult 16\u201d softball leagues.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Board of Education acquired property for this park from 1928 until 1946 through land acquisition and vacating alleys and streets.\u00a0 Indian Road Park was established in 1948 on Board of Education-owned property in the rapidly growing Norwood Park community. By 1950, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had improved the site with a sand box, playground equipment, and a baseball diamond.\n\nFollowing its general practice at the time, the bureau named the park for adjacent Indian Road. Indian Road runs along the edge of what was once the reservation of Billy Caldwell (1780-1841), a Potowatomi chief and notable early Chicagoan. Caldwell, born of an Irish father and a Wyandot mother, was also known as Sauganash, meaning \"the Englishman.\" The Chicago Park District began to manage Indian Road Park in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. By the early 1960s, the park had a brick recreation building, additional playground equipment, a reconditioned athletic field, and new plantings. Having added a spray pool and basketball court in 1966, the park district built a soft surface playground in 1988. The Board of Education transferred ownership of the property to the Park District in 1991.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 249, "title": "Jackson (Andrew) Park", "address": "\n 6401 S. Stony Island Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn community, Jackson Park totals 551.52 acres and features a gymnasium, three multi-purpose rooms, and fitness center. Green features of the park include Wooded Island - which includes the Japanese\u00a0Garden - Bobolink Meadows, cherry blossom trees around the Columbian Basin, and a vegetable and flower garden. Outside, the park offers three harbors, 63rd St. Beach, basketball/tennis courts, multi-purpose fields, golf course, golf driving range and an artificial turf field. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose fields, gymnasium and multi-purpose clubrooms.\n\u00a0\n\nLearn more about the cherry blossom trees and visiting the Wooded Island.\n\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids, seasonal sports, arts & crafts, and tennis lessons. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\nIn addition to programs, Jackson Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "After the state legislature created the South Park Commission in 1869, the renowned designers of New York's Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, were hired to lay out the 1055-acre park.\u00a0 The South Park Commissioners acquired land for the park from 1869 until 1930 through multiple sources.\u00a0 Known originally as South Park, the landscape had eastern and western divisions connected by a grand boulevard named the Midway Plaisance. The eastern division became known as Lake Park; however, in 1880 the commission asked the public to suggest official names for both the eastern and western Divisions. Jackson and Washington were proposed, and the following year, Lake Park was renamed Jackson Park to honor Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), the seventh president of the United States.\n\nIn 1890, Chicago won the honor of hosting the World's Columbian Exposition, and Jackson Park was selected as its site. Olmsted and Chicago's famous architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham laid out the fairgrounds. A team of the nation's most significant architects and sculptors created the \"White City\" of plaster buildings and artworks. The monumental World's Fair opened to visitors on May 1, 1893. After it closed six months later, the site was transformed back into parkland. Jackson Park featured the first public golf course west of the Alleghenies, which opened in 1899.\u00a0 In 1934, the park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the 22 park districts were consolidated.\u00a0 Today, two structures remain as impressive symbols of the World's Columbian Exposition. The \"Golden Lady\" sculpture is a smaller version of Daniel Chester French's Statue of the Republic which originally stood at the foot of the Court of Honor. The original Fine Arts Palace now houses Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.\n "}, {"id": 250, "title": "Jackson (Mahalia) Park", "address": "\n 8385 S. Birkhoff Ave \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Auburn Gresham community, Mahalia Jackson Park totals 6.03 acres and features\u00a0\u00a0 two ball fields, two basketball courts and a tennis court. This is a non-staffed location. For Chicago Park District programming, please visit West Chatham Park.\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired property for this park in 2001.\u00a0 Mahalia Jackson (1911 \u2013 1972), was a gospel singer who, during her lifetime, became famous throughout the world for her beautiful warm contralto voice. Born in New Orleans, her family exposed her to the city\u2019s influential jazz and blues musicians such as Ma Rainey and King Oliver. Jackson moved to Chicago with a maternal aunt, Hannah Robinson. She had hoped to become a nurse, but found employment instead as a laundress. The following year, she became a member of the Johnson Gospel Singers, who performed at Baptist churches, festivals, and church conventions. After the group broke up in the 1930\u2019s, she became associated with minister and pioneering gospel musician Thomas A. Dorsey. In 1937, she cut her first album on the Decca label, which hadn\u2019t previously recorded gospel music. Her career began to take off about a decade later, when her hit \u201cMove on up a Little Higher\u201d sold nearly two million copies. She went on to record with Apollo Records and Columbia Records who in 1953 billed Jackson as \u201cThe World\u2019s Greatest Gospel Singer.\u201d In the 1950\u2019s and 1960\u2019s, Jackson played an important role in the Civil Rights movement. In 1961, she sang at President John F. Kennedy\u2019s inaugural ball. She also helped organize and sang at several rallies and benefits in which Dr. Martin Luther King spoke. Park 386 is only four blocks away from Jackson\u2019s home at 8358 S. Indiana which she purchased in 1956.\n "}, {"id": 251, "title": "Jackson (Robert) Park", "address": "\n 4319 S. Indiana Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.27 acres and it is located in the\u00a0Grand Boulevard\u00a0Community.\u00a0\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Taylor Park\u00a0in Bronzeville\u00a0for recreation in the gym, fun in the outdoor pool and workout opportunities at the Fitness Center or boxing ring.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1914, the City of Chicago purchased the site of Robert J. Jackson Park for use as a municipal tuberculosis sanitarium. After the sanitarium closed, Robert J. Jackson, who served as Third Ward Alderman from 1918 to 1939, urged the City to convert the site to parkland.\n\nBy 1950, the new park had been named in Jackson's honor, and the Bureau of Parks and Recreation had improved it with a spray pool, a sand box and playground equipment. In 1957, the City transferred the park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957.\n "}, {"id": 252, "title": "Jacob Park", "address": "\n 4674 N.Virginia Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "Located in the Lincoln Square neighborhood (two blocks south of Lawrence Avenue, and seven blocks west of Lincoln Avenue), Jacob Park is 0.89 acres and it features a playground with slides and swings, plus a sandbox for an afternoon of activities.\n\nAs part of the ChicagoPlays! playground renovation program the playlot received a new colorful playground. It's a great place for the kiddos and families to hang out and play!\u00a0\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Horner, River, and Welles Park.\n ", "history": "In 1913, New York real estate developer William Harmon began subdividing property on both sides of the North Branch of the Chicago River to create the lovely Ravenswood Manor and Ravenswood Gardens neighborhoods. Residents soon voted to form their own park district, electing Mrs. Helen Meder the first president of its board. The new Ravenswood Manor Garden Park District was progressive -- electing a woman president, taking positions against river pollution, and stopping illegal dumping in vacant lots. However, the district had limited resources and could only afford to create very small parks. In 1915, the park district began slowly acquiring land for what became known as Jacob Park and continued to acquire land for the park until 1923. The board had hoped to construct a building in the park, however few improvements were made. For years, the park was little more than a vacant lot. Although neighborhood children played baseball there, in 1928, the park board decided to sell the land. When the \"for sale\" sign went up, local residents protested, and the sign was quickly removed. Finally, in the early 1930s, the landscape was planted, and a sand box installed. In 1934, Jacob Park became part of the newly-formed Chicago Park District. Thirty years later, the Park District installed a substantial playground, which was updated in 1991.\n\nAlthough long known as Jacob Park, the name may have resulted from a clerical mistake. It was originally listed as Virginia Park, but in the early 1930s, it became known by area residents as Jaeger Park in honor of Otto Jaeger a member of the Ravenswood Manor Garden Park District board from 1922 to 1934. As there is no record of the name change from Jaeger to Jacob Park, it seems likely a recording error was made during the administrative transfer to the Chicago Park District.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 253, "title": "Jacolik (Florian S.) Park", "address": "\n 2731 South Eleanor Street \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Bridgeport Community. Formerly known as Eleanor Park, the park is 0.39 acres and it features a playground and water fountain. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Park No. 571.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "This Bridgeport playground pays tribute to Private Florian S. Jacolik (1924-1944), who served in the army during World War II. Jacolik was killed in action while fighting in France on August 15, 1944. Jacolik was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals.\n\nUntil 1999, the park was known as Eleanor Park for the neighboring street. Sometime before 1950, the City of Chicago began leasing this park site from Peoples Gas Company. The City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation managed the park until 1959, when the Chicago Park District took over the lease. Peoples Gas sold the property to the Park District in 1976.\n "}, {"id": 254, "title": "Jefferson (Nancy) Park", "address": "\n 3101 W. Fulton St. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "Located in the East Garfield Park community, Nancy Jefferson Park is 0.85 acres and it\u00a0features an outdoor basketball court and playground that was renovated in Fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays! program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Garfield Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased land for what is now Nancy Jefferson Park in 1969. \u00a0The project included a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The new park was intended to provide much-needed recreational space for young children in an industrial area of the East Garfield Park neighborhood. The Park District officially designated the playlot Marigold Park in 1974, when a number of parks were named for trees and plants.\u00a0\n\nIn 2004, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners officially renamed the park in honor of Nancy Jefferson as part of system-wide initiative to recognize the contributions of significant Chicago women. Nancy Jefferson (1923 \u2013 1992) was a nurse, social worker, and accomplished civic leader who helped improve the lives of residents of Chicago\u2019s west side. Born and raised in Tennessee, Ms. Jefferson received a nursing degree from Phillander Smith College and went on to receive a degree in social work from Michigan State University.\u00a0 After settling in Chicago, she attended classes at the University of Illinois at Chicago, which allowed her to keep her certification and licensing up to date.\u00a0 Ms. Jefferson spent over thirty years championing civil rights, advocating open and affordable housing, crusading for improved health care and working for prison reform. After volunteering at Chicago\u2019s Midwest Community Council for several years, she was appointed as the organization\u2019s director in 1963. She continued to be involved in this vital community organization for the rest of her life.\u00a0 Ms. Jefferson helped establish a local school council in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center School.\u00a0 In addition to her many efforts to improve Chicago\u2019s west side, Ms. Jefferson served as a member of the Chicago Police Board, was appointed to Illinois Governor-elect Jim Edgar\u2019s transition team.\u00a0 In 1995, the Chicago Board of Education named a school in Ms. Jefferson\u2019s honor. Several, and more recently, the federal government named a post office in her honor. \u00a0The park is only a few blocks away from 301 N. Kedzie, a building that served as the Midwest Community Council\u2019s headquarters. \u00a0\n "}, {"id": 255, "title": "Jefferson (Thomas) Memorial Park", "address": "\n 4822 N. Long Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "Jefferson Park, situated at Long and Higgins Avenues in the heart of its community, swarms with activity year-round. Equipped with two baseball fields, one combination football/soccer field, three tennis courts, one playground and a water spray\u00a0feature\u00a0and a outdoor swimming pool with dressing facility, the 7.96 acre park offers plenty of outdoor recreation.\n\nInside the Jefferson Park fieldhouse, residents of all ages congregate to participate in arts, sports and social groups, such as both an active teen club.\n\nThe all-volunteer Citywide Orchestra practices at Jefferson Park and performs seasonal concerts for the community. Adults can also participate in making chamber music, while youth take piano, violin and cello lessons.\n\nThe park has regular arts and crafts classes, as well as special holiday workshops for children. Tumbling and gymnastics remain a mainstay at Jefferson Park, and its teams have won numerous awards in citywide competitions. Parents can also get their youngsters involved in preschool; Moms, Pops & Tots.\n ", "history": "Thomas Jefferson Memorial Park honors the nation's third president and drafter of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Long known simply as Jefferson Park, the park received the memorial park designation in 1999, to distinguish it from a second park of the same name. This Jefferson Park was the creation of the Jefferson Park District, one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934 when the park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio. Established in 1920 to provide neighborhood parks for its rapidly-developing northwest side community, the Jefferson Park District began to purchase land for the park in 1921. Land acquisition continued through 1929, by which time, much of the park had been landscaped. In 1930, the park district constructed an athletic field and a fieldhouse designed by Clarence Hatzfeld. The brick fieldhouse is graced with several paintings, including an anonymous portrait Thomas Jefferson, a depiction of a Viking ship by Emil Biorn, and Columbus Sighting Land by L. Caracciolo.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 256, "title": "Jefferson (Thomas) Park", "address": "\n 1709 S. Des Plaines St. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Located in the Lower West Side community, Jefferson Playground Park is 2.01 acres and it has a playground and a water spray feature. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Ping Tom Memorial Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Jefferson Park is one of many playgrounds established by the City of Chicago at the close of World War II. By 1950, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation had developed this playlot on Board of Education-owned property in the under-served Pilsen neighborhood. The bureau soon added a basketball court to the original sandbox, spraypool, playground equipment, and softball diamond.\n\nThe Chicago Park District redeveloped the property and added a comfort station in 1980 and the City of Chicago transferred management of the property to the Park District in 1982. The following year, the District expanded the park, purchasing two adjacent vacant lots at the urging of The Pilsen Housing and Business Alliance, the alderman, and other community residents. The Board of Education transferred the remainder of the property to the park district in 1982.\u00a0 In 2006, streets were vacated to expand the park property.\n\nJefferson Park takes the name of the adjacent street, once the city's western boundary. For years, Pilsen's Jefferson Park was one of three Chicago parks so named. (One has since been renamed Mark Skinner Park, the other, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Park.) All three honored Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), third president of the United States. Among the nation's most revered statesmen, Jefferson was also an architect, educator, inventor, and agriculturalist.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 257, "title": "Jensen (Christ) Park", "address": "\n 4650 N. Lawndale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "Located in the Albany Park neighborhood, Jensen Park is run in joint operation with the Chicago Board of Education, Jensen Park is located within Aspira Haugan Middle School, with the Park entrance at the corner of Leland and Lawndale Ave. Jensen Park offers afterschool and evening classes within their multi-purpose room and gymnasium. The 2.75-acre park campus contains a playground, water spray feature, junior baseball field, and a\u00a0basketball court.\n\nPark programming is geared towards youth during after school hours. Pre-teens and teens have programming during the early evening and Adults late evening.\u00a0 Programs are indoor soccer, basketball, Track and Field and Sports clubs.\u00a0 Jensen Park also offers Summer Sports Camps for youth and Teen Leadership programs to keep the kids of the neighborhood busy throughout the year!\n ", "history": "In 1926, the City of Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation began creating a two-and-a-half-acre park in the rapidly growing Albany Park neighborhood. The new park soon included a small brick recreation building, a playground, and a playing field that was flooded in the winter for ice skating. The City named the park for Christ Jensen, alderman of the surrounding 40th ward. (At the time, the city regularly named parks for the standing aldermen of the wards in which the sites were located.) Jensen Park was located within the jurisdiction of the Irving Park District, and in 1930, the City transferred the site's ownership and management to the District. The District intended to build a full-size fieldhouse with club rooms, an assembly hall, indoor gymnasiums, locker rooms, and an indoor swimming pool. Due to major funding shortages, however, the project did not move forward and the district made few park improvements to Jensen Park. In 1934, the Great Depression necessitated the consolidation of the city's 22 independent park agencies into the Chicago Park District. Using federal relief funds, the newly-created park district soon began work on Jensen Park. Site improvements included a wading pool, and tennis, volley ball, and basketball courts. In 1962, the Park District enlarged the original recreation building, creating a more fully-operational fieldhouse. Jensen Park received a soft surface playground in 1993.\u00a0 In 2003, streets were vacated to expand the park.\u00a0 In 2009, the Chicago Park District acquired land from the Public Commission of Chicago to complete the park\u2019s expansion.\n "}, {"id": 258, "title": "Jones (Mary Richardson) Park", "address": "\n 1240 S. Plymouth Ct. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Near South\u00a0Community. It is an active community park totaling 1.29 acres.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Ping Tom Memorial Park\u00a0for recreation.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1990, the Dearborn Park Corporation donated this park site in its ambitious residential development to the Chicago Park District. The park was officially named Indigo Bird in 1998 after the indigo bird, or indigo bunting, which was among the animals described as \"common\" in an 1850 catalogue of Chicago-area fauna.\n\nIn 2005, as part of an effort by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to recognize the contributions of Chicago women, the park was renamed Mary Jane Richardson Jones Park. Jones (1819\u20131910) was an abolitionist and philanthropist who played an important role in Chicago\u2019s Underground Railroad. The daughter of a free African American blacksmith, she married John Jones, the son of a freed slave.\n\nThe couple the settled in Chicago in 1845, a time when there were only 140 African Americans residing in a city of 12,000. The Joneses\u2019 played an important role in the Underground Railroad Movement, which helped runaway slaves from the south relocate to the north and Canada. Their own Near South Side home provided one of only two Underground Railroad terminals in the area. This was a risky endeavor because the laws at that time made harboring fugitive slaves punishable by a large fine and possible imprisonment for free Blacks.\n\nIt is believed that the Joneses help hundreds of African Americans find safety. Mary Jones was also a suffragette, and leaders in the suffrage movement such as Susan B. Anthony, stayed in the Jones home when visiting Chicago.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 259, "title": "Jonquil Park", "address": "\n 1001 W. Wrightwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Located in the heart of Lincoln Park at the intersection of Wrightwood, Lincoln, and Sheffield - Jonquil Park is 3.25 acres and it is the gathering place for community residents. With a large open grass area, families gather and baseball is played.\n\nKids enjoy the soft-surface/ADA accessible playground that features play areas with swings, slides,activity panels and climbing elements that keep children busy. Plus, spray area to cool off in on those warm summer days. Adjacent to the playground is an open plaza area that features a garden, game table area and green space.\n ", "history": "In 1969, the Chicago Park District began leasing this property, a former storage area for salt and snow removal equipment, from the Chicago Transit Authority. In 1981, the Park District doubled the park's size to more than two acres, purchasing the CTA land and acquiring additional property. Park facilities now include baseball fields, volleyball courts, and tennis courts.\n\nThe Park District officially designated this site Jonquil Park in the mid-1970s, when a number of properties were named for plants and trees. The jonquil, a spring-blooming bulb that produces yellow or white flowers, is a type of Narcissus. According to Greek mythology, the vain Narcissus was so taken with his own reflection in a pond that the gods turned him into a flower. Jonquil Park features a bronze sculpture created in 1988 by internationally-known artist Richard Hunt, whose studio lies across the street in a converted street car barn. Inspiration for Hunt's Eagle Columns came from a Vachel Lindsay poem about Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld (1847-1902), an early proponent of neighborhood playgrounds, who once lived nearby. Funds raised in the surrounding Lincoln Park community, together with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, paid for the sculpture. Recent (2009/2010) sculpture conservation addressed bronze corrosion, graffiti residue, and staining. Stone losses at the granite bases were repaired, sinking sections of plaza paving were raised to level positions, and accessibility to the raised plaza was provided with the construction of a new ramp. Richard Hunt also designed new sculptural elements to eliminate potential damage from skateboards.\n "}, {"id": 260, "title": "Junction Grove Park", "address": "\n 345 W. 64th St. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Junction Grove\u00a0Park is 0.25 acres and it is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, water fountain, along with benches to enjoy a picnic.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased the site of this playlot in 1973 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The park was officially named Junction Grove Park in 1998. Until 1867, Junction Grove was the name used for Englewood, the community in which the park is located. The earliest arrivals to the area settled amidst a grove or forest of what historian A.T. Andreas described as \"luxuriant oak trees,\" which the settlers soon \"wantonly cut down.\" By the early 1850s, the village was the site of a junction between several railroad lines, including the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana, the Rock Island, the Wabash, and the Fort Wayne.\n "}, {"id": 261, "title": "Juneway Beach Park", "address": "\n 7751 N. Eastlake Terrace \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Juneway Beach Park is 1.02 acres and it is\u00a0located at 7751 N. Eastlake Terrace.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "North Shore Park District acquired land that would be utilized for the park in 1915.\u00a0 Juneway Beach Park is one of 18 street-end beaches acquired by the City of Chicago in 1959, which transferred the property to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act of 1957. As there is no earlier record of a public beach at Juneway Terrace, the site may have been a private beach prior to the park district's acquisition. The City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had operated other small municipal beaches along Chicago's North Shore since at least 1921. It was the practice of the City Bureau of Parks and Recreation to use adjacent street names for identification purposes.\n\nJuneway Street was named by Sivert Tobias Gunderson, a Norwegian who came to Chicago in 1848 and made his money trading grain and lumber. Gunderson and his offspring also became real estate developers who subdivided the immediate area of the street and park. Apparently, Gunderson chose the name Juneway because he started subdividing his property along the wayside of Calvary Cemetery in June.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 262, "title": "Juniper Park", "address": "\n 3652 N. Greenview Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60613\n ", "description": "This small park is 0.37 acres and it is located in the Lakeview neighborhood (two blocks east of Ashland Avenue, \u00bd block north of Addison Street). The new playground at Juniper Park is nature-themed and features a rotating net climber, a climbing wall, sensory paths and an interactive water table. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered\u00a0nearby at Sheil Park.\n ", "history": "Before the creation of Juniper Park, the surrounding section of the Lakeview neighborhood had suffered from a shortage of parkland. In 1972, the Chicago Park District acquired the park property from the Waveland Avenue Congregational Church, designating it Juniper Park shortly thereafter.\n\nJuniper Park was one of a number of properties the Park District named for trees and plants at this time. Junipers are small, pyramid-shaped evergreen trees or shrubs. Male junipers produce cones, while female junipers produce berries that supply winter food for birds. The wood of the juniper is sometimes used to line clothes closets, both because it has a pleasant odor and because it repels moths.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 263, "title": "Kedvale Park", "address": "\n 4134 W. Hirsch St. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "Located in the Humboldt Park Community, Kedvale Park totals 1.65\u00a0acres and features a small brick field house with a game room. Outside, the park offers basketball courts, an artificial turf junior soccer field, soft surface playground and inter active water feature.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play soccer, basketball and table games at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Kedvale Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday events.\n ", "history": "In 1892, the Chicago Board of Education acquired land for a park.\u00a0 In 1930, the City of Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation recommended the creation of a public playground within three blocks of every child living in the city's congested neighborhoods. One area targeted for a small park was the Humboldt Park neighborhood, which was experiencing significant growth as numerous Italian, German, Polish, and Russian-Jewish immigrants were then settling there.\n\nThe bureau began leasing 1/2-acre from the Board of Education and constructed a park which included playground equipment, sand boxes, a small brick recreation building, and boys' and girls' playing fields that were flooded in the winter for ice skating. Opened to the public in 1931, this site was named for the adjacent Kedvale Avenue, which was likely derived from the Native American word, ked, meaning moccasin, and the Middle English vale, meaning valley.\n\nThe Park District installed basketball courts, and then added a spray pool in 1970. In 1991, the Chicago Park District assumed ownership of the park from the Board of Education. Also, that year, the park installed a new soft surface playground in Kedvale Park.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District acquired more land for the park in 2000, 2003, and again in 2004 completing the park\u2019s expansion.\n "}, {"id": 264, "title": "Keeler (Cyrus) Park", "address": "\n 1243 S. Keeler Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the North Lawndale Community. \u00a0It is an active community park totaling 0.08 acres. The playground was renovated in 2016 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Franklin Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "Keeler Park is one of many playgrounds established by the City of Chicago after World War II. Sandwiched onto a single city lot in the North Lawndale neighborhood.\u00a0 The City of Chicago acquired the property in 1954.\u00a0 Keeler Park was placed in operation in 1955 after the Bureau of Parks and Recreation installed a slide, jungle gym, swing set, and merry-go-round. In 1957, the City transferred the playlot to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District rehabilitated the long, narrow playground in 1992.\n\nKeeler Park and the adjacent street honor Constable Cyrus Keeler. In 1855, Keeler bravely calmed rioters angry over tavern license fees, Sunday laws, and discrimination against immigrants.\n "}, {"id": 265, "title": "Kells (George) Park", "address": "\n 3201 W. Chicago Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "\u00a0This small playground is located in the\u00a0Humboldt Park\u00a0community. The park is 1.93 acres and it features baseball diamonds and a playground that was renovated in Fall 2014 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! program. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Augusta Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "In 1924, the City of Chicago acquired an acre-and-3/4's of property using Water Bond Funds to construct the Chicago Avenue Water Tunnel. After the completion of the tunnel, the city determined that the land above the tunnel was suitable for use as a park. In 1942, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation installed playground equipment, a wading pool, a sand box, and a playing field that was flooded in the winter for ice skating.\n\nThe City named the park for George D. Kells (c.1894-1959), alderman of the surrounding 28th ward from 1931 to 1951. (At the time, the city regularly named parks for standing aldermen of the wards in which the sites were located.) During World War I, Kells served as an attach\u00e9 at the U.S. Embassy in France. A strong proponent of civil rights, he served as the Democratic state attach\u00e9 chairman from 1944 to 1950.\n\nThe Chicago Park District began leasing Kells Park from the City of Chicago in 1959 with the most recent lease being established in 2013. Over the years, the Park District made a number of improvements to the site. New basketball courts were installed in 1979. In the early 1990s, the Park District built a new soft surface playground and thoroughly replanted Kells Park's landscape.\n "}, {"id": 266, "title": "Kelly (Edward) Park", "address": "\n 2725 W. 41st St. \n Chicago, IL 60632\n ", "description": "Located in the Brighton Park community, Kelly Park is a school/park facility that offers sports, recreational and indoor swimming in partnership with Kelly High School. The park is 7.32 acres and it\u00a0features an artificial turf athletic\u00a0field and a playground that was renovated in Spring 2015\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nIn addition to programming, Kelly Park offers special events\u00a0including Movies in the Park screenings and other Night Out in the Parks special events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Soon after World War II, the Chicago Park District and the Board of Education began providing cooperative programs in many of the city's rapidly growing neighborhoods. Known as the school-park plan, the intent was to save money and utilize buildings to the fullest extent by sharing facilities.\n\nTo create a park across the street from Thomas Kelly High School, the Park District began leasing part of the seven-acre site from the Board of Education. The District had to condemn the remainder from reluctant home owners.\u00a0 Streets were vacated in 1951 and 1953 for park property and the remaining park property was finally acquired in 1953, and the Engineering Department began preparing plans for the new park.\n\nBy 1953, the park included a large athletic field, a smaller practice field, horseshoe courts, a children's playground, and plantings. Three years later, the Park District constructed a small brick fieldhouse there. This jointly operated site has always provided Park District athletic programs which are run out of the high school.\n\nIn 1991, the Board of Education transferred its part of the site to the Park District. Although the adjacent high school is named for 28th Ward alderman and Chicago Drainage Board president Thomas Kelly (1843-1914), the park's name honors Edward J. Kelly (1876-1950), fourteen-year mayor of Chicago.\n\nHaving grown up in the Back of the Yards and Brighton Park neighborhoods, Kelly began working as a newsboy at the age of 9. He held many different jobs while attending school, and worked his way up to Chief Engineer for the Sanitary District. Appointed to the board of the South Park Commission in 1922, he became president the following year. Kelly was a member of the committee that nominated Anton J. Cermak for the state legislature. When, as Mayor, Cermak was shot by an assassin, the city council elected Kelly to fill Cermak's unexpired term.\n\nServing three more terms as mayor, Kelly helped Chicago cope with the Great Depression and realize major construction projects such as the City's subway system.\n "}, {"id": 267, "title": "Kelly (John) Park", "address": "\n 3800 N. Seminary Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60613\n ", "description": "This 1.27\u00a0acre park is located in the Lakeview neighborhood (approximately two blocks east of Clark Street, one block north of Wrigley Field). It contains a soft surface playground and a passive recreation area. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at Gill Park.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago created this long, narrow park in the Lakeview neighborhood in 1979, dedicating it as Kelly Park the following year. The park honors neighborhood resident Private First Class John H. Kelly, who was killed in action in France during World War II. The Chicago Park District began leasing the three-block-long site in 1991, as part of a complex land swap with the City, and has continued leasing the property since 2018. In 1995, the Park District improved the greenspace by constructing a new soft surface playground.\n "}, {"id": 268, "title": "Kelvyn (William) Park", "address": "\n 4438 W. Wrightwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60639\n ", "description": "Located in the Hermosa\u00a0community (one block south of Diversey Avenue, and mid-way between Cicero & Pulaski avenues), Kelvyn Park\u2019s fieldhouse sits on 9.92 acres.The fieldhouse is equipped with a fitness center, gymnasium, auditorium, several meeting rooms, and a small kitchen.\n\nOutdoors, the park offers two walking paths (less than one-half mile, each), two softball fields, a combination football/soccer field, a basketball court, a volleyball court, two tennis courts, horseshoe courts, plus a playground with a sandbox and spray pool.\n\nFamilies can come together to participate in Kraft Great Kids family nights and Family Sports Workshop.Tots can enjoy our Preschool and Play Camp programs.The fitness center is restricted to adult use, only\u2014and we also offer men\u2019s basketball and men\u2019s volleyball.\n\nDepending on age and season, a large variety of programs are offered for youth & teens: our signature Park Kids after-school program, Kids\u2019 Fitness, Fun & Games, cheerleading, football, Seasonal Sports / Sports Club, teen basketball, Teen Club.The Junior Bears football program is one of the stand-out programs at the park.\n\nAdditionally, Kelvyn Park offers youth: Winter- & Spring-Break Camps, our traditional 6-week summer Day Camp (with the Extended Camp option, as well as summer Sports Camp.\n\nWe invite you to stop by and check out our program offerings!\n ", "history": "Kelvyn was among the original parks created by the Northwest Park District, which first formed in 1911. At that time, the Northwest Park District aimed to provide one park for each of the ten square miles within its growing middle-class jurisdiction. The park district began purchasing land for Mozart, Kelyvn, and Kosciuszko Parks in early 1914, receiving input from the Special Parks Commission and the West End Fullerton Avenue Improvement Association on how to develop the park.\u00a0 Land acquisition for the park was not completed until 1916 by acquiring more property and vacating streets and alleys.\u00a0 The district hired American Park Builders Inc. to produce the landscape design for Kelvyn Park. (The American Park Builders also designed Portage Park.) In 1928, a handsome two-story brick field house was constructed in Kelvyn Park. Designed by architect Walter W. Ahlschlager (1887\u20131965), the building is nearly identical to the field houses at Riis and Simons Parks.\n\nKelvyn Park takes its name from the surrounding Kelvyn Park subdivision. The subdivision honors British Baronet William Thomson Kelvyn (1824\u20131907), an eminent mathematician and physicist whose scientific research revolutionized thinking about the thermal properties of steam. Kelvyn Park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio in 1934, when all of the City\u2019s 22 independent park commissions were consolidated into a single agency.\n "}, {"id": 269, "title": "Ken-Well Park", "address": "\n 2945 N. Kenosha Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60641\n ", "description": "Located in the Hermosa neighborhood (a block and a half north of Diversey Avenue, and midway between Pulaski and Cicero avenues), Ken-Well Park\u2019s tiny fieldhouse sits on 2.94 acres. Outdoors, the park offers junior baseball field, a softball field, a combination football / soccer field, a basketball court, plus a playground with a sandbox and a water spray feature. Additionally, Ken-Well Park offers an ornamental community garden, featuring the Harvest Gardens program for youth.\n\nThe park offers numerous programs for youth: Drop-In after-school program, Pre-Teen Club, Game Room, Seasonal Sports / Sports Club, Recreational Tumbling.In the summer, youth can participate in our popular and very affordable six-week day camp program.\n\nThe park offers a Teen Leadership Club, adult stretching, and an adult Community Club. Parents gather at Ken-Well Park with their preschoolers for classes such as: Play Group, Tiny Tot Tumbling, and Preschool.\n\nWe invite you to stop by and check out the seasonal offerings available at Ken-Well Park.\n ", "history": "Ken-Well Park is one of many small parks created by the City of Chicago to meet increasing recreational demands after World War II. Beginning in 1947, the City Council identified property in the Hermosa neighborhood for park development.\u00a0 The City of Chicago acquired property for the park in 1947 and in 1949.\u00a0 In the early 1950s, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation soon improved the site with playground equipment, a shelter house, a sandbox, and a playfield that could be flooded for ice skating in winter. In 1957, the City transferred Ken-Well Park to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District installed a new soft surface playground in 1990.\n\nThe park's name combines those of the two adjacent streets, Kenosha Avenue and Wellington Street. Kenosha Avenue bears the name of the southeastern Wisconsin port town. Wellington Street honors Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington (1769-1852). Having found great military success in British Colonial India and during the Napoleonic Wars of 1809-1814, Wellesley was awarded the title Duke of Wellington in 1814. When Napoleon returned to head the French Army in 1815, Wellington decisively defeated him in the Battle of Waterloo. The \"Iron Duke\" went on to become a statesman, serving as prime minister of Great Britain from 1828 to 1830.\n "}, {"id": 270, "title": "Kenmore Park", "address": "\n 3141 N. Kenmore Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "This tiny park is 0.16 acres and it is located in the Lakeview neighborhood (1/2 block south of Belmont Avenue, three blocks east of Racine Avenue). It contains a playground with a playslab. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at Sheil Park.\n ", "history": "Kenmore Park is one of many small parks created by the Bureau of Parks and Recreation to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. After identifying this .14-acre site Lakeview neighborhood site in 1954, the City acquired the property using Playground Bond Funds and installed playground equipment and a half-basketball court. Following its practice of the time, the city named the park for the adjacent street. Kenmore Avenue takes its name from the Fredericksburg, Virginia, home of Colonel Fielding Lewis (1725-c.1782), the husband of George Washington's sister, Betty. The City transferred Kenmore Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. In the late 1980s, teenagers and adults playing basketball routinely disturbed neighbors and drove younger children from the park. Therefore, the Park District removed the half-court and original playground equipment and installed a new soft surface playground with swing sets and climbing apparatus, devoting the park entirely to young children.\n "}, {"id": 271, "title": "Kennedy (Dennis) Park", "address": "\n 11320 S. Western Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60655\n ", "description": "Located in the Morgan Park community, Kennedy Park totals 18.44 acres and features two multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers four baseball diamonds, swimming pool, playground, roller rink and spray pool.\u00a0\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, preschool activities, T-ball, Moms & Tots, and arts & crafts.\u00a0During the summer,\u00a0specialty camps are offered\u00a0which include Lil\u2019 Campers and Summer in the City.\n\nIn addition to programs, Kennedy Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "At 18 acres, Kennedy Park was by far the largest park created by the Calumet Park District, one of 22 independent park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. The Calumet District began to purchase land for this park in 1911 at the urging of Morgan Park residents. By 1912, the Calumet Park District had completed acquisition of a dump site and an existing ball field for park development. The Park District immediately erected a bath house. Fourteen years later, a swimming pool was added. Although much of the property remained unimproved through the 1920s, the park district worked with the Morgan Park Woman's Club to create a bird sanctuary and wild flower preserve on 5 undeveloped acres. The park district began full-scale improvements in 1930, using labor from the state's Unemployed Relief Service. The laborers removed hundreds of tons of old auto frames and concrete from the site, graded it, planted trees and shrubbery, and constructed a fieldhouse, all by hand. The Chicago Park District took control of Kennedy Park in 1934 when the 22 Park Districts were consolidated, and constructed a new pool and fieldhouse in the early 1960s.\n\nInitially known as Western Avenue Park, the park received the name D.J. Kennedy Memorial Park in 1932. The new name honors Dennis J. Kennedy (1871-1932), a member of the Calumet Park District commission from 1910 until his death in 1932, and its president for twenty years.\n\n\n "}, {"id": 272, "title": "Kennicott (Jonathan) Park", "address": "\n 4434 S. Lake Park Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "Located in the Oakland Community, Kennicott Park totals 2.91\u00a0acres and features a field house, formerly the home of the\u00a0Judd Elementary School. The field house offers a gymnasium, an art room, a fitness center, a kitchen, a dance studio and conference rooms. Outside, the park offers a small athletic field and playground that was renovated in Summer 2014 as part of the Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Kennicott Park is the site for several community-based partnerships that provide programs for children and adults.\n\nPark-goers come to Kennicott Park to play basketball and table games at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well include cooking programs and doll camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Kennicott Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Movies in the Park at nearby Gwendolyn Brooks Park, Halloween activities and other Night Out in the Parks events.\n\nTo view a few of the fabulous park programs, click on the multimedia tab!\n ", "history": "Kennicott Park came into being in 1991 when the Board of Education transferred Judd Elementary School to the Chicago Park District. The Chicago Park District continued to acquire property for the park from 1995 until 2001.\u00a0 The Park District now operates the former school building in partnership with other city agencies and non-profit organizations, providing a wide array of programs and services to the previously under-served Kenwood neighborhood.\n\nKenwood was founded in 1856 by Dr. Jonathan A. Kennicott (1824-1893), from whom the park takes its name. A native New Yorker, Kennicott graduated from Chicago's Rush Medical College in 1843 and practiced dentistry in Milwaukee for several years before returning to Chicago. Kennicott's estate, named Kenwood for his mother's birthplace in Scotland, stood on Dorchester Street at 48th Street. The fashionable Kenwood community soon became known as the \"Lake Forest of the South Side.\"\n "}, {"id": 273, "title": "Kensington Park", "address": "\n 345 E. 118th St. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the West Pullman community, Kensington Playground Park is 4.88 acres and it features outdoor basketball courts, grass football fields, and outdoor baseball fields. The indoor park facilities are closed; the outdoor facilities may be used during park hours.\n ", "history": "In 1942, the City of Chicago purchased property for Kensington Park, using Playground Bond funds. The City soon transformed the site into a playlot and constructed a small fieldhouse. Streets were vacated in 1943 to expand the park.\u00a0 In 1949, the Chicago City Council designated the property Kensington Playground. Kensington was an early village in what is now the West Pullman community. Originally known as Calumet Station, the village sprang up after the Illinois Central and Michigan Central Railroad Companies built a station there in 1852. (Nineteenth-century residents are said to have disliked the newer \"Kensington\" name, preferring the older name common to nearby Lake Calumet and the Calumet, Grand Calumet, and Little Calumet Rivers.) Kensington was annexed to Chicago in 1889. The City transferred the park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\n "}, {"id": 274, "title": "Kenwood Community Park", "address": "\n 1330 E. 50th St. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located in the Kenwood community, Kenwood Park totals 7.01 acres features a small fieldhouse. The park operates programs inside the adjacent Beulah Shoesmith Elementary School.\n\nOutside, the park offers tennis courts, baseball fields, an athletic field for soccer or football, a playground and an interactive water spray feature. In partnership with Common Threads nutrition program, the park has a community garden where children learn about the commonalities of various cultures through food.\n\nPark-goers can play seasonal sports and table games at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Kenwood Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Movies in the Park and Halloween Pumpkin Patches.\n ", "history": "When Dr. John A. Kennicott built his family estate south of 43rd Street in 1856, he named it \"Kenwood\" for his mother's birthplace in Scotland. After Kenwood's annexation to Chicago in 1889, the city's elite flowed into the neighborhood, building substantial, well-designed homes.\n\nFashionable Kenwood began to decline in the 1920s, however. Some single-family homes were subdivided into multi-family dwellings. High-rise apartment houses replaced others. Kenwood's population jumped by 28% during the decade. To create parkland for the growing community, the Chicago Board of Education acquired property in 1931 on East 50th Street.\u00a0 The City's Board of Education soon transformed the site into a playground.\n\nAfter the Chicago Board of Education transferred the park property to the City of Chicago in 1943, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation planted 12 large American Elms to shade the ball diamonds and jungle gym. By 1950, the park was well-equipped with additional playground apparatus, a small brick recreation building, and a playing field that could be flooded in winter for ice skating.\n\nThe City transferred Kenwood Community Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. The following year, when adjacent Kenwood Avenue closed and the new Beulah Shoesmith Elementary School was constructed just to the west, the Park District responded by rehabilitating the park. In addition to earlier park amenities, the redesign included tennis and horseshoe courts and a spray pool.\n\nSince 1961, the park and the school properties have been jointly operated by the Park District and the Board of Education.\n "}, {"id": 275, "title": "Keystone Park", "address": "\n 1653 N. Keystone Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60639\n ", "description": "This small playground with sandbox sits on 0.26 acres in the Humboldt Park community, (one block west of Pulaski Road, almost a block north of North Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at Hermosa Park.\n ", "history": "Keystone Park is one of many small parks created by the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation to meet the increasing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. In 1949, the City Council identified and acquired a small property in the Humboldt Park neighborhood for park development. During the following year, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation improved the site with a spray pool, a sand box, and playground equipment.\n\nFollowing its general policy, the bureau named the park for adjacent Keystone Avenue. The street name refers to Pennsylvania, long known as the \"Keystone State,\" for its location in the geographic center of the thirteen original American colonies. The architectural term \"keystone\" refers to the central piece in a masonry arch. In 1957, the City transferred Keystone Park to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. The Park District planted a number of trees the following year, and extensively rehabilitated the playground in 1992.\n "}, {"id": 276, "title": "Kilbourn Park", "address": "\n 3501 N. Kilbourn Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60641\n ", "description": "This 11.43 acre beautifully maintained community gathering place is filled with activity year-round. From toddler programs to our popular after-school parks and fitness to sporting activities, as well as, numerous greening programs [at the greenhouse] there is something for everyone. \u00a0\n\nFor our sports enthusiasts, check out our tennis courts, outdoor soccer pitches, balls fields, and more!\n\nDiscover the wonderful world of nature! Spark your curiosity and explore the fun & educational offerings at the Chicago Park District\u2019s only park with a teaching greenhouse, located within the grounds of Kilbourn Park.\n ", "history": "Created by the Irving Park District, Kilbourn Park takes its name from adjoining Kilbourn Street, named in honor of a small town located near the Wisconsin Dells. The Irving Park District had formed in 1910 to create and manage parks for its tree-lined, middle-class neighborhood.\u00a0 In 1925, the district acquired the site for Kilbourn Park and improvements began. By the late 1920s, the park's recreational features included athletic fields, a running track, horseshoe and tennis courts, an 18-hole putting green, two playgrounds, a children's wading pool, a sand box, and penned-in rabbits. Kilbourn Park also had a fieldhouse, maintenance building, and greenhouse. A unique feature, the greenhouse was used to display tropical plants and to propagate outdoor plants for use throughout the entire Irving Park District.\u00a0 In 1934, the park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio when the 22 park districts were consolidated.\n\nClarence Hatzfeld designed all three of the buildings in Kilbourn Park. Having been trained in the office of Chicago architect Julius Huber, Hatzfeld became known for numerous north- and northwest-side park fieldhouses, commercial buildings, and residences. During the Depression, he worked for the Chicago Park District, which formed in 1934 through the consolidation of the City's 22 independent park agencies. Hatzfeld went on to serve as Recreation Technician for the Federal Works Administration in Washington, D.C.\n\nIn the late 1930s, the Chicago Park District planted a large perennial garden in Kilbourn Park. Although the original garden was not maintained, a renewed interest in gardening at Kilbourn Park has sparked a volunteer program in the greenhouse and a new perennial garden outside. Additionally, the Park District has been able to provide increased recreational programming since the Kilbourn Park fieldhouse underwent a major expansion in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 277, "title": "King (Dr. Martin Luther, Jr.) Park", "address": "\n 1200 W. 77th St. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and Family Entertainment Center offers roller skating and bowling for all ages. This family-oriented complex is a popular field trip destination for individuals, families, schools, and various organizations. This facility is also available for birthday parties, special or corporate events.\u00a0 The park is 6.81 acres.\n\nVisit the center's website to learn more about it and to book a party,\n ", "history": "In 1969, the Chicago Park District acquired land already being used as a neighborhood ball field from the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago to create a new park for the Auburn Gresham community.\u00a0 For decades the site, known as Hawthorne Park, only offered typical outdoor recreational facilities such as playgrounds, basketball courts, and a spray pool.\u00a0 In 2001, the Park District began working the Public Building Commission to redevelop the site into a major family recreation center.\u00a0 Two architectural firms, DeSteffano Partners, and Mann, Gin, Durbin & Frazier were responsible for the design of the 35,600 square foot facility which includes an indoor roller-skating rink and bowling alley.\u00a0 In 2003, the Chicago Park District expanded the park when it acquired property from the City of Chicago.\n\nSoon after the building opened to the public in 2003, Reverend Michael L. Phleger suggested that the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners should rename the park to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.\u00a0 The board complied with the request and the park was officially renamed in 2004.\u00a0 Clergyman, activist, and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929\u20131968) had strong ties with Chicago. He helped launch a campaign called the Chicago Freedom Movement to create opportunities and improve living conditions in minority neighborhoods. He brought national attention to the need for housing reform by moving his own young family to the depressed west side in 1966. He was deeply mourned by Chicagoans after his assassination two years later.\n\nThere are two major artworks that honor the park\u2019s new name.\u00a0 The Park District worked with the St. Sabina Outreach Ministry and the 17th\u00a0Ward Democratic organization to raise funds for a portrait bust of Dr. King.\u00a0 Sculpted by artist Tina Allen, the bronze bust is located in front of the new recreational center.\u00a0 Inside the building, multi-paneled mural is entitled\u00a0We March, We Dance, We Sing for Freedom.\u00a0 Stretching across the wall of the rolling rink, this series was made possible by the Chicago Park District, Gallery 37, and the Chicago Public Art Group.\u00a0 The project artists Damon Lamar Reed and Juan Carlos Perez worked with a group of twelve teenagers to design and produce the vibrant mural.\n "}, {"id": 278, "title": "King-Lockhart (Patrick, Anthony) Park", "address": "\n 10609 S. Western Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Beverly neighborhood, this 0.56 acre\u00a0site was acquired by the Chicago Park District in 2009. The vacant lot was the result of a terrible fire in which firefighters Patrick King and Anthony Lockhart tragically lost their lives in the line of duty in 1998.\u00a0 Park improvements designed by Daniel Weinbach & Partners Landscape Architects includes installing utilities, walkways, trees and lawn, fencing, and a central plaza with bricks that have been laid out in the shape of a Chicago Fire Department Shield.\u00a0 There are seat walls inscribed with the words \u201ccommunity,\u201d \u201cduty,\u201d \u201ccourage,\u201d \u201cpride,\u201d \u201cfamily,\u201d and \u201csacrifice.\u201d\u00a0 Two pergolas have also been erected in the locations where the firefighters died.\u00a0\n\nThe new park serves as a memorial to the two heroic firefighters who lost their lives battling a fire at the Beverly Tire Store on February 11, 1998 on this site.\u00a0 Patrick J. King (1957 \u2013 1998) was the product of a firefighting family\u2014 both his father and a brother had also served as members of the Chicago Fire Department. King began his career as a paramedic and was a twenty-two year veteran of the department.\u00a0 Anthony Lockhart (1957 \u2013 1998) was born and raised in Chicago.\u00a0 He graduated from Dunbar High School, where he was the captain of the wrestling team, and attended the University of Illinois and went on to work for the US Postal Service for fourteen years.\u00a0 In 1989, he realized a lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter.\u00a0\n\nIn 1999, Mayor Richard M. Daley dedicated a plaque honoring Patrick J. King and Anthony Lockhart at the site of what is now the park.\u00a0 The plaque has been incorporated into the park\u2019s design and is located at the central plaza. This green space provides a respite in the Beverly neighborhood as well as a fitting memorial to two Chicago heroes.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired property in 2010 to create King-Lockhart Park.\n "}, {"id": 279, "title": "Kinzie (John) Parkway Park", "address": "\n 5200 W. Kinzie Parkway \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Austin Community. \u00a0The park is 0.88 acres and it\u00a0features a beautiful fountain and passive greenspace.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at\u00a0nearby Austin\u00a0Town Hall\u00a0Park.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1865, Henry W. Austin purchased a large tract of land west of Chicago and laid out a subdivision with wide, shaded streets. Initially known as Austinville, and later as Austin, the community's population surged with its 1899 annexation to Chicago. In 1908, the city's Special Park Commission began improving a strip of land north of Kinzie Street with trees and shrubs.\n\nThe commission envisioned Kinzie Street Parkway as a connecting link between a number of west side parks. These included Merrick (now Levin) Park and Austin Park, both designed in 1906 by renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen, a member of the Special Park Commission.\n\nThe park was transferred to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\u00a0 Kinzie Parkway Park remains one of a small number of Chicago parks used exclusively for passive recreation. Both the park and the adjacent street honor John Kinzie (1763-1828), one of Chicago's earliest settlers.\n\nBorn in Quebec to a British army surgeon who died young, Kinzie apprenticed as a silversmith. Having spent many years trapping and trading in the north woods, Kinzie arrived in Chicago in 1804. He developed friendly relations with local Native Americans, quickly rising to prominence in the frontier community. When Potawatomis attacked Federal troops fleeing Fort Dearborn, Kinzie and his family managed to escape unharmed with the help of Billy Caldwell, a half-Irish Potawatomi chief. Returning to Chicago in 1816, Kinzie resumed his Indian trading, but never regained his earlier stature.\n "}, {"id": 280, "title": "Kiwanis Park", "address": "\n 3315 W. Carmen Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "This passive river walk area is located on two acres in the North Park neighborhood (one block south of Foster Avenue, approximately 2 \u00bd blocks west of Kedzie) right along the Chicago River.\u00a0 The park is 1.67 acres.\n\nWith a small recreation area adjacent to the natural landscaping an artificial turf field was installed. You may see community members playing a friendly game of soccer or football on any given day. For rental information, please contact the staff at Eugene Field Park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at Eugene Field Park.\n ", "history": "Kiwanis Park was the first of three parks created by the Albany Park District. Established in 1917, the Albany Park District had two aims: to beautify the banks of the Chicago River's North Branch, which flows through the area, and to provide up-to-date park facilities for its rapidly-expanding population. To these ends, the Albany Park District purchased a triangular property on the north bank of the river in 1923. Improvements began immediately. In 1926, the park district erected a small brick fieldhouse designed by Clarence Hatzfeld, architect of a number of Chicago park buildings.\u00a0 Albany Park District is one of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934, which is when Kiwanis Park became part of the Chicago Park District\u2019s portfolio. \n\nThe following year, the park was dedicated in honor of the Kiwanis Club of Albany Park for their civic and charitable service to the community. Kiwanis Park is now used exclusively for passive recreation. The original fieldhouse and playground equipment were razed in 1975 due to ongoing problems with vandalism. The park, which lies adjacent to Von Stueben High School (as well as to North Park College & Seminary), has been jointly operated by the Chicago Park District and the Board of Education since 1997 as part of their \"Campus Park\" initiative.\n "}, {"id": 281, "title": "Klein (Lois) Park", "address": "\n 3538 N. Lincoln Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "Located in the bustling\u00a0Lakeview area at the intersection of Lincoln Ave./Addison St./Ravenwood Ave., Lois Klein Park is 0.39 acres and it\u00a0is home to a beautiful new playground and open green space.\n\nThis park is an ideal location for families with children to spend the day. Recently renovated the park has new ADA accessible soft-surface play area \u2013 filled with swings, a slide, drinking fountain, benches and shade umbrella.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at Sheil Park.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Lois Klein Park was created by the Chicago Park District when the District acquired land in 2010 after several years of planning and land acquisition. Designed by the Hitchcock Design Group, the park has a whimsical playground.\n\nIn 2011, the Chicago Park District\u2019s Board of Commissioners named the park in honor of Lois Klein, a neighborhood activist who inspired members of the Lakeview community in the 1980s and 1990s. Born and raised in Chicago Lois Klein (1931-1997) lived for over 30 years just two blocks from the site that now bears her name. During her life, she made many positive contributions to her neighborhood by participating in community meetings and volunteering for the local alderman\u2019s office. However, the bulk of her energy was focused on helping children. For many years she volunteered at two local schools, John J. Audubon Elementary School and St. Andrew School. Ms. Klein\u2019s concern about neighborhood children prompted her to advocate for safety improvements to address the dangerous intersection at Lincoln Ave., Addison St., and Ravenswood Ave. She rallied the community to petition for improvements at the intersection. Ironically, in 1997, Lois Klein was struck by a car at that very intersection. Due to Ms. Klein\u2019s tragic death, the intersection was soon modernized and made safer for pedestrians and vehicular traffic.\n "}, {"id": 282, "title": "Kolmar (Gertrud) Park", "address": "\n 4143 N. Kolmar Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60641\n ", "description": "This park sits on 1.01 acres in the Irving Park neighborhood (approximately one block north of Irving Park Road and three blocks west of Kostner Avenue). It contains a junior baseball field and a soft surface playground with a sandbox.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at Mayfair Park.\n ", "history": "In April of 2022, the park was renamed in honor of celebrated poet and writer Gertrud Kolmar, who was born in Berlin in 1894 and\u00a0was killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1943. Gertrud Kolmar is considered one of the greatest German language poets of all time, as well as one of the greatest poets of Jewish descent. Kolmar's surviving work consists of four hundred and fifty poems, three plays, and two short stories.\n\nDue to the efforts by leaders in both Chicago's Old Irving Park neighborhood and Jewish Community, the park was rededicated to honor Gertrud Kolmar.\n\nOriginally, Kolmar Park took its name from adjoining Kolmar Avenue, named for a European city located on the border between France and Germany. Plans for the park began in 1929 when the Irving Park District ordered a survey of its .8-acre site and acquired the property that same year. The Park District intended to build a small fieldhouse and separate boys' and girls' playgrounds there, but due to a major funding shortage, only minimal site improvements were undertaken.\n\nIn 1934, the Great Depression necessitated the consolidation of the City's 22 independent park agencies into the Chicago Park District. Using federal relief funds, the newly-created Park District soon began work to complete Kolmar Park. The Park District improved the site with a playground and a playing field that was flooded for ice skating in the winter. In the early 1990s, Kolmar Park received a soft surface playground, and the entire site was enclosed with new ornamental fencing.\n "}, {"id": 283, "title": "Korczak (Janusz) Park", "address": "\n 6156 N. Claremont Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60659\n ", "description": "This tiny playground is 0.28 acres and it is located in the West Ridge\u00a0community (one block east of Western Avenue, 1 \u00bd blocks north of Peterson Avenue). The park district is working with local mosaic artist Cynthia Weiss to develop a commemorative gate for Korczak Park. The gate's design will be based on the ideas of area school children who have studied Dr. Korczak's life and teachings. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at Green Briar Park.\n ", "history": "Korczak Park is one of a number of small parks established by the City of Chicago in the years following World War II. After purchasing the park site in 1950, the City turned the property over to its Bureau of Parks and Recreation for development as a playground. In 1957, the City transferred this park, along with more than 250 others, to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.\n\nOriginally known as Claremont Park for the adjacent street, the playground was renamed Korczak Park in 1974, at the request of Skokie's Janusz Korczak Chapter of B'nai B'rith. The new name honors Dr. Janusz Korczak (1878-1942), a Polish educator, writer, and pediatrician well known for work with parentless children. Dr. Korczak founded and directed orphanages for Jewish and Catholic children, whom he encouraged to be as independent as possible. Passing up a number of opportunities to flee Nazi-occupied Poland, Dr. Korczak chose instead to accompany his charges when they were deported from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka death camp. Both Korczak and the children died at Treblinka.\n "}, {"id": 284, "title": "Kosciuszko (Thadeuz) Park", "address": "\n 2732 N. Avers Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "To learn more about the site improvements coming in 2020: view plan.\n\nKosciuszko Park is 9.01 acres and it is located in the Logan Square\u00a0community (the park\u2019s northern border touches Diversey Avenue; the park\u2019s western border is one block east of Pulaski Road), and comprises slightly over eight acres.\n\nThe large fieldhouse features an indoor pool, a combination gymnasium and assembly hall (with a stage\u2014available for rental), a small kitchen; club rooms are also available for rental. Outside, the park offers four baseball / softball fields and a combination football / soccer field, a tennis court, an artificial-turf soccer field, as well as a soft-surface ADA-accessible playground with a spray feature\u2014all available for rental.\n\nKosciuszko (fondly known to the community as \u201cKoz\u201d) Park is also noted for its Special Recreation programs & ADA-accessible facilities for people with disabilities\u2014including training for Special Olympics.\n\nStay active through recreational programs such as: baseball, basketball, conditioning, football, martial arts, soccer, softball, tumbling, and volleyball. Koz Park also offers aquatics programs all year long. Social clubs are available for both Pre-teens, Teens, plus the noted Go Girl Go program. A variety of programs are available for tots / preschoolers. On the cultural side, Koz Park offers Kraft Great Kids Family Night Out, to expose patrons to the wonders of Chicago\u2019s museums.\n\nKoz Park is one of the sites for the popular Park Kids after school program for youth. Winter- and Spring-Break Camps, as well as school-holiday special events, are available during days when schools are temporarily closed. In the summer, youth can attend the Koz Park\u2019s six-week day camp; the Teen Leadership camp is also a popular summer option.\n\nIn addition to seasonal programs, Koz Park hosts fun special events for the whole family, such as the Movies in the Parks series.\n ", "history": "Dedicated in 1916, Kosciuszko Park takes its name from Polish patriot Thadeuz Kosciuszko (1756-1817). Kosciuszko came to America in 1776. Shortly thereafter, the Continental Congress appointed him colonel of engineers. For his success building fortifications at Saratoga and elsewhere along the Hudson River, he was awarded with U.S. citizenship and the rank of brigadier general. In 1784, Kosciuszko returned to Poland, where he led his country's military forces in the uprising of 1794.\u00a0 Established in 1911, the Northwest Park District aimed to provide one park for each of the ten square miles within its growing middle-class jurisdiction. The Northwest Park District purchased land for Mozart, Kelyvn, and Kosciuszko Parks in 1914.\u00a0 Streets were vacated in 1916 to expand the park property.\u00a0 Improvement of the three sites began almost immediately.\u00a0 Kosciuszko was among the original parks of the Northwest Park District, one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. For Kosciuszko, architect Albert A. Schwartz designed a Tudor revival-style fieldhouse, expanded in 1936 to include an assembly hall. The Chicago Park District built a natatorium there in the 1980s.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 285, "title": "Krause (Francis Vernon) Park", "address": "\n 10556 S. Avenue L \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the East Side community, Krause Playlot Park is 0.17 acres and it features a water spray facility.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago acquired the property for Krause Park in 1907.\u00a0 Krause Park is among a small group of Chicago parks named for long-time Chicago Park District employees. This East Side community park honors Francis Vernon Krause (1920-1988), a 39-year veteran of the recreation department. Krause began his career in 1946 as a physical instructor. In 1960, he was promoted to park supervisor, serving first at Bessemer Park and later at Mann Park. In 1975, he became Assistant General Supervisor of the department, a position he held until his retirement in 1985. Until 1989, the park had been known simply as Avenue \"L\" Park, for the street that passed to the east. The City of Chicago developed the park shortly before 1950, on property purchased years earlier, apparently for use by the Chicago Police Department. By 1950, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had improved the site with a spray pool, a sand box, and a playground. In 1957, the City transferred the small park, along with more than 250 other properties, to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. The Park District installed a new soft surface playground in 1990, the year after redesignating the site Krause Park.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 286, "title": "Kucinski-Murphy (Vicki, Rosebeth) Park", "address": "\n 1635 W. 33rd Place \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Kucinski-Murphy Park is 0.74 acres and it is located in the McKinley Park community. The park features a playground and water feature that were renovated in Summer 2014 as part of the Chicago Plays!\u00a0playground initiative.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0McKinley Park for recreation in the gym, fun in the outdoor pool or a game of soccer on the artificial turf.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1926, Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation established Kucinski-Murphy Park on city land in the McKinley Park neighborhood. Within a few years, the bureau had improved the property with an office building/shelter house and a playing field that could be flooded for skating in winter. Playground equipment was later installed, and the original recreation building was replaced in 1947.\n\nIn 1957, the City transferred the park to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. The Park District constructed a new spray pool and paved the gravel-surfaced playground in the late 1960s. A soft surface playground was added in 1990.\n\nFor decades, the park was officially named 33rd Place Playground, for the adjacent street. In 1999, the Park District officially designated the site Kucinski-Murphy Park. Neighbors had known the playground as the Vicki M. Kucinski and Rosebeth Murphy Playlot Park since the tragic death of those two neighborhood girls in the late 1980s.\n "}, {"id": 287, "title": "Kujawa (Chester Frank) Park", "address": "\n 4330 S. Kedvale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60632\n ", "description": "Kujawa (Chester Frank) Park totals 0.49 acres and\u00a0is located in the\u00a0Archer Heights\u00a0Community. The park features a playground, swings and water feature. In Fall 2015, the playground at Kujawa (Chester Frank) Park was renovated as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Curie Park.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired property and created Catalpa Park in 1971 to fill a pressing need for safe recreational opportunities for children in the Archer Heights Community Area, a heavily industrial area.\n\nThe park was originally named for the catalpa tree, which grows to a height of 30 to 90 feet.\u00a0 The catalpa is a popular ornamental tree because it can survive in poor soil and hot, dry areas.\u00a0 The tree produces fruit called the Indian cigar, which stays on the tree through the winter, and releases winged, papery seeds in the spring.\n\nPark Name\n\nIn January of 2021, the Chicago Park District renamed the park in honor of Chester Frank Kujawa.\u00a0 Chester Frank Kujawa was born on the south side of Chicago on May 15, 1924.\u00a0 On February 19, 1945, his marine division landed on the sandy beaches of Iwo Jima during World War II.\u00a0 There were 323 marines who landed on the island and Chester and his company fought for thirty-six days until the Japanese finally surrendered.\u00a0 Chester Frank Kujawa, then 20 years old, was one out of the only four survivors of his company.\n\nChester Frank Kujawa, resided in the Archer Heights Community Area before his passing on December 12, 2016.\u00a0 On September 18,\u00a02019, the Mayor and members of the Chicago City Council passed a resolution to honor the courageous actions of Marine Kujawa and the 5th Marine Division, recommending the Chicago Park District rename Catalpa Park in his honor.\n "}, {"id": 288, "title": "La Follette (Robert) Park", "address": "\n 1333 N. Laramie Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "Located in the Austin community, La Follette Park totals 18.70 acres and features a large fieldhouse with an indoor pool, a gymnasium, a fitness center, an auditorium and two kitchens.\n\nOutside, the park offers basketball courts, baseball fields, tennis courts, an artificial turf athletic field for football or soccer, a pavilion, two playgrounds and an interactive water spray feature. Many of these spaces are available for rental.\u00a0\n\nPark-goers visit La Follette to play seasonal sports, go swimming or just enjoy the green space at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\u00a0The La Follette Park Junior Bears Football team holds an impressive record.\u00a0\n\nIn addition to programs, La Follette Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as pumpkin patches, gym showcases and other Night Out in the Parks events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1918, renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen envisioned a new type of neighborhood center for Chicago's west side.He imagined public schools surrounded by naturalistic landscapes with recreational and cultural features for people of all ages. Jensen created a plan to integrate new parkland with Lloyd School in the Austin neighborhood.\n\nRecommending the demolition of the existing school and acquisition of adjacent land, Jensen conceived adjoining school and gymnasium buildings in a beautiful setting with children's gardens, a bird garden, a naturalistic swimming lagoon, prairie-like playfields, and an outdoor theater. The West Park Commission acquired the proposed site, and began negotiating with the Board of Education. Shifting political tides, however, caused Jensen to sever his relationship with the park commission and the plan was never realized.\n\nThe site remained unimproved for many years. In 1925, the commissioners received a letter from the West Town Chamber of Commerce stressing the need for park improvements. The following year, the site was officially named La Follette Park after a delegation submitted petitions signed by 100,000 citizens requesting this tribute. Robert M. La Follette (1855-1925), a U.S. Representative, Senator, and three term Wisconsin governor, was nationally known for Progressive reform efforts to better the lives of children, women, farmers, and workers. Nicknamed \"Fighting Bob,\" La Follette was recognized as an exceptional orator who battled against corruption.\n\nIn 1927, voters approved a $10 million bond issue allowing the West Park Commission to construct a number of new park buildings and landscape improvements.The initiative included $600,000 for a fieldhouse in La Follette Park. Designed by architects Michaelsen and Rognstad, the impressive Italian Renaissance Revival-style building, with its large auditorium, two gymnasiums, indoor swimming pool, lobbies, promenade, and gallery, was considered a fitting memorial to the revered La Follette.\n "}, {"id": 289, "title": "La Villita Park", "address": "\n 2800 S. Sacramento Blvd. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "La Villita Park is the newest park serving\u00a0the South Lawndale community.\u00a0The new park is 21.49 acres and it\u00a0features two artificial turf athletic fields with lighting; three natural grass athletic fields; a skate park; basketball courts; community gardens; passive landscape areas; a large playground with a water spray feature; a picnic pavilion; comfort stations that include concessions; a multi-use trail with fitness stations; and environmentally-friendly utilities.\n\nWhile there is\u00a0limited seasonal\u00a0structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to also check out our great programs offered at nearby Piotrowski Park.\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Dedicated in December of 2014, La Villita Park is an impressive 21 \u00bd acre park in the Little Village neighborhood of the South Lawndale Community.\u00a0 It occupies a former brownfield called Celotex in reference a former industrial complex that had polluted and degraded the site.\u00a0 Designated by the EPA as a Superfund site, the property went through remediation.\u00a0 The clean up process was completed in 2009 and the Chicago Park District acquired the site in 2012.\u00a0 The new park is extremely significant to the surrounding Little Village neighborhood.\u00a0 Not only does this area have one of the highest needs for open space in Chicago, but its residents long-contended with the negative consequences of living near a polluted site.\u00a0\n\nFor years, the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) had advocated for cleaning up this site and converting it to parkland. The Chicago Park District worked closely with LVEJO and Little Village community members to develop plans for the new park. Designed by Smith Group JJR the $ 18,920,000 park (including acquisition costs) has two artificial turf athletic fields with lighting; three natural grass athletic fields; a skate park; basketball courts; community gardens; passive landscape areas; a large playground with a water spray feature; a picnic pavilion; comfort stations with concessions; a multi-use trail with fitness stations; and environmentally-friendly utilities.\n\nLVEJO conducted a democratic and inclusive process to identify an appropriate name for the new park.\u00a0 The organization discussed possible names at several community meetings and then engaged more than 700 residents in an on-line survey.\u00a0 There was strong consensus for naming the site as La Villita Park. The name recognizes the vitality of a great immigrant neighborhoods as well as the contributions Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans have made to Little Village and the city of Chicago.\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 290, "title": "Lake Meadows Park", "address": "\n 3117 S. Rhodes Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Located in the Douglas community, Lake Meadows Park totals 7.97 acres. The park's amenities include stately shade trees, a playground, basketball courts and an athletic field for baseball, football or soccer. The playground was remodeled in 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nPark-goers can play seasonal sports at the facility. For year round programs and after school activities, patrons can visit nearby\u00a0Anderson Playground Park.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "During and after World War I, many African-Americans arrived in the Douglas neighborhood from the rural south, and the community soon became the heart of Black Chicago. By the early 1940s, government urban renewal projects led to the demolition of much of the neighborhood's aging housing stock. New construction, primarily in the form of public housing, took its place.\n\nIn the 1950s, the Chicago Land Clearance Commission purchased and leveled 100 acres of decaying buildings around 31st Street and South Parkway (now Martin Luther King Drive). The commission sold much of the property to private developers for construction of Lake Meadows, an enormous residential and commercial complex designed by the architecture firm of Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill. The developers hoped to attract residents of various racial and economic backgrounds and to promote community renewal.\n\nIn the mid-1950s, the Land Clearance Commission sold additional acreage to both the Chicago Park District and the Board of Education. After developing a plan for its newly-acquired property in 1957, the park district improved it with a playground, an athletic field, and a shaded lawn for picnicking and public events. Adjacent John J. Pershing Elementary School was completed in 1958, and the park district immediately began to manage the school grounds as part of the park.\n\nIn the late 1980s and early 1990s, improvements included additional trees and a new soft surface playground. A mobile trailer provides fieldhouse facilities for Lake Meadows Park.\n "}, {"id": 291, "title": "Lake Shore Park", "address": "\n 808 N. Lake Shore Drive \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "Located in the Near North community also called Streeterville, Lake Shore Park totals 7.08 acres and offers extensive outdoor recreational opportunities for a densely populated community. Amenities\u00a0include tennis courts, a quarter-mile soft surface running track and a playground. Inside, the park offers a full-size gymnasium, a fitness center and meeting rooms. Many of these spaces are available for rental for special events.\u00a0\n\nPark-goers come to Lake Shore Park to play seasonal sports at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the year, and in the summer, youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Lake Shore Park hosts fun special events for the whole family, such as concerts, Movies in the Park and other Night Out in the Parks events.\n ", "history": "Lake Shore Park was planned for years before development began by the Lincoln Park Commission just before 1900. The Lincoln Park Commission was one of three Chicago park boards created by the Illinois state legislature in 1869. Twenty years later, the legislature gave a section of accumulating duneland north of Chicago Avenue to the park commission.\n\nThe City of Chicago challenged the commission's ownership, but the matter was resolved in the commission's favor in 1895. Shortly thereafter, plans were drawn for what was initially known as Chicago Avenue Park. In 1897, the commission began stabilizing and expanding the site with landfill, a process that would continue for many years. Landscape improvements began in 1900.\n\nIn 1907, the Lincoln Park Commission agreed to expand the park by improving city land just west of the park. At the time, the Lincoln Park Commission was a leader in a national movement toward neighborhood parks. The commission's efforts included Seward and Stanton parks, developed during the same period. In 1908, the commission officially named the expanded property Lake Shore Playground, in recognition of its location. A shelter house was erected, and outdoor recreational facilities installed.\n\nBy 1915, the city had reclaimed its land, transferring it to the State of Illinois for an armory. The commission completely redesigned the remaining parkland in the following years. Demolishing the original shelter house, the commission constructed a new brick fieldhouse. The 1916 fieldhouse sat at the east end of the park, facing Lake Shore Drive and Lake Michigan. A running track, baseball diamond, and tennis courts stretched to the west.\n\nThe Chicago Park District took control of Lake Shore Park in 1934, when the 22 city park districts were consolidated into a single unified district. In 1963, the park district dismantled the 1916 structure and built yet another fieldhouse on the park's eastern border. The armory to the west was demolished in the 1990s, and Lake Shore Park is now bordered by the stepped terraces of the new Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Josef Paul Kleihues.\n "}, {"id": 292, "title": "Lakeshore East Park", "address": "\n 450 E. Benton Place \n Chicago, IL 60601\n ", "description": "Located in the Loop, in the Near East Side Community, Park No. 546 (commonly referred to as Lakeshore East Park), totals 4.6 acres. This beautiful outdoor space features a tots playground, interactive water feature, dog friendly area, and gardens, as well as a walking path and open space to explore.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Maggie Daley Park.\n\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 293, "title": "Lamb (Harold) Park", "address": "\n 1400 W. 109th St. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Morgan Park community, Lamb Playlot is 1.30 acres and it\u00a0is a great location for families to spent a portion of their day enjoying nature\u00a0or playing basketball.\n ", "history": "In the early 1970s, Harold V. Lamb, president of the 1300 West Block of 108th Place Club, spearheaded a movement to create a new park in the rapidly growing Morgan Park community. The Chicago Park District identified a vacant lot at the northwest corner of West 109th Street as a potential park site, but a builder soon announced plans to develop townhomes there. The park district then selected an alternate site combining private and county-owned land at the northeast corner of the same intersection. By 1977, the park district had entered into a lease with Cook County and purchased the private land. The triangular site soon included turf, plantings, playground equipment, and a combined volleyball and basketball court. In 1980, in response to requests from the Block Club and the Morgan Park Civic League, the park district named the park in tribute to Harold Lamb (1917-1978). A retired Chicago public school teacher, Lamb was an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Council on Aging, in addition to his active role in the 1300 West Block of 108th Place Club.\n "}, {"id": 294, "title": "Lane (George) Beach Park", "address": "\n 5915 N. Sheridan Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60660\n ", "description": "Whether you are looking to relax on the sandy beach soaking in some rays or getting active our beaches are a great summer destination right in the middle of a bustling Chicago.\u00a0 The park is 3.09 acres.\n ", "history": "Lane Beach Park is one of 18 street-end beaches acquired by the Chicago Park District from the City of Chicago in 1959. By that time, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had been operating such small municipal beaches since at least 1921. In contrast to the city's larger municipal beaches, the street-end beaches, though manned by lifeguards, had no changing rooms or other facilities. Residents of the north Edgewater neighborhood welcomed the recreational outlet provided by Lane Beach and other small beaches. Although the Lincoln Park Board had at one time contemplated expanding Lincoln Park north to Devon Avenue, the planned expansion never took place, and north Edgewater was left without easy access to Lincoln Park's spacious beaches. (Lincoln Park reached its present northern boundary of Ardmore Avenue in 1956.) Known for years as Thorndale Avenue Beach and Park, the park was renamed in May, 1975 for George A. Lane (1903-1974), a community resident active in church-civic affairs, philanthropy, and politics for over 30 years. Lane, a Chicago lawyer for 50 years, served as chief counsel to the Metropolitan Sanitary District and Democratic committeeman for the 49th Ward during the 1950s and 1960s. Lane was also a member of the faculty of Loyola University.\n "}, {"id": 295, "title": "Langdon (Mary Margaret) Park", "address": "\n 1754 W. Albion Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "This park is 0.42 acres and it is located in the Rogers Park\u00a0community (four blocks south of Pratt Boulevard, one long block west of Clark Street). The park contains playground for the little ones and open greenspace for activities!\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we\u00a0invite you to check out our programs offered\u00a0nearby at Schreiber Park.\n ", "history": "Formerly known as Albion Park this site was renamed Mary Margaret Langdon Park in 2005 as part of an effort by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to recognize the contributions of Chicago women. The City of Chicago purchased the property at the corner of North Ravenswood and Albion Streets in 1950. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation operated the site as Albion Park until 1959, when the Chicago Park District acquired it. Langdon (1918-1993), who went by the nickname Megs, was an accomplished university administrator and community activist in the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods. In the 1970s, she was appointed Director of Community Programs Office at Loyola University Chicago where she remained until her retirement. Ms. Langdon played an active role in numerous community efforts and organizations including the Chicago Crime Commission, St. Joseph Hospital Executive Advisory Committee, the Chicago Planning Commission, and the Rogers Park Community Council.\n "}, {"id": 296, "title": "Langley Park", "address": "\n 11255 S. Langley Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the Pullman neighborhood, Langley Park is 1.19 acres and it\u00a0is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families. This park contains a playground, basketball court and walking path. At Langley Park, park patrons enjoy playing basketball and using the walking track.\n ", "history": "In 1947, the City of Chicago purchased property along South Langley Avenue, using Playground Bond funds. Three years later, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation transformed the site into a playlot. The city transferred the playlot to the Chicago Park District in 1959. The park takes its name from the adjacent street. Langley Avenue was named for Ester Gunderson Langley, a relative of members of S.T. Gunderson & Sons, a 19th-century Chicago real estate development firm. The family patriarch, Sivert Tobias Gunderson (1839--), had come to Chicago from Norway in 1848 and made his money trading grain and lumber. He eventually bought a commercial lake vessel, a sawmill, and significant amounts of real estate. The Gundersons also named two other Chicago streets, Gladys and Haskins, for S.T.'s granddaughter Gladys Haskins. Gladys' name also graces a west side park.\n "}, {"id": 297, "title": "Lawler (Michael) Park", "address": "\n 5210 W. 64th St. \n Chicago, IL 60638\n ", "description": "Located in the Clearing Community, Lawler Park totals 4.82 acres and features a multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers two baseball diamonds, playground, and basketball courts.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, preschool and playschool activities, and arts & crafts. The Park Kids after school program is offered throughout the school year, and during the summer youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Lawler Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Chicago's Clearing community remained sparsely populated until the 1940s, when industrial development on the southwest side and in nearby suburbs brought a surge of residential construction to the area. Among the new developments was the Lawler Park subdivision, established in 1944. In 1947, the City of Chicago began creating a 6.2-acre park in the new subdivision. By 1950, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had improved the site with a sand box and playground equipment. Clearing's population again increased significantly during the following decade. To meet the needs of the rapidly-growing community, the bureau began extensive improvements in 1958, upgrading the playground equipment and adding basketball and volleyball courts, as well as a brick recreation building. The city transferred Lawler Park to the Chicago Park District the following year. In 1985, after obtaining a $100,000 appropriation from the State of Illinois, the park district thoroughly rehabilitated the athletic field and the playground area. Further planting and playground improvements were made during the 1990s. Originally known as Leamington Park for the street to the west, by 1958, the park had been give the name of the surrounding subdivision. The park, the subdivision, and nearby Lawler Avenue all honor the memory of Union General Michael K. Lawler (1814-1882). Born in Kildare, Ireland, Lawler emigrated to the United States, fought in the Mexican War, and was made a general by Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War.\n "}, {"id": 298, "title": "Lazarus (Emma) Park", "address": "\n 1257 W. Columbia Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "This tiny park is 0.18 acres and it is located in the Rogers Park community(one block south of Pratt Boulevard, \u00bd block west of Sheridan Road). Children and families enjoy the playground area for a day of fun. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at Pottawattomie Park.\n ", "history": "In 1976, the Chicago Park District purchased this once-vacant lot for development as a playlot, and improvements began in 1980. Six years later, the park district named the playlot Lazarus Park in honor of American poet and philanthropist Emma Lazarus (1849-1887). Born into a non-observant Jewish family, Lazarus gradually developed an active interest in Judaic issues, fueled by the mass migration of Eastern European Jews to the United States in the early 1880s. She is best known for her poem \"New Colossus,\" written in 1883, and inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty two decades later. Her widely-recognized lines read in part: \"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tost, to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.\" The Lazarus Park designation, made at the request of the Rogers Park Chapter of Emma Lazarus Jewish Women's Clubs, was deemed an appropriate commemoration of the Statue of Liberty's 100th anniversary in 1986.\n "}, {"id": 299, "title": "LeClaire-Hearst Park", "address": "\n 5120 W. 44th St. \n Chicago, IL 60638\n ", "description": "Located in the Garfield Ridge community, LeClaire-Hearst Park totals 12.53 acres and features a fieldhouse with a gymnasium, a kitchen and meeting rooms. Outside, the park offers basketball courts, baseball fields, an athletic field for football or soccer, a playground, tennis courts and a \u00a0community garden. The playground at LeClaire-Hearst Park was renovated in Fall 2015\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play seasonal sports or participate in recreation programs at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. LeClaire-Hearst Park also offers an early childhood program through a partnership with the Hull House.\n\nIn addition to programs, LeClaire-Hearst Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday celebrations, Black History month activities and other Night Out in the Parks events.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District planned and developed LeClaire-Hearst Park in conjunction with the Chicago Housing Authority's construction of the nearby LeClaire Courts public housing project. The park district first purchased land for the park in 1948, acquiring additional property from C.H.A. in 1968 and from the Board of Education in 1991.\n\nIn 1974, the park was officially designated LeClaire Courts - Hearst Community Park for the neighboring communities. The park district expanded the park with Board of Education land in 1991.\u00a0 In 1999, the LeClaire Courts-Hearst Community Center Park name was officially changed to LeClaire-Hearst Park.\u00a0 The purpose of this name's amendment was to prevent confusion due to another agency in the community already having been named LeClaire-Hearst Community Center.\u00a0\n\nLeClaire Courts, which opened in 1950, was Chicago's first attempt at integrated, lowrise public housing. The complex takes its name from Antoine Le Claire, a fur trader and government interpreter who came to Chicago with John Kinzie (1763-1828) in 1809. LeClaire Street, which terminates at the south edge of the park, also bears his name.\n\nHearst is the single-family residential community south of 45th Street. Its name derives from that of philanthropist Phoebe Apperson Hearst (1842-1919), mother of newspaper publisher and businessman William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951).\n "}, {"id": 300, "title": "Lee (John) Park", "address": "\n 3700 W. 87th St. \n Chicago, IL 60652\n ", "description": "Located in the Ashburn neighborhood, Lee Park is 0.33 acres and it is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, along with benches to enjoy a picnic.\n ", "history": "Chicago's Ashburn community remained sparsely populated until the late 1940s, when industrial development on the southwest side and in nearby suburbs prompted a surge in residential construction. Ashburn's population increased dramatically after 1950, rising from 7,000 residents to 40,000 in just ten years. The Parkview Civic Association, a local homeowners' group, began to lobby for a small park at South Lawndale Avenue and 87th Street, Ashburn's southern border. The City of Chicago agreed to purchase the quarter-acre lot in 1958, and acquired the property two years later. The city immediately transferred the property to the Chicago Park District as required by the Functional Consolidation Act of 1959. The park district developed the site as a playground in 1962, rehabilitating it thirty years later. In early 1963, the park district officially named the park for John M. Lee (1886-1956), a five-term Democratic Committeeman for the surrounding 18th Ward. Lee played an active role in public life, serving as state representative from 1922 to 1932 and as state senator from 1933 to 1946. He believed that park programs would contribute to the well-rounded development of youth. While in the legislature, he was a proponent of parks and recreational facilities.\n "}, {"id": 301, "title": "Legion Park", "address": "\n 3100 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60659\n ", "description": "This 51.66-acre, oblong park straddles three neighborhoods: West Ridge, Lincoln Square, and North Park. This large park features two junior baseball fields, two playslabs with basketball standards, two tennis courts, four playgrounds, a roller hockey\u00a0area, a nature area, and a bicycle path. The ornamental fountain and oversized flower beds provides a great backdrop for wedding photos.\n\nThe park\u2019s northern border starts at Peterson Avenue, the southern border ends at Foster Avenue, and its west side abuts Kedzie / Jersey Avenues. If you are interested in renting one of the athletic fields or other amenities, please contact River Park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby River Park.\n ", "history": "Legion Park was created by the River Park District, one of 22 independent park systems consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Residents of northwest Chicago established the Ridge Park District in 1917 specifically to promote recreational opportunities along the North Shore Channel and the nearby North Branch of the Chicago River. Therefore, when the board of the Sanitary District of Chicago offered to lease a 330-foot, 18-acre stretch of the channel's east bank in 1930, the River Park District readily accepted. The park district named the site Legion Park to honor veterans who served in the World War I U.S. Expeditionary Forces, and promptly began improvements, installing a playground, a volleyball court, a softball field, and an outdoor gymnasium. In 1933, the Garden Club of the Peterson Woods Improvement Association planted a flower garden in the park. The following year, in the depths of the Depression, the Illinois Relief Commission erected a rustic bridge across the channel at Ardmore Avenue. All 22 of the city's independent park boards were consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. In 1962, the park district began to lease additional property on both sides of the channel. Seven years later, the park district leased still more land, bringing total park acreage to 48.35 acres. Over time, the park district has installed and improved concrete walkways, bike paths, and playgrounds along the length of Legion Park. In 1999, the park district purchased .4 acres of land at the corner of Lincoln and Peterson Avenues from the Public Building Commission, and removed a neighborhood eyesore, a dilapidated motel. This property, with its new ornamental fountain, will serve as a gateway to the park\n "}, {"id": 302, "title": "Leland Giants Park", "address": "\n 664 W 76th St \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Auburn Gresham community, Leland Giants Park totals 2.07 acres and it\u00a0is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing equipment, basketball court, and a baseball/softball field.Along with other sports, patrons that visit this location participate in basketball, baseball and softball.\n ", "history": "The Material Service Corporation donated the land for this park to the Chicago Park District in 1972. The park district officially named the site Leland Giants Park in 1998. The Leland Giants were an African-American baseball team that played at the intersection of 79th Street and Wentworth Avenue, only a half-mile from this park site, during the early 20th century. Black professional baseball had a significant history in Chicago, even before the founding of the Negro National League in 1920. Although local newspapers often referred to the baseball played by black teams as semi-professional, players did earn livings through baseball. In the first decades of the 20th century, the Chicago Baseball League fielded both white and black teams. The Leland Giants, organized by Frank Leland in 1905, dominated that league.\n "}, {"id": 303, "title": "Leone (Sam) Beach Park", "address": "\n 1222 W. Touhy Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Located in the Rogers Park Neighborhood Leone Beach is the perfect place to relax on the sandy beach soaking in some rays or getting active. Our beaches are a great summer destination right in the middle of a bustling Chicago.\u00a0 Leone Beach Park is 2.81 acres.\n ", "history": "Leone Beach Park dates to 1919, when the City of Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation acquired the park site from the Department of Water. The city had purchased the property and its pumping station from the Rogers Park Water Company in 1907. Shortly after obtaining the lakeshore property, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation remodeled the pumping station, built in 1900, for use as a fieldhouse. The park's Touhy Avenue beach included diving boards and rafts that drew neighborhood children in droves. By 1937, the park comprised 250 feet of beach frontage, including street-end beaches at Chase, Greenleaf, and Farwell Avenues. In 1959, the Chicago Park District began leasing the park, then known as Rogers Park and Beach, from the city. In 1966, the park district renamed the site Leone Park after beloved park district employee Sam Leone (1900-1965). Leone joined the Bureau of Parks and Recreation as a lifeguard after serving in the Navy during World War I. Initially, he worked at the old Clarendon Park Beach, but was moved north to Rogers Park in 1927. When Leone became a park district employee in 1959, he was named supervisor of lifeguards for the entire north side. Leone was still living above the Rogers Park beach house and supervising lifeguards and safeguarding swimmers at the time of this death at age 65.\n "}, {"id": 304, "title": "Leone Beach Park", "address": "\n 1222 W. Touhy Ave \n Chicago , IL 60626\n ", "description": "Located in the Rogers Park neighborhood, Leone Beach Park is the perfect place to relax on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan while soaking in some rays or getting active at the nearby playground and soon to be expanded nature play space.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 305, "title": "Lerner (Leo) Park", "address": "\n 7000 N. Sacramento Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60645\n ", "description": "This 8.49\u00a0acre park is located in the West Ridge neighborhood (two blocks west of California Avenue, five blocks south of Touhy Avenue). It contains a large open green space, two tennis courts,\u00a0 and a playground with sandbox.While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs offered nearby at Chippewa Park.\n ", "history": "Lerner Park sits on a remnant of the West Ridge community's once-thriving brick-making industry. Drawn by the area's natural deposits of clay and sand, brick-makers increasingly located in the western portion of the community after 1900. Their workers soon followed, building bungalows in the surrounding area. By mid-century, the local brick industry had faded, but population was surging. To meet the recreational needs of West Ridge residents, the Chicago Park District purchased this former clay pit from the Illinois Brick Company in 1962. The park district improved the 8-acre site in 1964 and 1965. The park district and the Chicago Board of Education agreed to jointly operate the new park and adjacent Stephen Decatur Elementary School, but the project was short-lived. In 1966, the park was named for Leo Lerner (1908--1965), an eminent author, publisher, and public-spirited citizen. Publisher of the Lerner Neighborhood Newspapers, Lerner also served as Chairman of the Board of Roosevelt University and as a member of the State Pardon and Parole Board.\n "}, {"id": 306, "title": "Levin (John) Park", "address": "\n 5458 W. Kinzie Pkwy. \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "This small playground\u00a0is located in the\u00a0Austin Community. The park totals 7.05 acres and it features a baseball diamond, a basketball court and a playground that was renovated in Fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays!\u00a0 playground initiative, 327 playgrounds across the city were built or renovated from 2013 through 2016, ensuring every child in every neighborhood is within a 10-minute walk of a park or playground.\u00a0\u00a0It is an active community park. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Austin Town Hall Park for recreation.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1866, the year after Henry W. Austin developed a large portion of Cicero Township as Austinville, approximately 20 acres were recorded as Merrick's Subdivision. At the time, developers were worried that fire could spread quickly through newly-constructed neighborhoods, and they often set small parcels of open space aside to provide some protection.\n\nWithin Merrick's Subdivision, 6.5 acres were designated as parkland. By the 1880s, the site comprised only a planted area enclosed by a white picket fence. At each corner entrance were wooden arches bearing the name \"Merrick Park\" in large black letters. In 1899, the City of Chicago annexed Austinville, and within the next few years the park came under the jurisdiction of the Special Park Commission.\n\nIn 1906, renowned designer Jens Jensen, serving as a member of the Special Park Commission, developed improvement plans for a number of city parks. In Merrick Park, Jensen created two circular meadows and walkways, and densely planted trees and shrubs. There was also a combination tool shed and comfort station which was constructed in 1907. Although the park did not have playground equipment, it offered lawn tennis during the warmer months and ice skating in winter.\n\nThe city transferred Merrick Park to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties in 1959. The existing building was converted and expanded into a small fieldhouse in 1972. At the same time, the park district installed new basketball and volleyball courts, playground equipment, and baseball backstops.\n\nIn 1974, the site was renamed Levin Park as a tribute to John H. (\"Little Jack\") Levin (1887-1971). For 57 years, Levin owned Little Jack's Restaurant, a neighborhood institution and favorite spot for boxers who came after matches at Chicago Stadium, as well as Democratic politicians and judges. Levin served as a Chicago Park District Commissioner from 1946 until 1969.\n "}, {"id": 307, "title": "Lily Gardens Park", "address": "\n 632 W. 71st St. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Lily Gardens Park totals 2.82 acres and it is a relaxing location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. Children can also play on our playground with swings.\n ", "history": "Lily Gardens Park originated in 1886 when developers platted a portion of the former Town of Lake and dedicated the property as parkland. The City of Chicago acquired the site when it annexed the Town of Lake in 1889. Originally known as 72nd Street Park, by 1910 the park had been designated The Lily Gardens. The new name referred to the park's two impressive basins planted with water lilies. Lily Gardens Park passed into the hands of the Chicago Park District in 1959. Difficulties in maintaining the lily ponds led the park district to remove them and install a playground in their place.\n "}, {"id": 308, "title": "Limas (Juliann Hope) Park", "address": "\n 2410 S. Trumbull Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "Located in the South Lawndale community, Limas Playground Park totals 0.49 acres and it features a playlot complete with a swing set, a sliding board, park benches and a water feature.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Shedd Park.\n ", "history": "In 1926, the City of Chicago acquired a small parcel of land along Trumbull Avenue in the heavily built-up South Lawndale neighborhood. By 1930, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had improved the site with a playfield that was flooded for ice skating in winter. The city also constructed a small office building, long since demolished.\n\nThe city transferred the park, along with more than 250 other park properties, to the Chicago Park District in 1959. In 1982, the park district installed a new spray pool. A new soft surface playground was added in 1991.\n\nOriginally known as Trumbull Park for Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice and U.S. Senator Lyman Trumbull (1813-1896), the site was renamed Limas Park in 1982. The new name honors Juliann Hope Limas (1965--1981), one of two innocent bystanders tragically slain in a gun fight between rival gangs on August 16, 1981. Limas, a sophomore at Young High School, was a member of the Marquette District Police Explorers, and had hoped to become a police youth officer later in life.\n "}, {"id": 309, "title": "Lin (Margaret Hie Ding) Park", "address": "\n 1735 S. State St. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Near South\u00a0community area. The park is 0.27 acres and it\u00a0features\u00a0basketball\u00a0courts and has been featured in several\u00a0soft drink beverage commercials with Chicago Bull's MVPs Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at the nearby Haines Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1970, the City of Chicago\u2019s Department of Public Works began transforming property under an elevated portion of the Dan Ryan Transit line to create a small park for the surrounding Near South Side community area, which was in dire need of recreational space.\n\nUnder a lease agreement with the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Park District assumed operation and maintenance of the site, after the City installed a playground and basketball courts. In 1991, after determining that the park was not well utilized by younger children, the park district removed the playground and added a second basketball court.\n\nThe Chicago Park District named the park in honor of Margaret Hie Ding Lin in 2004 as part of a system-wide effort to recognize the contributions of Chicago women. Margaret Hie Ding Lin (1888\u20131973), one of Chicago\u2019s first Chinese physicians, played an active role in providing medical services to the residents of Chinatown. Margaret graduated from Fuzhou College (a Chinese university founded by Western missionaries) in 1907. She then came to the United States to attend medical school. She was one of the nation\u2019s earliest Chinese immigrants to attend medical school, and of course few women became doctors at that time.\n\nMargaret received her medical school training at the University of Illinois in Chicago. She went on to an internship at the Mary Thompson Hospital for Women and Children in Chicago. After completing her internship, she returned to China where she had a prestigious career as a doctor and hospital president.\n\nIn 1941, more than twenty years after her return to China, she came back to Chicago. She worked at the University of Illinois Medical Center for several years and then began working for the Illinois Dept. of Public Welfare. To help Chicago\u2019s Chinese residents, Margaret established a medical practice in Chinatown. On weekdays, Margaret took care of patients at the Cook County Tuberculosis Hospital, and during the weekends she attended to her patients in Chinatown. She was revered by the Chinatown community, and in 1964, area residents successfully nominated her to the Senior Citizens Hall of Fame in Chicago.\n\nMargaret Hie Ding Lin Park is less than a mile away from Chinatown, the community to which she devoted much of her life and professional energies.\n "}, {"id": 310, "title": "Lincoln (Abraham) Park", "address": "\n 500-5700 N. Lake Shore Drive \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Lincoln Park totals 1,188.62 acres and it\u00a0lies along the lakefront from Ohio Street Beach in the Streeterville neighborhood, northward to Ardmore Avenue in Edgewater. The section of Lincoln Park adjacent to the Lincoln Park neighborhood contains the Lincoln Park Zoo, Lincoln Park Conservatory, Theatre on the Lake, a rowing canal, the Chicago History Museum, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, the North Pond Nature Sanctuary, Lincoln\u00a0Park Archery Range\u00a0(used by Lincoln Park Archery Club and\u00a0North Side Archery Club),\u00a0North Avenue Beach\u00a0and Oak Street Beach, numerous playing fields, a very prominent statue of General Grant\u00a0as well as, a famous statue of Abraham Lincoln and many other statues.\n\n\n\tWithin the park, guests will also find recreational facilities - the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, Margate Fieldhouse and Clarendon Park.\n\n\nBe sure to check out one of the five playgrounds in Lincoln Park.\u00a0 Visit the newly renovated playground just off of Lake Shore Drive at Hollywood, it has a great water spray feature as well. The playground was renovated under the ChicagoPlays! program.\n\nThe American Planning Association (APA) 2010 National Planning Excellence, Leadership, and Achievement Awards honor the outstanding planning initiatives and individuals of the previous year.\n\nAPA singled out Lincoln Park as one of the 2009 Great Public Spaces in America, for its world-class amenities, historic landmarks, and buildings, and for the wide range of activities available to park users. Most notably, Lincoln Park is the result of a long-standing commitment by city leaders and citizens to protect 1,200 acres of some of Chicago's most valuable lakefront real estate for the public's use and benefit.\n ", "history": "Lincoln Park began as a small public cemetery on the northernmost boundary of Chicago where victims of cholera and small pox were buried in shallow lakeside graves. Aware of the public health threat, citizens began demanding the cemetery's conversion to parkland in the 1850s. In 1860, the city reserved a 60-acre unused section as Lake Park. Shortly after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), 16th President of the United States, the park was renamed in his honor. The city allocated $10,000 for improvements, and nurseryman Swain Nelson created and implemented the park's first plan. An early donation of mute swans marked the beginnings of the Lincoln Park Zoo.\n\nCitizens argued for the removal of the remaining burial ground. This contributed to a larger parks movement, and in 1869, the state legislature created three park districts: the South, West, and Lincoln Park Commissions, each responsible for the parks and boulevards in its region. Under the direction of the Lincoln Park Commission, bodies were exhumed and relocated to other cemeteries, and the park was expanded south to North Avenue and north to Diversey Parkway. Severe winter storms in 1885 resulted in the construction of a breakwater system which included the first of many landfill projects extending Lincoln Park's boundaries.\n\nThe independent park commissions were consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934, and Lincoln Park was expanded north to Foster Avenue. A final expansion in the 1950s brought the park to its current size of 1,208 acres. Throughout Lincoln Park's history, renowned artists, landscape designers, and architects contributed to its development. These included sculptor Augustus-Saint Gaudens, landscape designers Ossian Cole Simonds and Alfred Caldwell, and architects Joseph Lyman Silsbee and Dwight H. Perkins.\n "}, {"id": 311, "title": "Lindblom (Robert) Park", "address": "\n 6054 S. Damen Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60636\n ", "description": "Located in the West Englewood community, Lindblom Park totals 17.56 acres and features a gymnasium, fitness center, and multi-purpose rooms. Green features of our facility include a Harvest Garden. Outside, the park offers baseball, softball, football, and soccer fields, a swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, walking path and picnic area. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, fields andmulti-purpose rooms. Park-goers can participate in the Park Kids afterschool program, seasonal sports, Cubs Care Baseball, Inner-City basketball league, gymnastics, track & field, Teen Club, senior health & fitness programs. On the cultural side, Lindblom Park offers hip hop dance. During the summer, youth participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Tennis Camp. In addition to programs, Lindblom Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "Soon after World War II, the Chicago Park District began a major initiative to create new parks for the first time in many years. This Ten Year Plan identified 43 sites in neighborhoods with few recreational facilities and in undeveloped areas which were starting to boom. In 1949, the effort's fourth year, the park district acquired a 17-acre property in the under-served West Englewood neighborhood. Improved between 1950 and 1952, the new park included an athletic field, a children's playground, tennis and volley ball courts, and a small frame and sheet metal recreation building. Basketball courts were added in 1958. In 1983, the park district demolished the recreation building and replaced it with a modern fieldhouse, nearly identical with structures built the same year in Rowan and Fernwood Parks. Two years later, an outdoor swimming pool and a changing facility were constructed in the park. In the 1990s, the park district replanted Lindblom Park's landscape, built a soft surface playground, and installed flood lights around the basketball courts, allowing for night-time games. The park's name honors Chicago businessman and philanthropist Robert Lindblom (1844-1907). Having emigrated from Sweden at the age of 20, Lindblom settled in Chicago in 1877, and worked as a grain operator on the Board of Trade. He served on the organizing committee for the World's Columbian Exposition, raising a half-million dollars to help finance the fair which opened in Jackson Park in 1893. For helping the Swedish government with its fair exhibit, Lindblom was knighted by King Oscar. Linblom served on the Board of Education from 1893 to 1896.\n "}, {"id": 312, "title": "Linden Park", "address": "\n 1129-47 N. Pulaski Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0west Humboldt Park\u00a0community. The park is 0.53 acres and it features a basketball court, playground, swings and water feature.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out the programs offered at nearby\u00a0Kedvale Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District developed Linden Park in 1969, and improved it in the early 1990s. The park was one of a number of park district properties named for trees and plants in the mid-1970s. The district's park naming committee felt that neighborhood children could relate well to park names chosen from nature.\n\nThe linden is a medium-sized to large tree found throughout the North American temperate zone. The many nutrients in the decaying leaves of lindens play an important role in building soil fertility. The linden's flowers provide nectar for bees, while the fruit, bark, and twigs serve as food for other wildlife. Native Americans twisted fibers from the tough inner bark into rope. They used finer linden bark threads to suture wounds and to weave cloth.\n "}, {"id": 313, "title": "Little Venice Park", "address": "\n 2251 W. 50th Pl. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0New City\u00a0community. The park totals 0.95\u00a0acres and it features a\u00a0playground and water feature. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Cornell Square\u00a0Park for recreation in the gym, fun in the outdoor pool or to enjoy a game of soccer on the artificial turf.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 314, "title": "Livingston Field Park", "address": "\n 2139 W. Lexington St. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "Formerly known as Park No. 510, Livingston Field Park totals 2.59 acres and it\u00a0is located in the Near West community. This small park features an artificial turf football/soccer field with two baseball diamonds located within the\u00a0turf field. The field includes bleachers for spectators.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Altgeld Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "In the early 1990s, after the Near North Little League lost its original field at Clybourn and Division, the Illinois Medical District agreed to lease and transform a vacant glass-strewn lot into a baseball field.\u00a0 Over the years, the site was improved to include backstops, fancy dugouts and foul poles, a sprinkler system and oversized scoreboard.\u00a0\n\nA few years later, the City of Chicago acquired the site and leased it to the Chicago Park District. In 2009, the site was transferred to the Chicago Park District and underwent additional improvements using TIFF funds. These new amenities include an artificial turf athletic field, lights, Bocci-ball courts, benches, walkways, and other landscape improvements.\n\nOver the years, the site has always been known as Livingston Field. The name honors David O. Livingston (1941\u20131998), a Korean War veteran who served as the executive director of the Illinois Medical District for several years.\n "}, {"id": 315, "title": "Logan Boulevard Skate Park", "address": "\n N. Western Ave. and Logan Blvd. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "This 1.29\u00a0acre edgy skate park is located beneath the Kennedy Expressway (on Logan Boulevard) in the Logan Square neighborhood.\n\nThe park is shared by skateboarders and BMX bicyclists. It features a bowl corner with a spine, smaller quarters with hips, funbox with small flat and down rail, smaller spine and some hips. Around the outside of the park there are some flat rails, manny pad and a kicker to picnic table.\n\nThe Chicago Park District entered into a lease agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation to use a 1.6-acre surface area under and adjacent to the expressway for the skate park.\u00a0\u00a0The City of Chicago transferred Open Space Impact Fees to the Chicago Park District for this project.\n\nDuring the planning phase, community members suggested the inclusion of an original artwork in the park that would serve as a gateway into the community. The Park District commissioned installation artist and sculptor Lucy Slivinski to produce a pair of sculptures for the north and south ends of the site. A Chicago artist who received an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Slivinski uses found objects and recycled materials to create her sculptures. Silversurf Gate is made out of various chrome elements such as tail pipes and hubcaps along with colorful lenses from old traffic signals.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs\u00a0nearby at Haas Park.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 316, "title": "London (Louis) Park", "address": "\n 1654 S. Trumbull Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the North Lawndale community. It is an active community park totaling 0.29 acres.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Douglas Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "London Park is one of many playgrounds established by the City of Chicago after World War II. The city purchased the park site in 1954, a time of declining population in North Lawndale. Five years later, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation transferred the playlot to the Chicago Park District. In the early 1990s, the park district rehabilitated the playground as part of its soft surface playground initiative.\n\nThe park honors Louis L. London (1892-1953), 24th Ward Alderman and a strong proponent of playground development in Chicago. London, a long-time public servant and charter member of the 24th Ward Democratic Organization, served as chairman of the City Council's Committee on Health. Before his election as alderman in 1947, London spent 14 years as director of personnel for the Chicago Board of Health. Prior to that, he served for a decade as a bailiff in Superior Court of Cook County.\n "}, {"id": 317, "title": "Lowe (Samuel) Park", "address": "\n 5203 S. Lowe Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Located in the New City community, Lowe Park totals 4.43 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers a playground, baseball diamonds, and basketball courts and multi-purpose fields. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our ball fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, Inner City Flag Football, Inner City Baseball, Inner City Hoops, and RBI Baseball. The Park Kids after school program is offered throughout the school year. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include dance and sports camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Lowe Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "Lowe Park is one of many new parks created by the City of Chicago after World War II to serve neighborhoods like New City. Soon after the city purchased a four-acre park site in 1950, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation improved the property with playground equipment; a spray pool; a small brick recreation building; basketball and volleyball courts; and an athletic field intended for football, softball, and baseball. Following its general practice, the bureau named the park for adjacent Lowe Avenue. The street name honors Samuel J. Lowe, one of the city's first constables, as well as an early justice of the peace. Lowe also served as Cook County Sheriff for two terms beginning in 1842. In 1959, the city transferred Lowe Park to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties. In 1978, at the request of a neighborhood civic group, the New City Members, the park district planted new trees at the site. In 1992, Lowe Park was further improved with a new soft surface playground area.\n "}, {"id": 318, "title": "Loyola Park", "address": "\n 1230 W. Greenleaf Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Located in the East Rogers Park\u00a0community (adjacent on the west to Sheridan Road, abutting Loyola University\u2019s property to the south, and Lake Michigan on the east), Loyola Park sits on 40.87 acres of land. The large fieldhouse is equipped with two gymnasiums, woodshop, boxing center and clubrooms for rental. Outside, the park offers a senior baseball and a softball field, a two-hoop basketball court, sand volleyball courts, four tennis courts, a playground, as well as a nearly 2/3-mile walking trail along the beautiful beach and Lake Michigan. \u00a0Beach season begins the Friday before Memorial Weekend and goes through Labor Day.\u00a0\n\nWith a great diversity, and quantity, of programs: there\u2019s something for everyone at Loyola Park! Parents will appreciate the opportunity for their tots / preschoolers to increase their socialization skills in programs such as: Preschool, Tot Spot, MightyFitFamily, Saturday Dribblers, Saturday Kickers, Tiny Tot- and Recreational-Tumbling. Loyola Park is one of the sites for the popular Park Kids after school program for youth; Winter- and Spring-Break Camps are available during days when school is out.\n\nRecreation for youth includes: baseball, basketball, boxing, cheerleading, cross-country, and Go Girl Go, gymnastics, hip hop dance, seasonal sports, soccer, softball, track & field, volleyball, and wrestling. Pre-Teens and Teens can make new friendships in their age-appropriate clubs. Other teen programs include: baseball, basketball, boxing, cheerleading, drop-in, flag football, Go Girl Go, hip hop dance, soccer, softball, and volleyball. During the summer, Loyola Park offers various camps, in addition to its popular 6-week affordable day camp for youth: Dance Intensive-, Basketball-, Soccer-, Tennis-, Volleyball-, and Play-Camp.\n\nLoyola Park is also noted for its Special Recreation programs for people with disabilities\u2014including training for Special Olympics, after school Park Kids, summer camp for children and teens.\n\nAdults and/or seniors are not forgotten; they can enjoy low-impact aerobics, conditioning, cross-training, yoga, boxing, and volleyball.Tae Kwon Do is an all-ages class offered through a partnership.\n\nOn the cultural side, Loyola Park offers arts & crafts and woodcraft. The park has Art Partnership who bring their talents to the community.\u00a0 Barrel of Monkey's offers writing and improv workshops for children and Full Effect offers Hip Hop Dance classes.\n\nLoyola Park is the home of artist Lynn Takata\u2019s \u201cWindform\u201d: a 100\u2019 long abstract concrete sculpture, which is meant to represent the movement of the water--and provides areas for patrons to sit and enjoy the lake, as well as slopes for children to climb and play on.\n\nLoyola Park hosts a bounty of annual special events: the autumn Boxing Show and Halloween Party, Black History Month Celebration, Family Valentine Dance, Earth Day Park Clean-up, Easter Egg Hunt, Gym Showcase, and the Father\u2019s Day-weekend Artists of the Wall Festival.\n ", "history": "Loyola Park was the sole park created by the North Shore Park District, one of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Unlike most of these park boards, the North Shore District, formed in 1900, was at first interested only in enhancing the area through boulevard improvements along Sheridan Road, Pratt Boulevard, and Ashland Avenue. By 1905, however, public pressure had prompted the district to consider park development. The district spent several years mulling its options. Finally, in 1909, at the urging of the Rogers Park Woman's Club, the North Shore District determined to concentrate its resources on purchasing land for a single beachfront park and boating basin known as North Shore Park. Shortly thereafter, noted landscape architect and engineer O.C. Simonds developed plans for a pier at the site, but these were never realized. By 1917, the North Shore District had acquired more than nine acres of lakeshore property. A small fieldhouse, built in 1923, soon provided game and club rooms. Playfields were flooded for ice skating in winter; in 1929, the local American Legion post erected a shelter house for skaters. Several years after the Chicago Park District took over in 1934, local residents asked that North Shore Park be renamed. The park district agreed, and held a contest to choose a new name. Neighborhood residents favored the name Loyola Park, for nearby Loyola University. The Jesuits began to develop this important Rogers Park institution in 1906, when they purchased a 20-acre site between Devon and Loyola Avenues. During the 1930s, the university raised its neighborhood profile substantially by constructing a number of dramatic Art Deco buildings, including the Madonna della Strada Chapel. Around 1950, the Chicago Park District more than doubled the size of Loyola Park and built a new fieldhouse with an adjacent grandstand. Another half-acrewas added1971, bringing the size ofLoyola Park to more than 21.5 acres.\n "}, {"id": 319, "title": "Luella Park", "address": "\n 10021 S. Luella Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the Jeffery Manor/South Deering community, Luella Park totals 1.44 acres and it\u00a0is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains a soft-surface playground and basketball courts. Activities that are played at Luella Park include open basketball and basketball tournaments.\n ", "history": "With the end of World War II came a residential building boom in the South Deering community. The area's population nearly doubled between 1940 and 1950. To ensure recreational opportunities for residents, the City of Chicago acquired a parcel of land from real estate subdividers in 1946, improving it as a playground. In 1959, the city turned the park over to the Chicago Park District. Luella Park takes its name from the street that runs along its western edge. The Luella was the first passenger steamer to ply the Mississippi River. Built in 1844 by George Springer (1815-1899) of St. Louis, the Luella was the only means of crossing between St. Louis and the higher eastern shore of the river during the great flood of that year. Springer sold the vessel in 1848 and moved to Chicago to speculate in real estate. Springer found further success; it was Springer himself who named the street, which ran through one of his new subdivisions.\n "}, {"id": 320, "title": "Luna Park", "address": "\n 5558 S. Green St. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Luna Park is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This 0.22 acre\u00a0park contains a climbing apparatus for children.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased the site of this playlot in 1975 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The park was officially named Luna Park in 1998. The playlot is located about a half-mile from the former site of Luna Park, a defunct amusement park at the corner of 50th and Halsted Streets. The amusement park opened in 1907. James (\"Big Jim\") O'Leary (1869-1925), \"king of the gamblers\" (and son of the Mrs. O'Leary associated with the Chicago Fire) purchased Luna Park the following year, intending to make it \"a high class amusement resort.\" Luna Park remained open only until 1911, when \"Big Jim\" closed it after making a fortune in a 1910 championship fight between Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries.\n "}, {"id": 321, "title": "Lunt (Orrington, Stephen) Park", "address": "\n 2239 W. Lunt Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60645\n ", "description": "This small park totals 0.20 acres and it\u00a0is located in the West Ridge\u00a0community (three blocks south of Touhy Avenue, two blocks east of Western Avenue). Children and families enjoy the playground area for a day of fun. Community residents maintain a beautiful community garden at the play lot creating an urban oasis.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at Indian Boundary Cultural Center and Chippewa Park.\n ", "history": "Although the City of Chicago acquired a small parcel of land along Lunt Avenue in West Ridge during the 1890s, the property was not developed as parkland until decades later. By 1945, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation was operating the site as a playlot with a wading pool, a sand box, and play equipment. The city transferred the property to the Chicago Park District in 1959. The park district rehabilitated Lunt Park in the early 1990s, removing the original equipment and installing a brand new playground. The park takes its name from adjacent Lunt Avenue, in turn named for brothers Orrington and Stephen P. Lunt, early land owners and subdividers in Evanston and Rogers Park. Orrington, the more well-known of the Lunts, was among the founders of the Chicago Board of Trade (1848) and Northwestern University (1851). The university's first library bore Lunt's name, as does Evanston's Orrington Avenue and Orrington Hotel.\n "}, {"id": 322, "title": "Lyle (John) Park", "address": "\n 7700 S Wallace St. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Auburn Gresham community area, Lyle Park totals 1.76 acres and it is a relaxing location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. Children can also play on our playground with swings.\n ", "history": "In 1917, the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad began elevating its tracks as part of a city-wide effort to eliminate dangerous at-grade crossings. In 1920, Alderman John H. Lyle (1882-1964) asked the City Council to establish a new park along the newly-created embankment on the railroad's western right-of-way between 76th and 79th Streets. By the following year, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had named the 3-acre greenspace Lyle Park. (At the time, the bureau regularly named parks for standing aldermen.) An Indiana native and graduate of John Marshall Law School, Lyle began his political career in 1910 as an Assistant Cook County State's Attorney. In 1914, he became a state legislator, and served as alderman from 1918 until 1925. In 1925, Lyle was elected to the Municipal Court, a position from which he relentlessly battled organized crime. Lyle coined the term \"public enemies\" for gangland criminals, and gained a reputation as the only Chicago judge that Al Capone could not buy. In fact, it was Lyle who issued the warrant for Capone's arrest on charges of tax evasion in 1930. By 1940, Lyle Park had shrunk to just 1.6 acres, stretching south only as far as 78th Street. Though the Bureau of Parks and Recreation developed a plan for enhancing the site with playground equipment, no such improvements were made. In 1959, the city transferred Lyle Park, along with more than 250 other park properties, to the Chicago Park District. In the 1970s, the park district installed playground equipment near 77th Street. The playground was rehabilitated in 1992.\n "}, {"id": 323, "title": "Madero Park", "address": "\n 3203 W. 28th St. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "Madero Park is located in the South Lawndale Community.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 324, "title": "Madigan (Michael J., Sr.) Park", "address": "\n 4707 W. Marquette Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60629\n ", "description": "Located in the West Lawn community, Michael J. Madigan Sr. Park totals 12.97 acres and it\u00a0features five baseball diamonds. This park is a popular location for baseball enthusiasts.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Park #484 serves several communities and neighborhoods on the Southwest Side and is home to a lively and competitive youth and teen baseball program. For many years, the community has commonly referred to Park #484 as Madigan Park in honor of Michael J. Madigan Sr., a lifelong resident of Chicago, prominent community member and civic leader from the Southwest Side. Madigan Sr. was active in charitable works and volunteerism at St. Adrian Parish Church. He worked as an investigator for the Illinois Liquor Control Commission and as an assistant to Cook County Clerk Michael J. Flynn. He close with late Mayor Richard J. Daley and served as longtime ward superintendent in a number of wards throughout the city including his home 13th Ward. Madigan died in 1966 at the age of 60. He and his wife Mary Rita raised two children, Marita and Michael J. Madigan, Jr.\n "}, {"id": 325, "title": "Maggie Daley Park", "address": "\n 337 E. Randolph St. \n Chicago, IL 60605\n ", "description": "Located in the Loop community, Maggie Daley is a new 20-acre park located on the spot of the former Daley Bicentennial Plaza.\u00a0Maggie Daley Park connects to Millennium Park via the BP Pedestrian Bridge.\n\nToday, Maggie Daley is a magnificent recreation center offering a children's playground, a climbing wall, mini golf, picnic groves, a skating ribbon, tennis courts and a formal garden. The Maggie Daley fieldhouse hosts Chicago Park District programming, including the Park District's popular Summer Day Camp.\u00a0\n\nVisit maggiedaleypark.com to learn more about the park and its special events\u00a0and\u00a0features.\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 326, "title": "Magnolia Park", "address": "\n 3224 W. Flournoy St. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0East Garfield Park\u00a0community. It is an active community park totaling 0.25 acres.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Homan Square\u00a0Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this park site in 1969, officially designating it Magnolia Park in 1973. The park was one of a number of park district properties named for trees and plants at this time.\n\nMagnolias were among the earth's first plants to be pollinated by insects. This family of trees and shrubs, native to South Asia and the southeastern United States, can produce impressive flowers measuring up to ten inches across. The Chinese sometimes used the magnolia's lemony essence to flavor rice. Magnolias bear the name of Pierre Magnol (1638-1715), a botany professor and physician to King Louis XIV of France, who was the first person to classify plants into \"families.\"\n "}, {"id": 327, "title": "Malus Park ", "address": "\n 5426 S. Shields Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Malus Park is 0.71 acres and it is located in the Fuller community area.\n ", "history": "Shortly after the Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago's Fuller Park community began developing as a railroad and industrial area and housing for laborers soon followed. Population increased gradually until the 1950s, when construction of the Dan Ryan Expressway cut through the heart of the community, with devastating results. Fuller Park's population dropped precipitously between 1950 and 1970. About 1970, representatives of the Firman Neighborhood House, a community service organization, urged the Chicago Park District to purchase property for playlot development in the neighborhood. Using funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the park district acquired land in 1974, improving it with playground equipment, a sand box, permanent game tables, and plantings. In the late 1980s, the playground was rehabilitated and the landscape replanted. Officially named Malus Park in 1974, the park was one of a number of properties named for trees and plants at the time. The Latin term malus refers to the genus of trees that includes apples, crabapples, and pears, though pears are sometimes categorized as a separate genus, pyrus. All are ornamental or fruit-bearing trees that produce an abundance of white to pink flowers. Crabapples, in particular, add beauty to many Chicago parks, including this one, where both malus hopa and malus radiant grow.\n "}, {"id": 328, "title": "Mamie-Till Park", "address": "\n 6404 S. Ellis Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn neighborhood, Mamie Till-Mobley Park is 0.66 acres and it is an idyllic location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing, enjoying nature and the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing apparatus, basketball court. Activities that are played at this park include basketball.\n ", "history": "History In 1957, the City of Chicago created this small park on South Ellis Avenue near 64th Street as part of a city-wide program to provide additional recreational space in under-served neighborhoods like Woodlawn. Woodlawn's population increased by 23% between 1930 and 1960, though there was virtually no new construction during that period. At the same time, the proportion of African-American residents in Woodlawn rose from 13% to 89%. In 1959, the city transferred the small playground to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties. Ten years later, at the urging of the 63-6400 Ellis Block Club, the park district began to acquire vacant property adjacent to the original park site. The lot became part of 64th & Ellis Park in 1974, tripling the park's size and providing room for new basketball and volleyball courts. The park district rehabilitated the playground area in 1984 and again in 1990.\n "}, {"id": 329, "title": "Mandrake (Henry Brown) Park", "address": "\n 3858 S. Cottage Grove \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "Located in the Oakland community, Mandrake Park totals 10.16 acres and features a playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball diamonds, a running track and an artificial turf multi-purpose athletic field.\n\nChicago Park District programs are now offered in the former Abraham Lincoln Center, which serves as the fieldhouse for Mandake Park. The fieldhouse offers meeting rooms, a large gymnasium, a performance auditorium, and a culinary center. It is located across the street from the track and playground on the corner of Pershing\u00a0Road and Cottage Grove Avenue.\u00a0\n\nPatrons come to Mandrake Park to play basketball and seasonal sports at the facility. The park is a popular destination for athletics programs, including track and flag football. In the summer, youth\u00a0attend the Park District's popular Summer Day Camp program, and after-school activities are offered throughout the year.\n\nIn addition to programming, Mandrake Park offers special events throughout the year including Gym Showcases, Movies in the Park screenings and other Night Out in the Parks special events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In the early 1990s, when the Chicago Department of Transportation undertook improvements to Pershing Road and Oakwood Boulevard, the Chicago Park District began planning a new park between the two parallel streets. Numerous public meetings were held to obtain the views of residents of Douglas to the north and Grand Boulevard to the south concerning how best to design the park to draw the two communities together.\n\nAfter acquiring the property in 1998, the Chicago Park District developed plans for a multi-purpose athletic field, a running track, and a landscaped border to buffer the park from traffic. Work on the park continues.\n\nThe park honors Henry McNeil \"Mandrake\" Brown (1935-1996), who initiated grassroots efforts to eliminate alcohol- and tobacco-related billboards specifically targeting African-American and Latino children. Using the name Mandrake to shield his identity, Brown began whitewashing objectionable billboards in 1990. The first of these billboards was located at Oakwood Boulevard and Pershing Road.\n\nBrown's efforts became the basis for preventing Powere Master Malt Liquor from being marketed to African-Americans; removing 700 illegal billboards in Chicago through use of Chicago's zoning laws; and removing alcohol and tobacco billboards located within 500 feet of schools and churches. Brown also founded the Citywide Coalition Against Tobacco and Alcohol Billboards and the National Association for Positive Imagery.\n "}, {"id": 330, "title": "Mann (James) Park", "address": "\n 3035 E. 130th St. \n Chicago, IL 60633\n ", "description": "Located in the Hegewisch community, Mann Park totals 18.86 acres and features two gymnasiums, an indoor swimming pool and woodshop. A green feature of our park includes a Harvest Garden. Outside, the park offers seven ball fields, tennis courts, spray pool and pavilion,\u00a0playground, and a roller hockey court. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our pavilion, ball fields, and multi-purpose room.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, woodshop, fitness classes and aquatics, as well as programs for the special needs community.\u00a0During the summer, youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Mann Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, and other holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "In 1883, Achilles Hegewisch determined to establish an \"ideal workingman's community\" at the south end of Lake Calumet. He moved his United States Rolling Stock Company to the area, built worker housing, and encouraged other industrialists to do the same. Unfortunately, Hegewisch's death in the 1890s pushed the area into decline. Hoping to better the community's prospects, civic groups in 1907 lobbied the South Park Commission to develop a neighborhood park. The following year, the commission purchased the 20 acres that would become Mann Park. The property was one of four sites the commission acquired at the time to expand its revolutionary system of neighborhood parks, the first ten of which had opened in 1905 (another four had been temporarily delayed). The original ten, with their innovative fieldhouses, were an immediate success. In 1910, the South Park Commission hired the Olmsted Brothers, landscape designers for the previous neighborhood parks, to lay out the four new parks. Although the commission chose not to use these plans, in-house designers developed a new set of plans inspired by them. The plan for Mann Park was virtually identical to those implemented at the three other parks, Grand Crossing, Trumbull, and Tuley Parks. Filling and grading began at once and improvements soon followed, however, the Olmsted-inspired plan was never fully realized at Mann Park. The park's fieldhouse was not completed until 1934, the year the Chicago Park District took over. With its ecclectic style and red tile roof, the Mann Park fieldhouse was very different from the earlier classical buildings at Trumbull and Grand Crossing Parks. Originally known as Hegewisch Park, this park was designated Mann Park in 1922. James R. Mann (1856-1922) served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1897 until his death in 1922. Prior to his election, Mann had served as attorney for the South Park Commission.\n "}, {"id": 331, "title": "Maple Park", "address": "\n 2047 N. Spaulding Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "This tiny playground totals 0.17 acres and it is located in Logan Square, approximately one block north of Armitage Avenue and two blocks west of Kedzie. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Mozart Park.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago acquired this park site in 1958, transferring it to the Chicago Park District the following year. In 1973, the park district officially designated the property Maple Park. The park was one of a number of properties named for plants and trees at that time. Maple trees are a major component of northern temperate forests, providing food for many birds and mammals. The 13 maple species native to North America range in size from shrubs to large trees. Widely recognized for their colorful autumn leaves, maples produce syrup that flows in the early spring, before leaves appear.\n "}, {"id": 332, "title": "Maplewood Park", "address": "\n 1640 N. Maplewood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Located in the West Town community (three blocks west of Western Avenue, one-half block north of North Avenue), Maplewood Park\u2019s small fieldhouse sits on 1.32\u00a0acres.\u00a0 Outside, the park offers a softball field and a soft-surface\u00a0playground.\n\nWith a strong emphasis on fitness/recreation for young people, Maplewood Park offers a bunch of toddler and preschool-aged programs for the community kiddos! Plus we offer flag football, kickball, kids fitness, recreational tumbling, seasonal sports, soccer, and t-ball baseball. During the summer, the park offers camps for preschoolers: Toddler Camp and Play Camp.\n ", "history": "One of many small parks created by the City of Chicago after World War II, Maplewood Park was established on Board of Education-owned property in the West Town community in 1948. By 1950, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had improved the site with a sand box, a compact brick recreation building, and a playfield that could be flooded for ice skating in winter. Following its general practice at the time, the bureau named the park for adjacent Maplewood Avenue. The street takes its name from the Village of Maplewood, founded in 1869 on land purchased by New Yorker Justin Butterfield (1790-1855) 26 years before. The maple groves that likely gave the village its name have long since disappeared, and the nearby Logan Square neighborhood stands in their place. The Chicago Park District began to manage Maplewood Park in 1959. Nearly 30 years later, the Board of Education transferred ownership to the park district, which rehabilitated the park with a new soft surface play area in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 333, "title": "Margate Park", "address": "\n 4921 N. Marine Drive \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "Located in the Lincoln Park\u00a0community (east of Sheridan Road, and midway between Foster and Lawrence Avenues), Margate Park fieldhouse sits within the grounds of Lincoln Park. The fieldhouse is equipped with a gymnasium, a fitness center, a kitchen, and several clubrooms available for rental. Outside, the park features a dog-friendly area, community garden, and ADA accessible soft-surface playground with colorful mosaics decorating the area.\n\nParents will appreciate the opportunity for their tots / preschoolers to increase their socialization and coordination skills in programs such as: Moms Pops & Tots Interaction, Badminton, Play Group, Bitty Basketball, Baby & Me Yoga, Art & ABCs, Kickball, Recreational Tumbling, Fun & Games, Soccer, Tot Spot\u2014and, in the summer: Day Camp and Play Camp. Margate Park is one of the sites for the popular Park Kids after school program for youth; Winter and Spring-Break Camps, as well as school-holiday special events, are available during days when school is temporarily closed. Recreation for youth includes: baseball, basketball, floor hockey, soccer, softball, track & field, volleyball\u2014and, in the summer: day camp and sports camp. Teens can make new friendships in Teen Club, as well as basketball, floor hockey, soccer, and volleyball. Adults / seniors can enjoy the fitness center, pickleball, yoga, Zumba, walking club, and volleyball.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Lincoln Park began as a small public cemetery on the northernmost boundary of Chicago where victims of cholera and small pox were buried in shallow lakeside graves. Aware of the public health threat, citizens began demanding the cemetery's conversion to parkland in the 1850s. In 1860, the city reserved a 60-acre unused section, naming it Lake Park. Shortly after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), 16th President of the United States, the park was renamed in his honor. The city allocated $10,000 for improvements, and nurseryman Swain Nelson created and implemented the park's first plan. An early donation of mute swans marked the beginnings of the Lincoln Park Zoo. Citizens argued for the removal of the remaining burial ground. This contributed to a larger parks movement, and in 1869, the state legislature created three park districts: the South, West, and Lincoln Park Commissions, each responsible for the parks and boulevards in its region. Under the direction of the Lincoln Park Commission, bodies were exhumed and relocated to other cemeteries, and the park was expanded south to North Avenue and north to Diversey Parkway. Severe winter storms in 1885 resulted in the construction of a breakwater system which included the first of many landfill projects extending Lincoln Park's boundaries. The independent park commissions were consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934, and Lincoln Park was expanded north to Foster Avenue. A final expansion in the 1950s brought the park to its current size of 1,208 acres. Throughout Lincoln Park's history, renowned artists, landscape designers, and architects contributed to its development. These included sculptor Augustus-Saint Gaudens, landscape designers Ossian Cole Simonds and Alfred Caldwell, and architects Joseph Lyman Silsbee and Dwight H. Perkins.\n "}, {"id": 334, "title": "Mariano (Louis) Park", "address": "\n 1031 N. State St. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "Located in the Near North Side community,\u00a0Mariano Park was renamed for Louis Mariano in 1970. This park totals 0.18 acres and it\u00a0was acquired by the city in 1848 and was transferred to the Park District in 1959. It hosts a structure designed by Birch Burdette Long, who was a Frank Lloyd Wright prot\u00e9g\u00e9.\n\nThis lovely people watching spot, located at the State Street crossing, is the perfect place to take in the city's vibe on Rush Street. The park and its fountain offer a peaceful oasis from the bustling crowds on\u00a0Michigan Avenue and Oak Street.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Seward Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Transferred by the city to the Chicago Park District in 1959, tiny Mariano Park has borne at least four names since its 1848 donation to the City of Chicago. As early as 1900, the site was known as Green Bay Triangle for the Green Bay Trail that had once run nearby, along the path of what is now Clark Street.\n\nIn 1931, the City Council designated the park Rehm Arbor, memorializing German immigrant brewer Jacob Rehm (1828-1915), a near north side resident, and variously Lincoln Park Board Commissioner, Chicago police chief, and Cook County Treasurer. Unfortunately, beginning in 1931, a sign mistakenly labelled the park Arbor Rest, the name of another triangular park nearby, for twenty-six years.\n\nIn 1970, the park district renamed it yet again, this time in honor of another local resident, Louis Mariano (1906-1970). Mariano was a reporter and editor for the Chicago Daily News, and also served as associate editor of the World Book Science Year Book. He organized the annual science fair at nearby Ogden School, the library of which also bears his name. For years Mariano spent his evenings at a restaurant across from the park, holding court and seeking out stories for his North Loop News column.\n\nIn addition to trees and benches, Mariano Park contains a small fountain and a Prairie-style pavilion designed by Birch Burdette Long in 1900.\n "}, {"id": 335, "title": "Marquette (Jacques) Park", "address": "\n 6743 S. Kedzie Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60629\n ", "description": "Located in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, Marquette Park totals 315.18 acres and features two gymnasiums, an auditorium, woodshop, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sculpture, and multi-purpose rooms. Green features of our facility include a community garden, rose garden, prairie, and 500 newly planted trees. Outside, the park offers four multi-purpose fields, an artificial turf field, 9 hole golf course, lagoon, driving range, basketball and tennis courts, two playgrounds, baseball fields, spray pool, and the Darius Monument. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasiums, auditorium, fields, and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, Therapeutic Recreation, woodshop, cheerleading, gymnastics, and Cubs Care Baseball.During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Cheerleading/Gymnastics Camp, and Special Recreation Night Camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Marquette Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Marquette Park pays tribute to Father Jacques Marquette (1637-1675), the famous French Jesuit missionary and explorer. At more than 300 acres in size, it is the largest of the revolutionary neighborhood parks created by the South Park Commission, acquisition began in 1878. Superintendent J. Frank Foster conceived the new parks as beautifully landscaped \"breathing spaces\" that would provide educational and social services to the city's congested immigrant neighborhoods. Nationally renowned landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers created plans for the entire system of 14 new parks in 1903. The firm's impressive scheme for Marquette Park included a golf course on two islands surrounded by naturalistic lagoons; indoor and outdoor gymnasiums; swimming and wading pools; a children's playground; formal gardens; and a concert grove. Although the first 10 neighborhood parks opened to the public in 1905, due to drainage problems and the site's large size, Marquette Park's improvements occurred slowly, often deviating from the original plan. Two of the park's earliest features were its 18-hole golf course and a nursery of nearly 90,000 trees and shrubs. The commissioners soon began converting existing frame houses and out-buildings on the site to park uses such as a warming shelter for skaters and a small fieldhouse. By 1917, the park included playing fields, a children's playground, tennis courts, propagating houses for the nursery, and a large, classically-designed golf shelter.\u00a0 In 1934, Marquette Park became part of the Chicago Park District when the city's 22 park commissions were consolidated into a single agency.\u00a0 In 1935, the CPD Board of Commissioners authorized the\u00a0reduction of the golf course from 18 holes to 9 holes allowing acreage to be released for the conversion of other recreational facilities.\u00a0 Additionally, through the use of federal relief funds, the park district soon converted the golf shelter into a more substantial fieldhouse, and built comfort stations, and a series of footbridges leading to the islands. Through public subscription in 1935, an Art Deco-style monument commemorating Lithuanian-American aviators Darius and Girenas was installed in Marquette Park.\n "}, {"id": 336, "title": "Marshfield Park", "address": "\n 1637 W. 87th St. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Washington Heights neighborhood, Marshfield Playground is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park totals 0.96 acres and it\u00a0contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing equipment, a basketball court and an interactive sprinkler. Along with playing basketball, this park is used for passive recreation by park patrons.\n ", "history": "Marshfield Park was one of 42 playgrounds and playlots developed by the city in 1950 to meet the recreational needs of post-World War II Chicago. After purchasing a three-quarter-acre property in Auburn Gresham using Playground Bond Funds, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation soon improved the site with playground equipment, a sand box, a volleyball court, and an athletic field. An existing brick building was remodeled as a fieldhouse. Following its general practice, the bureau named the park for adjacent Marshfield Avenue. The street apparently takes its name from the marshy territory it traversed before drainage was improved in the late 19th century. In 1959, the city transferred Marshfield Park to the Chicago Park District. In 1966, the park district re-paved and re-planted the park, and added a spray pool and basketball court in following years. During the 1990s, a soft surface playground was added, and the deteriorating recreation building razed.\n "}, {"id": 337, "title": "Martin (Johnny) Park", "address": "\n 922 W. Fletcher St. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "This tiny park is\u00a00.15 acres and it contains a playground and sandbox. It is located in the Lakeview neighborhood (one block south of Belmont, five blocks east of Racine Avenue, including the Belmont station railroad tracks). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby at Sheil Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this park in the mid-1970s, through a property exchange with the Jewel Foods Corporation, which sought to build a grocery store on a playlot located on the next block. The park district soon developed a plan, and improved the site with attractive border plantings and a playground that included a \"trailblazer slide;\" three \"Rodeo Rockies;\" and a \"Castle Climber.\" In the spring of 1990, the park was upgraded with new plantings, ornamental iron fencing, and a soft surface playground featuring a redwood play structure. Later that year, the park was officially named in honor of Johnny Martin, a four-year veteran of the Chicago Police Force slain in the line of duty. Known for his dedication to the youth of the community, Martin spent many off-duty hours with area teens, providing an alternative to gang activity.\n "}, {"id": 338, "title": "Mason (Elizabeth) Park", "address": "\n 4100 W. West End Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0West Garfield\u00a0community.\u00a0The park\u00a0 totals 1.15 acres and it features a playground and a water spray feature. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Tilton Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "One of many small parks created to meet increasing recreational demands in post-World War II Chicago, Mason Park was established in 1951. After purchasing two-tenths of an acre in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation improved the property with a gravel-surfaced playground and shrubs. Initially known as West End Playlot for the adjacent street, the park was transferred to the Chicago Park District in 1959.\n\nBy the late 1980s, the park suffered from crime problems, particularly because an adjacent apartment building had become a crack house. To rid the park of such problems, the park district began working with Bethel New Life, a local civic group and community development organization. Bethel New Life purchased the crack house, evicted the tenants, and transformed the property into much-needed low-income housing.\n\nSimultaneously, the park district acquired another half-acre to the north of the park, more than tripling its size. The park district demolished the existing park features, and improved the expanded site following an award-winning design that included a new soft surface play area, a gazebo, an amphitheater, and a computerized interactive waterplay area.\n\nLater in 1990, the park district renamed the park in honor of Elizabeth James Mason, a much-loved local resident who served as the area's first African American crossing guard. She always had the interest of the children she guarded in mind.\n "}, {"id": 339, "title": "Matanky (Eugene) Park", "address": "\n 6925 N. Ridge Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "This small playground with sandbox is 0.52 acres and it is located in the Rogers Park neighborhood (on Ridge Avenue, two blocks north of Pratt Boulevard). Visitors will also find a small open green space that is ideal for a small picnic with their children. During the summer for 6-weeks, the park gets a visit from the Craftmobile once a week.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby at Paschen Park\n ", "history": "Created in 1912, Matanky Park, originally known as Morse Park, was the first of four parks created by the Ridge Avenue Park District. The Ridge Avenue district was among 19 neighborhood park commissions established after 1896 to serve areas recently annexed to the city. When Rogers Park residents decided to form a park district in 1895, a bitter fight immediately arose between two local factions. Farmers living in West Rogers Park resented the prospect of being taxed for lake front improvements by east side \"silk stockings.\" The farmers, derisively called \"cabbage heads\" by the east siders, fought to establish their own park district west of the Northwestern Railway line. After a lively campaign rally in which the west siders paraded with cabbages on poles, the farmers won the right to create their own Ridge Avenue Park District. The Ridge Avenue district initially focused on upgrading and maintaining Ridge Avenue, but as its West Rogers Park neighborhood grew, the need for parkland became more pressing. In 1912, the district purchased property at Ridge Avenue and Morse Street, which quickly became known as Morse Park. The new park took its name from the adjacent street, in turn named for Charles H. Morse, an early developer of Rogers Park. In 1984, the Chicago Park District renamed the site Matanky Park for respected local resident Eugene Matanky (1922--1982). Matanky, a newspaperman and real estate developer, was a founder and vice-president of the Jewish Community Council of West Rogers Park, and a member of the Uptown Chicago Commission.\n "}, {"id": 340, "title": "Mather (Stephen Tyng) Park", "address": "\n 5941 N. Richmond St. \n Chicago, IL 60659\n ", "description": "Mather Park is located in the West Ridge community and shares 14.83 acres with Mather High School where many of the Chicago Park District programs are held. Mather High School features a natatorium, two gymnasiums\u00a0and other rooms for indoor patron use. Outdoors, Mather Park features one senior baseball and four junior softball fields, two combination football and soccer fields, four basketball standards, five tennis courts, four horseshoe pits, a playground, and a sandbox.\n\nMather Park offers a great variety of sports, and leagues are the majority of its programs. Sports include 16\u201d softball, 12\u201d slow pitch softball, basketball, flag football, volleyball, and indoor soccer. Meeting in the natatorium are the junior lifeguards, life guarding classes, swim team, open swim, and lap swim.\n ", "history": "Chicago's West Ridge neighborhood experienced tremendous growth after World War I. Its population ballooned from 7,500 in 1920 to almost 40,000 in 1930. Further growth took place after World War II. In 1946, the Chicago Park District decided to establish a sizable park on Peterson Avenue to meet the area's increasing recreational needs. In 1948, the park district purchased the 8-acre site, initially known as Peterson Park for the adjacent street. A decade passed before improvements began, and the park opened to the public in June of 1959. The park's development coincided with the construction of Mather High School just to the south. From the beginning, the park and the 8-acre school property have been jointly operated by the park district and the Chicago Board of Education. Both the park and the adjacent high school are named for Stephen Tyng Mather (1867-1930), the first Director of the National Park Service. A native Californian, Mather established a borax-making business and soon made his product a household name with the slogan \"20 Mule Team Borax.\" Mather eventually moved to Chicago, where he increased his reputation as an industrialist. Mather joined Chicago's influential Prairie Club and the Friends of the Native Landscape, both of which strongly supported conservation of the Midwest's natural landscape features. During this same period, Mather made frequent trips to the mountains back west, becoming increasingly dismayed at conditions in the national parks. In 1917, Mather was chosen to head the newly-created National Park Service. This position provided a high-profile platform for Mather's advocacy of Midwestern landscape preservation, including a proposal to create a park in the Indiana dunes along Lake Michigan's southern shore.\n "}, {"id": 341, "title": "Mayfair Park", "address": "\n 4550 W. Sunnyside Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "Tucked away one block north of the intersection at Kilbourn and Montrose at the Kennedy Expressway, this 3 acre park features a soft-surface playground, spraypool, basketball court, and two junior baseball fields. The fieldhouse contains\u00a0one clubroom, a dedicated preschool room, a kitchen, and an auditorium with a stage.\n\nMayfair Park offers a variety of programming which reaches out across age groups! For early childhood, we offer\u00a0classes such as\u00a0Kiddie College, Parent & Tot Gymnastics, Young Stargazers, & Storytime. For youth, we offer classes\u00a0such as Archery, Soccer, Gymnastics and Dodgeball. If you are looking for cultural programming, we have Arts & Crafts, Little Artists, and World Art!\u00a0\n\nIf you're looking for some fitness programs, we offer\u00a0Mom, Pop, & Tot Yoga, Yoga/Pilates, as well as Strength & Conditioning. For our seniors, we offer Conditioning, Color Theory & Oil Painting, and Printmaking.\u00a0\n\nStop by and check us out!\n ", "history": "Named for its surrounding neighborhood, Mayfair Park lies within the old suburb of Montrose, which had been renamed Mayfair by the early twentieth century. Plans for the park began in 1913 when the Irving Park District ordered a survey of a small area along Sunnyside Avenue. Three years later, the district made its first land purchases, however acquisition took several years. By 1930, the two-and-a-half acre park included a playfield, separate boys' and girls' playgrounds, a wading pool, and a fieldhouse designed by Clarence Hatzfeld. Having been trained in the office of Chicago architect Julius Huber, Hatzfeld became known for numerous north- and northwest-side park fieldhouses, commercial buildings, and residences. During the Depression, he began working for the Chicago Park District, which formed in 1934 through the consolidation of the city's 22 independent park agencies. As a park district employee, Hatzfeld was responsible for rehabilitating and altering the Mayfair Park Fieldhouse in 1936. This project included enclosing the building's entry loggia to provide more interior space.\n\nBy 1947, the park district had added more recreational features to Mayfair Park including horseshoe, shuffle board, and tennis courts. The park's landscape was redesigned in order to expand its athletic fields in 1970. In 1989, the park district installed a new soft surface playground in Mayfair Park. In 2007, the park received a state-of-the-art ADA accessable playground.\n "}, {"id": 342, "title": "McFetridge Sports Center", "address": "\n 3843 N. California Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "\nThe McFetridge Sports Center is owned by the Chicago Park District and managed by ASM Global.\n\nVisit mcfetridgesportscenter.com to learn about the center and all of its features and operating hours. \u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\nAs part of the $5.4 million renovations to the facility, the skating rink was completely replaced and upgrades to the tennis court lighting and HVAC energy management.\n\n\nHousing the Chicago Park District's only indoor ice rink and indoor tennis courts, McFetridge Sports Center (MSC) offers a unique sports experience for athletes of all ages and skill levels. Full of activity 18 hours a day, seven days a week, MSC welcomes more than 2,000 patrons each week for it's year-round competitive and recreational ice skating, hockey and tennis programs, as well as special events. MSC is located on California Avenue between Addison Street and Irving Park Road, just west of the Chicago River.\n\nYouth Programs at McFetridge Sports Center (MSC) are extremely popular with kids from the Chicago land area. We invite you to join the fun and check us out! Features at McFetridge Sports Center within California Park include a NHL-size ice arena with seating for 1,200 spectators, six tournament-quality indoor tennis courts, four outdoor tennis courts, and exercise class studio. Other indoor amenities include a tennis pro shop, ice skating rental, as well as locker rooms and showers. The sports center is fully accessible to people of all physical abilities, and the adjacent parking lot affords ample parking.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "California Park, which takes its name from adjacent California Avenue, is one of six parks created by the River Park District. Established in 1917, the district was one of 22 independent park systems consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Northwest Chicago residents formed the River Park District to provide recreational opportunities along the North Branch of the Chicago River and the North Shore Channel and to prevent commercial encroachments there. Soon after its formation, the park district began to purchase more than 13 acres south of Irving Park Road, between California Avenue and the North Shore Channel. Although land acquisition dragged on until 1931, development began in 1920, when Leesely Brothers prepared a landscape plan. Improvements were confined largely to plantings until 1927, when the River Park District began construction of an outdoor swimming pool that was, for a time, Illinois's largest. An athletic field, baseball diamonds, and playgrounds followed in 1928, as did a small brick fieldhouse designed by Chicago architect Clarence Hatzfeld.\n\nIn the 1970s, the Chicago Park District demolished the original fieldhouse and erected a new changing facility in its place. The park district also constructed an impressive new indoor sports complex, the first of its kind for the park district. The structure contains a year-round ice rink for figure skating and hockey, as well as six tennis courts. This facility was officially designated the McFetridge Sports Complex in 1974 for William L. McFetridge, who served as park district president in 1968, and as vice-president for the preceding 22 years.\n "}, {"id": 343, "title": "McGuane (John) Park", "address": "\n 2901 S. Poplar Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Located in the Bridgeport community, McGuane Park totals 9.88 acres and features an indoor swimming pool, two gymnasiums, an assembly hall, a kitchen and meeting rooms.\n\nOutside, the park offers baseball fields, an athletic field for soccer or football, tennis courts, an interactive water feature and a playground. The playground was renovated in Fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays! program. McGuane is located across the street from Stearn Quarry, now the Palmisano Park nature area.\n\nMany of the spaces at McGuane Park are available for rental. Park-goers can play baseball, football, soccer or tennis at the facility. McGuane Park also offers a therapeutic recreation program for patrons with special needs. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, including a therapeutic recreation camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, McGuane Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Movies in the Park, holiday special activities and other Night Out in the Parks events.\n ", "history": "First opened to the public in 1905, McGuane Park was originally known as Mark White Square. The site was one of ten revolutionary parks created to provide relief to Chicago's tenement districts. The other nine were Armour, Russell, Davis, and Cornell Squares, and Ogden, Sherman, Palmer, Bessemer, and Hamilton Parks. Offering a variety of valuable recreational, educational, and social services to their surrounding communities, these ten properties soon influenced the development of other parks throughout the nation.\n\nMcGuane Park's original name honored Mark White (1837- 1891), revered superintendent of the South Park Commission for twenty years. In 1960, the Chicago Park District renamed the park as a tribute to John F. McGuane (1892-1960), who lived across the street from the park all of his life. A veteran of World War I, McGuane was active in many civic organizations and served as a member of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners for four years. In 1972, the park's original fieldhouse was demolished and replaced with a new building and swimming pool.\n "}, {"id": 344, "title": "McInerney (Thomas) Park", "address": "\n 4446 S. Emerald Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "This small playground and baseball diamond is located in the\u00a0New City\u00a0community. It is an active community park totaling 2.05 acres.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Taylor-Lauridsen Park for recreation in the gym and exercise at the fitness center.\n ", "history": "In the early 1970s, the Chicago Board of Education decided to expand its Graham Elementary School in the New City neighborhood. The Board of Education built the school addition on nearby Halsted Playlot, a site which had been leased to the Chicago Park District.\n\nTo compensate for the loss of parkland, the City of Chicago and the Board of Education developed a new park on adjacent property. Equipped with playground equipment and a basketball court, the 1.6-acre site was managed by the park district. The Board of Education retained ownership until 1986, when it was officially transferred to the park district. During the 1990s, the park district acquired another .4 acres from the city for park expansion, soon installing a new soft surface playground.\n\nMcInerney Park honors Thomas McInerney, one of three brothers who arrived from Ireland in 1870. Three years later, the brothers established an undertaking business at 44th Street and Racine Avenue. Though the partnership was dissolved after several years, Thomas McInerney opened a new funeral home at 4635 South Wallace, two blocks south of the park site. The McInerney family, which runs the business, has been very active in local civic and charitable organizations for many years.\n "}, {"id": 345, "title": "McKeon (Joseph) Park", "address": "\n 3548 S. Wallace St. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "McKeon Playground Park is located in the Bridgeport Community. The park is 0.49 acres and it features a small playground with infant and youth swings that was renovated in Summer 2014 as part of the Chicago Plays! Program. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Donovan Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "McKeon Park is one of many small city parks created to meet the recreational needs of booming post-World War II Chicago. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation developed plans for this Bridgeport neighborhood park in 1948, improving it with a gravel-surfaced playground and sand box shortly thereafter.\n\nIn 1959, the city transferred this site to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties. The park district has upgraded McKeon Park over the years, most recently installing a new soft surface playground and enclosing the property with ornamental iron fencing.\n\nOriginally known as Wallace Playlot for the adjacent street, the site was renamed McKeon Park in October, 1967. The new name honors Lt. Joseph T. McKeon, Jr., a U.S. Marine killed in the Vietnam War.\n "}, {"id": 346, "title": "McKiernan (David) Park", "address": "\n 10714 S. Sawyer Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60655\n ", "description": "Located in the Mt Greenwood Park neighborhood, McKiernan Park totals 2.18 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers two baseball diamonds and a playground.\n\nPark-goers can participate in preschool activities, T-Ball, soccer, Moms, Pops, & Tots, and tumbling. On the cultural side, McKiernan Park offers dance, tap and ballet.\u00a0During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, McKiernan Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Between 1940 and 1950, the Mt. Greenwood community's population nearly tripled as industrial growth in the city's southwest side and south suburbs drew workers to the area. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation responded with efforts to create a small park. In 1952, the bureau acquired 1.8 acres, transforming the site into what was originally known as Sawyer Playground. Six years later, the city renamed the park in tribute to David T. McKiernan (1902--1957), who had recently died. McKiernan was in his second term as 19th ward alderman, after having served for sixteen years as an aid to John J. Duffy, the ward's previous alderman. In 1959, the city transferred ownership of McKiernan Park to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties. By the early 1960s, the park included a small recreation building, a playfield, playground equipment, a sand box, basketball and volley ball courts, and a spraypool. The park district undertook a major improvement of McKiernan Park's landscape in 1972, and installed a new soft surface playground in 1988.\n "}, {"id": 347, "title": "McKinley (William) Park", "address": "\n 2210 W. Pershing Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Located in the McKinley Park community area, adjacent to Brighton Park and Back of the Yards, McKinley Park totals 71.75 acres and features two gymnasiums, a gymnastics center, a kitchen, an auditorium and meeting rooms. Outside, the park offers a swimming pool, artificial turf soccer field, baseball fields, basketball courts, an athletic field for football or soccer, a seasonal ice skating rink, a playground and an interactive water spray feature. The playground was renovated in Fall 2014\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play seasonal sports or go ice skating in the winter at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, McKinley Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Halloween events and Movies in the Park.\n ", "history": "In October of 1901, one month after the assassination of William McKinley, 25th President of the United States, the South Park Commission (SPC) officially named a new and still undeveloped park in his honor.\n\nExperimental in its location and intent, this park proved to be nationally important. At the time, Chicago's existing parks were far away from the filthy, noisy, overcrowded tenement neighborhoods in the center of the city. Superintendent J. Frank Foster envisioned a new type of park that would provide social services as well as breathing spaces in these areas.\n\nTo test the idea, in 1901 the park commission began acquiring property near the Union Stockyards. Composed of open prairie and cabbage patches, the site had previously been the Brighton Park Race Track. The experimental McKinley Park originally offered ballfields, lawn tennis, swimming and wadinglagoon, and a lovely classically-designed bathhouse.\n\nMore than 10,000 people attended the park's dedication on June 13, 1902. The effort was so successful that the following year the South Park Commission began creating a whole system of new neighborhood parks for the south side. Opened to the public in 1905, the first ten were: Sherman, Ogden, Palmer, Bessemer, and Hamilton Parks, and Mark White, Russell, Davis, Armour, and Cornell Squares. These innovative neighborhood parks influenced the development of other parks throughout the United States.\n\nMcKinley Park received such intensive use, that in 1906, the SPC acquired adjacent property, doubling its acreage. The designers expanded the existing wading pool into a large naturalistic lagoon with several small wooded islands. They also introduced a children\u2019s playground, a music court plaza, open-air gymnasiums, and the following decade, a field house.\n "}, {"id": 348, "title": "Mellin (Curtis, Sr.) Park", "address": "\n 5553 N. Ashland Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60640\n ", "description": "Located in the Edgewater neighborhood (at the intersection of Ashland and Bryn Mawr avenues) this small park is 0.28 acres and it\u00a0features a new soft surface playground.\u00a0While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs at nearby Chase or Emmerson Parks.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Edgewater's Mellin Park takes its name from Curtis S. Mellin, Sr. (1895--1957), Republican alderman for the surrounding 50th Ward between 1929 and 1931. Mellin lived in the area and was a manager for Goldblatt's Department Store at 4700 North Broadway at the time of his death. It was Mellin who, as alderman, proposed the creation of the park on city land. The city had purchased the half-acre Ashland Avenue property for police department use in 1916. By 1929, the property had become a dumping ground, and Alderman Mellin proposed to convert it to a small park designed especially for the use of mothers with babies and small children. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation quickly improved the site, bringing in fresh soil and grading the property; planting trees, shrubs, and grass; and installing benches, a drinking fountain, and a small shelter house and sand box with a trellis-like pergola. Fifteen hundred local residents attended the park's dedication on July 22, 1930. Mellin \"Baby Park,\" the bureau's first park created specifically for young children, proved a success. Three other city parks based on this model (Ashland, Irving Park, and a section of Winnemac) soon followed. In 1959, the city transferred Mellin Park, along with more than 250 other park properties to the Chicago Park District. The park district installed a new soft surface playground there in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 349, "title": "Memorial Park", "address": "\n 149 W. 73rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community area, Memorial Park is 2.99 acres and it is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing equipment, along with a basketball court and a baseball/softball field.Park patrons that visit Memorial Park participate in basketball, softball, and other activities.\n ", "history": "In the mid-1940s, the City of Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation began negotiations to purchase 1.2-acres of an old dairy company to create a small park in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. Opened to the public in 1947, the park included playground equipment, a small brick recreation building, and a playing field that was flooded in the winter for ice skating. On June 11, 1949, the city dedicated the site as Memorial Park in honor of the servicemen who fought in World War II. The most destructive war in history, World War II was fought between 1939 and 1945 in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific. Between 35 and 60 million people perished in the war, including 300,000 American servicemen. In 1959, the city transferred ownership of Memorial Park to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other city properties. The following year, the park district began working with the city's Urban Renewal Department to enlarge the park. The park district acquired two acres just north and west of Memorial Park in 1966. The expansion project included relocating and upgrading the park's playground, installing basketball courts, and enlarging the athletic field, which allowed for junior league baseball and football instruction and practice. In subsequent years, Memorial Park's fieldhouse and playground were improved and rehabilitated.\n "}, {"id": 350, "title": "Merrill (George) Park", "address": "\n 2154 E. 97th St. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the South Deering community, Merrill Playground Park totals 3.15 acres and it includes a baseball field, outdoor basketball court, and a water spray feature.\n ", "history": "The South Deering community's Merrill Park takes its name from adjacent Merrill Avenue, in turn named for early southside real estate developer George W. Merrill. By 1930, South Deering was a heavily industrial area just entering a period of substantial residential growth. During the following decade, the city used federal New Deal funds for local improvements, including paving and widening 103rd Street through South Deering. The street improvements soon prompted residential development. The new subdivision north of 103rd Street was known as Calumet Gardens, and later as Jeffrey Manor. In 1942, the developers donated the site of Merrill Park to the city for use as a public park. Few improvements were made, however, until after the city transferred the property to the Chicago Park District in 1959. Shortly thereafter, the park district developed a plan for the park, installing an athletic field, a playground, and grass, trees, and shrubs. In 1970, a spray pool was added. The park district constructed a new soft surface playground in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 351, "title": "Merrimac Park", "address": "\n 6343 W. Irving Park Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60634\n ", "description": "Located near the intersection of Irving Park Road and Narragansett Avenue in the Dunning community, Merrimac Park sits on\u00a09.30\u00a0acres and features a fieldhouse with a gymnasium, 5 clubrooms, and a kitchen. Outdoors, the park offers 2 small walking trails, 3 softball fields, playground, and spray pool.\n\nThe park staff offers a wide range of sports and fitness programming for community residents of all levels and age groups. We invite you to check out our woodshop, where youth, adults and seniors enjoy learning to use scroll and band saws to create a variety of wood projects.\n\nMerrimac Park is noted for its annual Breakfast with the Easter Bunny and Downhill Derby, featuring small race cars crafted by youth under the supervision of the park\u2019s woodshop instructor.The park is also the site of one of the local social clubs for seniors.\n ", "history": "Soon after World War II, the Chicago Park District began a major initiative to create new parks for the first time in many years. In 1948, a citizens' advisory committee for new parks recommended a number of potential sites. Among them was a 9-acre picnic and dance ground in the rapidly growing Dunning neighborhood. Known as Kolze's Electric Grove, the site dated to the 1890s, when hotel owner Henry Kolze decided to create an attraction for riders of newly-reaching streetcar lines. Purchasing wooded land near his inn, Kolze strung large gas lamps, offered a nightly orchestra, and beer at a nickel a glass. In 1950, the park district condemned Kolze's Electric Grove, and demolished the site's dance shelter, concession stands, raffle tables, and cafeteria. Retaining many of the older trees, the park district transformed the site into parkland between 1951 and 1956, installing an athletic field, a children's playground, and tennis and basketball courts. At that time, the original clapboard dining hall and tavern structure was converted for use as a fieldhouse. In 1969, the park district replaced the structure with a modern brick fieldhouse. In the early 1950s, when the park district naming committee began its proposal for this site, there was a controversy about whether the Kolze's Grove name should be retained. Although some favored the continuation of the name, an informal park district survey revealed that the old hotel and picnic grove had gained an \"unsavory reputation\" over the years. Merrimac Park was selected as a preferable alternative. Derived from the Native American word for sturgeon, the name Merrimac had become closely associated with this neighborhood. The park was located just west of Merrimac Avenue and the Merrimac Gardens subdivision, and the local community organization was known as the Merrimac Gardens Association.\n "}, {"id": 352, "title": "Merryman (Theron) Park", "address": "\n 3736 N. Marshfield Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60613\n ", "description": "Merryman Playlot Park located in the Lakeview community is a 0.21 acre park.\n\nIn July 2013 the park received new soft surfacing, pathway improvements, lighting, site furnishings and landscaping. The new state-of-the-art playground meets or exceeds ADA accessibility guidelines, including providing ramps to play structures where possible.\n ", "history": "Many of Chicago's neighborhoods experienced tremendous population surges during the post-World War II period. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation responded by creating new playlots and parks in congested areas throughout the city. By 1950, the city had begun constructing 20 new parks and identifying 30 potential sites for additional parks. One of the proposed sites was within the then overcrowded Lakeview neighborhood on Chicago's north side. Condemning and acquiring less than one fifth of an acre in 1951, the city installed playground equipment, a sandbox, and plantings. The city named the park to honor Theron W. Merryman (1897-1967), who had recently resigned after serving nearly a decade as 45th ward alderman. A veteran of World War I, Merryman was a sanitary engineer by profession and had served as president of the National Association of Master Plumbers of the United States in Chicago. In 1959, the city transferred Merryman Park to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties. After upgrading the playground equipment in the 1960s, the park district undertook major park improvements in 1982. In 1990, Merryman Park received a new soft surface playground.\n "}, {"id": 353, "title": "Metcalfe (Ralph) Park", "address": "\n 4134 S. State St. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Metcalfe Park\u00a0is located in the\u00a0Grand Boulevard\u00a0Community.\u00a0This active park is 6.73 acres and it\u00a0offers a\u00a0playground, softball field, basketball courts, tennis courts, walking path\u00a0and green space. The playground was renovated in 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! Program. The community utilizes Metcalfe Park to play sports and host family reunions.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Taylor-Park\u00a0\u00a0for recreation in the gym, fun in the outdoor pool and workout opportunities in the Fitness Center or boxing ring. For athletic permits for Metcalfe, please contact Wentworth Gardens Park.\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Grand Boulevard community, once the center of \"Bronzeville,\" Chicago's thriving African-American neighborhood, became overcrowded between the 1920s and the 1950s, and then fell into decline. The lifting of segregated real estate codes allowed residents to move into other, less crowded neighborhoods, leaving Grand Boulevard with vacant homes and businesses. In the 1960s, the government responded with major urban renewal initiatives, including the construction of the Robert Taylor Homes, 28 high-rise Chicago Housing Authority buildings, one of the nation's most densely-concentrated housing projects. To create recreational opportunities for the increased population, the Chicago Park District began efforts to acquire an old coal yard in 1971. After obtaining Community Block Grant funds, the park district finally acquired the land in 1979. Because it had been used as a dump site for many years, the park district had to undertake an extensive effort to remove garbage and debris, and to demolish the site's existing structures. Finally between 1981 and 1983, the land was transformed into a park with a densely-planted landscape, playground equipment, a spray pool, tennis courts, a shelter building, a little league baseball field, a jogging path, and a picnic area. In 1984, the park district named the site to honor Ralph Metcalfe (1910-1978), an accomplished African-American athlete and politician from Chicago. Metcalfe won silver medals in track and field in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics, and also shared a gold medal with Jesse Owens in the 400-meter relay in 1936. He went on to become the first African-American to serve on the Illinois State Athletic Commission in 1949. After serving as Democratic Committeeman for the 3rd Ward in 1952, Metcalfe was elected as Alderman in 1955 and Congressman for the 1st District in 1970.\n "}, {"id": 354, "title": "Meyering (William) Park", "address": "\n 7140 S. Martin Luther King Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located at 7140 S. King Drive in the Park Manor community, Meyering Park totals 3.69 acres and features two multi-purpose clubrooms. Outside, the park offers an interactive spray pool, baseball diamonds, two playgrounds, multi-purpose fields, and basketball courts. Many of the spaces, including clubrooms and outdoor field are available for rental.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, kick boxing and other fitness programs. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Meyering Park hosts various special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago established Meyering Park in 1926 on Board of Education property in the heart of the Greater Grand Crossing community. By 1930, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation had added a small recreational building with open shelters at each end and installed a playfield that could be flooded for ice skating in winter. In 1947 the shelters were enclosed to create an entirely year-round facility. A few years later, the city built a spray pool in the park. The Chicago Park District assumed management of Meyering Park in 1959, redesigning the landscape and remodelling the fieldhouse during the 1960s. In 1991, the Board of Education transferred ownership of the property to the park district, which soon rehabilitated the athletic field, constructed a walking trail, and installed an interactive waterplay area. The park honors William D. Meyering (1893--1976), 8th Ward Alderman from 1923 through 1930. Though parks were often named for standing aldermen in the 1920s, Meyering had also distinguished himself through his military service n World War I, during which he lost his right arm. Cited for his gallantry, Meyering became the first living American to receive the Distinguished Service Cross. The French government awarded him the Croix de Guerre. After resigning as alderman, Meyering was elected to a single term as Cook County Sheriff. Six years later, he was appointed Chief Probation Officer for Cook County, a position he held until his retirement in 1972.\n "}, {"id": 355, "title": "Miami Park", "address": "\n 2754 S.Trumbull Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the South Lawndale Community.\u00a0The park features a soft surface playground.\u00a0It is an active community park totaling 0.21 acres.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Shedd Park for recreation in the gym and fun on the outdoor\u00a0basketball court.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this park site in 1978, and officially named it for the Miami Indians 20 years later.\n\nThe Miamis were one of nine distinct tribal groups living in the Great Lakes region between 1600 and 1760. The Miamis, who together with the Illinois lived along the southern edge of Lake Michigan, numbered 4,000 before the arrival of Europeans. Some Miami villages were located in what later became southwestern Chicago.\n\nBy the 1803 establishment of Fort Dearborn at Chicago, the Miamis had been driven from the area by other tribes, including the Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, and Iroquois.\n "}, {"id": 356, "title": "Micek (Frank) Park", "address": "\n 5311 S. Hamilton Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Located in the Back of the Yards community, Micek Park is 1.23 acres and it is\u00a0an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing, enjoying nature and the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing apparatus, basketball court. Activities that are played at this park includes basketball.\n ", "history": "Originally known as Destiny Playground, Micek Park was established in 1954, when the Back of the Yards Social Club donated a 4-acre parcel of land in the New City community to the City of Chicago for use as parkland. The club's donation came at a time when operations of the neighborhood's primary employer, the Union Stock Yards, were winding down. Founded in 1865, the Stock Yards closed for good in 1971. During many decades of successful operation, the Yards and adjacent packing plants had drawn successive waves of immigrant laborers to live in the area. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation began to develop the site in 1955. After constructing a small brick recreational building and athletic field, the bureau opened to the public the following year. Two years later, the city renamed the park in honor of 2nd-term Alderman Frank Micek (1895-1958). In October of 1958, Micek died of a heart attack soon after he made a speech during a ceremonial installation of new street lights along 63rd Street in his 15th Ward. In 1959, the city transferred the park, along with more than 250 other properties, to the Chicago Park District. The park district rehabilitated the athletic field in 1975, and installed a soft surface playground in 1990.\n "}, {"id": 357, "title": "Mid-North Park", "address": "\n 401 W. Belden Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "This tiny passive recreation area is 0.13 acres and it is located in the Lincoln Park\u00a0community (on Clark Street, one block south of Fullerton Parkway). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby at Lincoln Park Cultural Center.\n ", "history": "In 1848, the state government completed construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, allowing Chicago to become one of the nation's major transportation hubs. The Canal Commissioners, who sold thousands of acres to finance the canal's construction, gave the city several small triangular properties to develop as parks. Among them was a .2-acre parcel adjacent to what was originally the Green Bay Trail, now Clark Street, at Belden Street. Known historically as Belden Triangle, the park was transferred by the city to the Chicago Park District in 1959. In the early 1970s, as part of a Lincoln Park Urban Renewal Project, the city closed off Sedgwick Street at the park's eastern border, thereby enlarging the small triangle by .4 acres. The Mid-North Association, a Lincoln Park community civic organization, began working with the Chicago Park District in 1991 to rehabilitate the small park. The organization contacted businesses in the community for contributions and found sponsors for personalized bricks to repave the park. The project included new plantings and funds for additional on-going maintenance. In honor of these efforts, the Chicago Park District renamed the triangle Mid-North Park in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 358, "title": "Midway Plaisance Park", "address": "\n 1130 Midway Plaisance North \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Hyde Park\u00a0community, Midway Plaisance is a special-use facility with an ice skating rink which totals 83\u00a0acres and it features a warming center. Green features of the park include a north and south winter garden. Outside, the park offers the ice rink and multi-purpose fields. Many spaces are available for rental including our ice rink, warming center, and fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in ice skating lessons, kids and adults Rat Hockey (pickup games), and special events.\n\nIn addition to programs, Midway Plaisance hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as movies & summer concert series,\u00a0and Silver Skates speed skating competition.\n ", "history": "The Midway Plaisance is a magnificent linear stretch of parkland between Jackson and Washington parks.All three sites were originally conceived as a single landscape known as SouthPark.Soon after the Illinois Legislature established the South Park Commission in 1869 to create and maintain the park, the newly-appointed commissioners hired Olmsted & Vaux, the nationally renowned designers of New York\u2019s Central Park, to lay out the 1055-acre park.\n\nConcerned about the flat and marshy conditions of the unimproved site, Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. asserted that, \u201cIf a search had been made for the least park-like ground within miles of the city, nothing better meeting the requirement could have been found.\u201d He believed, however, that the site possessed one important asset\u2014 its relationship with Lake Michigan.Interpreting the lake as a tremendous object of sublime scenery, Olmsted & Vaux used water as the guiding theme for the park\u2019s original plan of 1871..\n\nThe designers envisioned an intricate system of lushly planted lagoons covering about one-third of the Lower Division (Jackson Park). This waterway would link with Lake Michigan on the east and with a smaller lagoon called the Mere at the Upper Division (Washington Park) on the west via a long formal canal and pleasure drive, accessible to people walking, riding horses (and carriages), and boating.Olmsted & Vaux named the center landscape the Midway Plaisance. (There is a French word plaisance that roughly translates to \u201cplace for boating,\u201d however some dictionaries believe the word is an obsolete spelling of \u201cpleasance,\u201d a secluded part of the landscape or garden.)Despite the importance of the canal to the overall design of the park system, its construction was put on on-hold due to financial problems after the Great Fire of 1871.\n\nTwo decades later, Jackson Park was selected as the site for the World\u2019s Columbian Exposition, and Olmsted worked closely with architect Daniel H. Burnham to transform the largely unfinished grounds into the \u201cWhiteCity.\u201dThe fair authorities decided to use the Midway Plaisance as the site of amusements, restaurants, foreign villages, and ethnological exhibits.These attractions were allowed to charge extra, and helped the fair become a financial success.The most iconic attraction on the Midway was the world\u2019s first Ferris wheel.Standing to a height of 264-feet, it had thirty-six cars, each with a capacity of sixty people.The twenty-minute ride made two revolutions and cost fifty cents per customer (which was the same cost as a full day admission price for the fair.)\n\nMore than twenty million people had visited the fair during the sixth month period in which it was open in 1893.After it closed, the South Park Commissioners hired Olmsted\u2019s firm, then known as Olmsted, Olmsted, and Eliot, to transform the fairgrounds back into parkland.Emphasizing the great success of the electric launches, gondolas, and other types of boats at the World\u2019s Columbian Exposition, Olmsted recommended that his vision for a canal through the Midway Plaisance canal should be considered.The commissioners instructed Olmsted to create a revised plan for the canal, and asked him to estimate the expense of the project including the cost of gondolas.They formally adopted Olmsted, Olmsted & Eliot\u2019s plan for the Midway Plaisance with the canal in 1894.\n\nAlthough the South Park Commissioners negotiated with the Illinois Central Railroad Company for permission to build part of the canal on railroad right-of-way, the project was delayed again.At the time, transforming the Jackson Park fairgrounds back into usable parkland was the priority, and the canal was proving to be an expensive proposition.In addition to the costs of building the proper crossing over the train tracks and bridges over the water, the project would have also required the construction of a series of locks because of the difference in the elevations of the lagoons, and the fluctuating water levels of Lake Michigan.The canal was considered a future project, and in the meantime, the commissioners installed sewers, drives, walks, bridle paths, reconditioned the wide center lawn, and planted more than 500 elm trees in straight rows lining the driveway.\n\nBy the turn of the century, the Midway Plaisance was a popular spot for ice skating and sledding in the winter and strolling and bicycle riding in the summer.Architect Henry Ives Cobb had created the original plan for the adjacent University of Chicago campus, and designed some of the institution\u2019s earliest Gothic style buildings.Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg had his track team train for relay races on the Midway.\n\nPreeminent sculptor Lorado Taft established his Midway Studio out of a converted barn at 60th Street near Ellis Avenue in 1906.Two years later, he began envisioning ways to beautify the Midway Plaisance.Taft suggested implementing the canal, creating three sculptural bridges to span over it: the Bridge of the Arts, the Bridge of Sciences, and the Bridge of Religions, and lining the waterway with statues of the \u201cworld\u2019s greatest idealists\u201d.At the extreme ends of the broad boulevard Taft suggested two monumental sculptural fountains, the Fountain of Creation on the east end, and the Fountain of Time on the west end.\n\nWhile most of Taft\u2019s proposal was never seriously considered, the B.F. Ferguson Fund of the Art Institute agreed to commission the Fountain of Time in tribute to an 1814 peace treaty between England and the United States.Completed in 1922, the impressive monument was inspired by a poem entitled the Paradox of Time by Henry Austin Dobson.It is composed of a crag-like figure of Father Time watching over a procession of 100 human figures, with a symbolic reflecting pool in between.\n\nIn the late 1930s, Chicago Park District landscape architect May E. McAdams designed a perennial garden at the east end of the Midway Plaisance which followed the configuration of the circular sunken lawn panel\u2014 the outline of what would have become the canal\u2019s turning basin.McAdams\u2019 garden provided the inspiration for the 2005 Allison Davis Garden designed by landscape architect Peter Lindsay Schaudt and located on the west end of the Midway Plaisance .The new garden pays homage to renowned social anthropologist Allison Davis (1902 \u2013 1983) a pioneering scholar who was the first tenured African-American professor at the University of Chicago.\n\nThe Chicago Park District and University of Chicago also worked together on the development of new gardens on the north side of the Midway Plaisance, the Winter Garden and the Readers\u2019 Garden. Other recent improvements to the Midway include a rink for ice skating in the winter and in-line skating in the summer. Located in the center of the Midway just west of S. Woodlawn Ave., the rink stands on the exact location of the historic Ferris wheel.\n\nThe restoration of the Fountain of Time has been one of the most challenging and expensive of the recent improvements in the area.Expert conservator Andrzej Dajnowski began intensive studies to determine the appropriate conservation treatment for the historic concrete fountain in 1992.The $2 million project has been funded by the Chicago Park District, the Ferguson Fund of the Art Institute, a Save America\u2019s Treasures Grant, the University of Chicago, the Parkways Foundation and private donors.Conducted in two major phases between 1998 and 2002 and between 2002 and 2009, sculptural fountain and its reflecting basin have been fully conserved, the surrounding landscape has been improved, and monument\u2019s lighting has been upgraded.\n "}, {"id": 359, "title": "Millard (Alden) Park", "address": "\n 1331 S. Millard Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.23 acres and it is located in the North Lawndale Community.\u00a0\u00a0While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Franklin Park.\n ", "history": "Millard Park and the adjacent street take their names from Alden C. Millard, a partner in the real estate firm of Millard and Decker, who subdivided much of the surrounding area in 1870. The firm's \"Lawndale\" development was soon attracting the families of factory workers, especially after the McCormick Reaper Plant relocated nearby in 1871.\n\nNorth Lawndale grew dramatically in the early 20th century, reaching a 1930 population of 112,000, nearly half of whom were Russian Jews. The area's population began to drop somewhat after 1930, but rebounded during the 1950s, as African-Americans moved in to take the place of departing residents. In 1953, the City of Chicago purchased this tenth-acre property on Millard Avenue as part of a city-wide program to develop small parks in under-served neighborhoods like North Lawndale.\n\nThe Bureau of Parks and Recreation soon developed the site as a playlot, installing basketball courts, playground equipment, and a sandbox. In 1959, the city transferred Millard Park to the Chicago Park District, which rehabilitated the playground area in 1992.\n "}, {"id": 360, "title": "Miller (Samuel) Park", "address": "\n 846 S.Miller St. \n Chicago, IL 60607\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Near West\u00a0Community. \u00a0The park is 0.12 acres and it features a playground.\u00a0 It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Sheridan Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "In 1952, the City of Chicago purchased this ten-acre property on Miller Avenue as part of a city-wide program to develop small parks in under-served neighborhoods like the Near West Side. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation soon transformed the site into a small playground. In 1959, the city transferred Miller Park to the Chicago Park District, which rehabilitated it in the early 1980s and again in 1992. Miller Park and the adjacent Near West Side street take their names from early Chicagoan Samuel Miller. Miller and his wife built a house at Chicago as early as 1827, operating it as a tavern. Beginning in 1829, Miller and Archibald Clybourne ran a ferry across the forks of the Chicago River near Wolf Point. When Cook County was organized in 1831, Miller became one of the first County Commissioners. The following year, he built Chicago's first bridge, a foot bridge over the North Branch of the Chicago River at Kinzie and Canal Streets.\n "}, {"id": 361, "title": "Minuteman Park", "address": "\n 5940 S. Central Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60638\n ", "description": "Located in the Clearing Community, Minuteman Park totals 8.92\u00a0acres and features a multi-purpose room. A green feature of the park includes a Harvest Garden. Outside, the park offers softball/baseball diamonds, a tennis court, and a sand volleyball court. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, playschool activities, and arts and crafts. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Volleyball Camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Minuteman Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "In the late 1960s, the Chicago Plan Commission identified nine acres of vacant property near Midway Airport for park development. At the time the surrounding Clearing and Garfield Ridge neighborhoods were both experiencing tremendous population growth and a shortage of recreational facilities. The Chicago Park District purchased the property in 1971, using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funds. The following year, the park district improved the site with ball fields and tennis courts. After 1986, a mobile trailer/fieldhouse provided space for indoor activities. (A newer model replaced the original trailer ten years later.) Minuteman Park expanded in 1990, when the park district began leasing six adjacent acres of vacant land from the city. The park's patriotic name was selected in 1976 through a Bicentennial Committee contest conducted in the surrounding 23rd Ward. The minutemen were American colonial militiamen who pledged to take up arms at a minute's notice to aid the cause of Revolution. The first group of minutemen formed in Worcester County, Massachusetts in September, 1774. Similar units were organized in nearby counties in subsequent months. On April 19, 1775, the Battles of Lexington and Concord provided the first test of the minutemen. Seven hundred British troops engaged 77 minutemen on the village green at Lexington, Massachusetts. Unable to hold their ground at Lexington, the colonists turned the tide at the Concord Bridge, where no more than 400 patriots forced the British to withdraw. The American success at Concord prompted the Continental Congress to recommend the formation of minuteman units in other colonies.\n "}, {"id": 362, "title": "Moccasin Ranch Park", "address": "\n 6446 S. Kimbark Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn neighborhood, Moccasin Ranch Park is an idyllic recreational location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing, enjoying nature and the outdoors. This park\u00a0is 0.20 acres and it contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing elements.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this once-vacant lot for recreational use in 1969, and officially named it Moccasin Ranch in 1998. The Moccasin Ranch is a collection of stories about life in the Mississippi Valley penned by Hamlin Garland (1860-1940), a significant figure in the Chicago Literary Movement. After gaining initial fame through Moccasin Ranch, Garland published more than a dozen novels, many of which focused on the Midwest. Garland, who lived near the park site at 6427 South Greenwood, is now regarded as one of Chicago's most important authors.\n "}, {"id": 363, "title": "Montgomery (Mabel) Park", "address": "\n 6600 S. Talman Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60629\n ", "description": "Montgomery Park is 0.40 acres and it is located in the Chicago Lawn community area.\n ", "history": "Montgomery Park is one of many new parks created after World War II to meet recreational needs in under-served neighborhoods. The city used Playground Bond funds to purchase this quarter-acre site in the Chicago Lawn community in 1951. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation soon transformed the property into a playlot, installing playground equipment, a sand box, and a drinking fountain. In 1959, the city transferred Montgomery Park to the Chicago Park District, which has upgraded the playground several times over the years. Montgomery Park honors Mabel Montgomery, a lifelong Chicago resident who was active in civic, fraternal, and religious organizations. Montgomery led Red Cross and War Bond drives, and raised funds for cancer research and the purchase of iron lungs.\n "}, {"id": 364, "title": "Monticello Park", "address": "\n 1810 N. Monticello Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "This playlot is located in the Logan Square\u00a0community (one block west of Central Park Avenue, and\u00a0two blocks north of North Avenue). The 0.41 acre site contains a playslab with a basketball standard as well as a small playground. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Mozart Park.\n ", "history": "Monticello Park is one of many small parks created by the city to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. The city identified this property in the densely-built Logan Square neighborhood as a potential park site in 1954. Using Playground Bond funds, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation acquired the Monticello Avenue site and opened the new park, with its playground equipment and basketball court, before the close of 1955. The city transferred Monticello Park to the Chicago Park District in 1959. Throughout the 1990s, the park district upgraded the park's facilities. Named for the adjacent street, Monticello Park pays tribute to Thomas Jefferson's famous estate, pictured on the back of the nickel. Jefferson (1743-1826), third President of the United States, built his home atop a hill overlooking Charlottesville, Virginia, calling it Monticello, which means \"Little Mountain\" in Italian. A self-trained architect, Jefferson designed the unusual brick structure himself, expanding and remodeling it throughout his life. By the time the house was essentially complete, it had 35 rooms, none the same shape. Jefferson's many innovations at Monticello included a multi-story clock and enormous windows that could be opened to act as doors.\n "}, {"id": 365, "title": "Monument Park", "address": "\n 6679 N. Avondale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60631\n ", "description": "This park is 1.66 acres\u00a0and it has both a passive recreation area (which is one of the sites of the yearly Edison Park Fest) as well as a playground with sandbox. It is located in the Edison Park\u00a0community (two blocks east of Canfield Road, and 1 \u00bd blocks southwest of Northwest Highway, abutting the Chicago-Northwestern train tracks). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Olympia Park.\n ", "history": "Monument Park lies within the former Village of Edison Park, incorporated in 1881. Part of the old Town of Jefferson, the village was organized in an area once known as Canfield, probably for a Chicago & Northwestern Railway platform where local farmers left milk cans for delivery. By 1910, Edison Park's 300 residents, desiring city services, had annexed the village to Chicago. Several years later, the Edison Park Improvement Club led a successful effort to form an independent park board to develop neighborhood parks in the growing community. Monument Park was the first of four parks created by the new Edison Park District. Community residents, polled by mail, selected the one-acre park site just south of the Chicago & Northwestern right-of-way. After purchasing the property in mid-1913, the park district immediately began improving the site with plantings. Initially called Ridge Lawn Park, the site became known as Monument Park after 1918, when residents erected a large memorial \"in Honor of Our Boys Who Served In The Army and Navy of the U.S.A. During the World War.\" The impressive black and white granite pillar still stands, surmounted by a limestone eagle from the old Cook County Courthouse, demolished before 1911. By the time the Edison Park District transferred Monument Park to the Chicago Park District in 1934, the site included symmetrical lawns, walks, trees, and shrubs in addition to the war memorial. The Chicago Park District soon added flowerbeds, a drinking fountain, and benches. Playground equipment installed in 1970 was upgraded 20 years later.\n "}, {"id": 366, "title": "Moore (Maurice) Park", "address": "\n 5085 W. Adams \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "Located in the Austin Community Area, Moore Park totals 3.72\u00a0acres and offers a small field house with a game room and a new gymnasium addition. Outside, the park offers baseball fields, basketball courts, a soft-surface playground, an interactive water spray feature and\u00a0a junior soccer field.\n\nPark-goers can play baseball, basketball and table games at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Moore Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The west side Austin community, developed by Henry W. Austin and annexed to Chicago in 1899, grew dramatically during the first decades of the 20th century.\n\nIn 1926, the city purchased three acres of land along West Adams Street, intending to build a school. Two years later, however, the city turned the site over to the Bureau of Parks and Recreation, which established a tree-lined park there in 1929.\n\nThe new park was well-equipped with an oval wading pool, playground equipment, a small recreational building, and a playfield that was flooded in winter for ice skating. In 1947, the bureau enclosed the open wings of the recreational structure, creating a year-round facility.\n\nThe Chicago Park District began managing this Board of Education-owned property in 1959. The park district assumed ownership of Moore Park in 1990, and installed a new soft surface playground shortly thereafter.\n\nMoore Park honors Austin resident Maurice T. Moore (1857-1928). An Irish immigrant, Moore joined the Chicago Police Department in October, 1887, serving for 40 years until his resignation in 1927. After 1901, he was acting captain at various west side police stations. Throughout his career, Moore displayed a keen interest in local children and felt it important that they have a safe place to play. Moore lived just a few blocks from the park, at 5538 West Quincy Street.\n "}, {"id": 367, "title": "Moran (Terrance) Park", "address": "\n 5727 S. Racine Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Moran Park totals 1.94\u00a0acres and features a multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers a basketball court, playground, and a spray pool.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports and Inner City Flag Football. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Moran Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including our Back to School Basketball Tournament and holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "In 1926, the City of Chicago began creating a small municipal playground in Englewood, a diverse community of wealthy and working-class residents that included one of the city's oldest African-American neighborhoods. The city soon improved the long, rectangular property, planting trees, shrubs, and lawn areas at the extreme ends, and installing a playing field, playground equipment, and a recreation building in the center of the park. The site was named for Terrance F. Moran, alderman of the 16th ward from 1923 to 1937. (At the time, the city regularly named parks for standing aldermen of the wards in which the sites were located.) Moran served as Commissioner of the Department of Steam Boilers, Unfired Pressure Vessels, and Cooling Plants from 1943 until his death in 1958. In 1959, the city turned Moran Park over to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties. Re-planting the landscape and adding basketball courts, new playground equipment, and a spraypool in the 1960s, the park district made further improvements in the early 1990s.\n "}, {"id": 368, "title": "Morgan (Thomas Leeds) Field Park", "address": "\n 11710 S. Morgan St. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Morgan Field Park is 3.22 acres and it is located in the West Pullman community area.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago purchased land for Morgan Field Park in 1948, using Playground Bond funds. The city soon transformed the site into a playlot and field. In 1959, the city transferred the park to the Chicago Park District. Morgan Field Park lies adjacent to Higgins Elementary School, and the park district has long managed a portion of the school property as parkland as well. The park was named for neighboring Morgan Street. In 1844, Englishman Thomas Leeds Morgan (1802-1883) began to buy area property that eventually totaled 3,000 ares. \"Upwood,\" his homestead, later became the location of the Village of Morgan Park.\n "}, {"id": 369, "title": "Morgan Park Sports Center Park (Park No. 577)", "address": "\n 11505 S. Western Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "The Morgan Park Sports Center is owned by the Chicago Park District and managed by ASM Global. \n\nVisit morganparksportscenter.com to learn about the center and all of its features and operating hours. \u00a0\n\nThis gleaming new sports complex is 2.88 acres and it is located in the Morgan Park community at 115th Street and Western Ave. \u00a0Features at Park No. 577 include an indoor NHL-size ice rink arena with a seating capacity for 1,200 spectators, a state -of-the-art gymnastics center and a fitness studio. Other amenities include community rooms and locker rooms with showers. \u00a0 \u00a0\n\nWe invite you to register for our gymnastics, ice skating and hockey youth programs, along with some adult programs.\nPark No. 577 is ADA accessible and the adjacent parking lot affords ample parking.\n\nThe ice rink is available for rent. Call for more information. \u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 370, "title": "Mount Greenwood Park", "address": "\n 3721 W. 111th St. \n Chicago, IL 60655\n ", "description": "Located in the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood, Mt. Greenwood Park totals 52.53 acres and features a gymnasium and multi-purpose rooms. Green features of the park include two gardens. Outside, the park offers a swimming pool, ice rink, a gleaming interactive musical playground, White Sox Baseball Miracle Field (ADA accessible), eleven ball fields, and tennis courts.\u00a0\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, preschool activities, Therapeutic Recreation, and softball leagues. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth can participate the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Special Recreation Camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Mt. Greenwood Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "Mount Greenwood Park takes its name from the surrounding community. In 1879, George Waite obtained a state charter to develop a large cemetery on a low ridge west of 111th Street. The ridge, covered with oaks, hickory, aspen, and other trees, inspired the moniker Mount Greenwood. As a steady stream of visitors came to the beautiful cemetery, inns, restaurants, and shops soon opened nearby, forming the basis for the new Mount Greenwood community. Incorporated as a village in 1907, Mount Greenwood was annexed to Chicago twenty years later. The neighborhood had few modern services until 1936, when the Federal Works Progress Administration installed sewers and street lights, and paved the streets. With these improvements, Mount Greenwood's population soared, nearly tripling between 1940 and 1950. The booming Mount Greenwood community was among the neighborhoods identified for park development in the Chicago Park District's Ten Year Plan to provide increased recreational opportunities in post-World War II Chicago. In 1946, the Mount Greenwood Civic Council urged the acquisition of vacant Board of Education land along 111th Street. The park district purchased the 24-acre site in 1949, and slowly began improving the property. The park district constructed a fieldhouse in 1966, and added a swimming pool in 1973. The 1990s brought further improvements such as refrigerated ice skating rink provides winter recreation. Several features of Mount Greenwood Park honor noted local citizens. A parking area is dedicated to Frederick G. Abrams, Sr. a Chicago Alderman and Treasurer of the Village of Mount Greenwood from 1918 to 1927. A baseball diamond bears the name Rooney Field, in honor of Rooney Richardson, who took an active role in community affairs. The Chicago Park District and Mount Greenwood Advisory Council worked with elected officials to raise $1.2 million for a fullyaccessible soft surface playground dedicated in 2008. The playground includes interactive art components which were designed by local artists through the Chicago Public Art Group. Community workshops inspired the artworks which range from a series of mosaic obelisks to metal sculptural musical elements.\n "}, {"id": 371, "title": "Mozart (Amadeus) Park", "address": "\n 2036 N. Avers Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Located in the Logan Square\u00a0community (the park\u2019s southern border touches Armitage Avenue; the western border is one block east of Pulaski Road), Mozart Park totals 5.22\u00a0acres.The fieldhouse contains a fitness center, gymnasium, kitchen\u2014air-conditioned club rooms are available for rent. Outside, the park offers a junior baseball field, a softball field, a combination football-soccer field, four basketball standards, and a playground. Activity is the theme at Mozart Park: which boasts a fitness center, as well as aerobics, basketball, seasonal sports, soccer, softball, and sports club programs.The park offers several programs for tots / preschoolers. We encourage our senior population to join us for our Senior Citizens Club. In the summer, youth can attend the Park District\u2019s six-week day camp; the Teen Leadership camp is also a popular summer option.\n\nArts based programming is facilitated by our arts partners; Voice of the City and Borderbend Arts\u00a0Collective. Mozart Park also offers a FREE monthly community drum circle the third Friday of the month.\n\nDuring the summer Movies in the Parks series, Mozart Park is noted for showing Spanish-language (with English subtitles) outdoor films.\n ", "history": "Named for world-acclaimed Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Mozart Park was the first of the Northwest Park District's thirteen parks. The park district was established in 1911, one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. The Northwest Park District aimed to provide one park for each of the ten square miles within its middle-class jurisdiction. After consulting with various community organizations, the park district chose a site for its first park and purchased the property in early 1914. That same year, the park district built a fieldhouse designed by Albert A. Schwartz, who went on to design other Northwest Park District facilities. In 1915, the park district board officially designated the site Mozart Park, based on a popular vote of local school children.\n "}, {"id": 372, "title": "Mulberry Park", "address": "\n 3150 S. Robinson St. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0McKinley Park\u00a0community. \u00a0The park is 0.68 acres and it\u00a0features a playground and water feature that was renovated in 2015 as part of the Chicago Plays! program. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Bosley Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago acquired this park property in 1960 and transferred it to the Chicago Park District the following year. Officially designated Mulberry Park in 1973, the property was one of several parks named for trees and plants at this time.\n\nMulberries are deciduous shrubs or small trees that grow from 30 to 80 feet tall. Their branches spread into a dense crown that bends down toward the ground. Their berry-like fruit, which turns from red to black when ripe, provides food for birds and small mammals. Mulberries can be found scattered throughout the eastern United States and Canada, from Massachusetts west across southern Ontario to Minnesota. Their range extends south as far as Florida and Texas. They are commonly found in Chicago's parks.\n "}, {"id": 373, "title": "Mulberry Point Park", "address": "\n 5865 N. Nina Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60631\n ", "description": "This tiny passive recreation area is 0.07 acres and it is located in the Norwood Park\u00a0community (two blocks northeast of the intersection of Harlem and Talcott avenues). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Norwood Park.\n ", "history": "Mulberry Point Park is among a small group of parks developed by Chicago's Special Park Commission in the \"suburban\" Norwood Park neighborhood after 1900. The tiny triangular property is bounded by a trio of streets, then known as Crescent, Ceylon, and Mulberry Avenues (now Nickerson, Nina, and Nicolet). After developing a plan for Mulberry Park in 1905, the commission planted trees, shrubs, and grass. Transferred to the Chicago Park District in 1959, the shady park remains essentially unchanged from its earliest design.\n "}, {"id": 374, "title": "Munroe (Roy) Park", "address": "\n 2617 W. 105th St. \n Chicago, IL 60655\n ", "description": "Located in the Beverly neighborhood, Munroe Park totals 5.69\u00a0acres and features a multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers a multi-purpose field, two baseball diamonds, two playgrounds, sand volleyball/T-ball courts, and a running track.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports. On the cultural side, the park offers adult and children\u2019s theater. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Special camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Theater Camp and Arts and Crafts Camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Munroe Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as our four theater productions (held at Ridge Park) and holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Munroe Park lies in a section of the south side Beverly community that was once part of the Village of Morgan Park. The area's 1914 annexation to Chicago brought new residents, and population continued to climb throughout the Great Depression and World War II years. In 1945, the Morgan Park Manor Improvement Association transferred property straddling the Baltimore & Ohio C.T. Railroad right-of-way to the city. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation began improving the land west of the tracks in 1948, and within two years, the new park had playing fields, playground apparatus, and a small recreation building. Tennis courts were added east of the tracks in 1955. In 1959, the city transferred a portion of the park to the Chicago Park District. The remaining property was transfered two years later. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the park district substantially improved the park with a soft surface playground, a sand volleyball court, a soccer field, and a fitness course. \u00a0To meet the changing needs of the community, the Chicago Park District converted the underutilized tennis courts into a junior artificial turf baseball field in 2010.\n\nInitially known as Talman Playground for a nearby street, the property had been renamed Munroe Park by 1955. The derivation of the park's name is unknown.\n\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 375, "title": "Murray (David) Park", "address": "\n 1743 W. 73rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60655\n ", "description": "Located in the West Englewood community, Murray Park totals 3.49\u00a0acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers a refurbished basketball court, spray pool, baseball/softball diamonds, and playground. Many of the spaces, including fields and clubrooms, are available for rental.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports including\u00a0Junior Bears football.\u00a0After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Murray Park hosts holiday-themed celebrations and other special events throughout the year.\n ", "history": "On June 4, 1917, the City of Chicago purchased land in the West Englewood community to construct a section of the Southwest Water Tunnel. Nearly a decade later, the city gave the Bureau of Parks and Recreation permission to develop the property as parkland. Established in 1929, the new park was well-equipped with playground apparatus, boys' and girls' playfields and a separate baseball field, an oval wading pool bordered by a wooden pergola, and a small recreation building with open shelter and sand court wings. The open wings of the recreation structure were enclosed in 1947 to create a year-round facility. In 1959, the city began leasing property to the Chicago Park District, which installed new basketball courts and plantings in 1966 and rehabilitated the playground area twenty years later. This site has been known as Murray Park since 1928. Until 1930, the park was officially, but incorrectly, designated Daniel L. Murray Park. The park was in fact meant to honor David L. Murray (1865-1955), a local educator. Born in Ontario, Canada, in 1865, Murray worked for the Chicago school board for 54 years. For many years, he taught at Raster Elementary School, located just three blocks from the park, at 6900 South Hermitage Avenue. He also served as the school's principal. A resident of West Englewood, Murray lived at 6733 South Marshfield Avenue.\n "}, {"id": 376, "title": "Myrtle Grove Park", "address": "\n 6101 N. Neva Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60631\n ", "description": "This passive recreation area is situated on 1.67 acres in the Norwood Park\u00a0community (one block east of Harlem Avenue, one long block north of Peterson Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at Norwood Park.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago acquired Myrtle Grove Park when it annexed the town of Norwood in 1893. The City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation transferred the property to the Chicago Park District in 1959. The park has been known as Myrtle Grove since at least 1916, apparently for Myrtle Avenue (now known as Northcott), the park's northern boundary. It is puzzling that the Myrtle Avenue was so named, since the myrtle does not grow in the Chicago region. The ancient Romans held the myrtle, an evergreen, in high regard. They recognized two species, the Patrician and the Plebian. According to Roman legend, the political fortunes of the nobles and the commoners could be judged based on which of the two trees flourished and which languished.\n "}, {"id": 377, "title": "Nash (Don) Community Center Park", "address": "\n 1833 E. 71st \n Chicago, IL 60649\n ", "description": "Located in the South Shore community, Don Nash Community Center totals 1.19 acres and features a gymnasium, fitness center, indoor pool, and multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers a playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids afterschool program, aquatics, Pilates, yoga, seasonal sports, senior activities, Line Dancing. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\u00a0\n\nIn addition to programs, Don Nash Community Center hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased the Don Nash Community Center, a former YMCA, in 1991. At the time, the surrounding South Shore community suffered from a severe shortage of recreational facilities. The area parks included neither gymnasiums nor swimming pools. The former YMCA offered both a central location in the community and approximately 35,000 square feet of space, nearly twice that of the average modern Chicago park fieldhouse. After purchasing the property, the park district extensively remodeled the building, which had been constructed by the YMCA in the 1940s. Using funds from the Government Assistance Project of the Chicago Community Trust, the park district also developed wide-ranging programming for the site. Today, Don Nash Community Center, with its gymnasium, swimming pool, kitchen, and club rooms, is popular gathering place for South Shore residents. Donald Jordan Nash (1935-1992), for whom the park is named, joined the Coca Cola Company in 1962 as a route helper, rising through the ranks to become the company's first African-American to serve as Vice President of Community and Governmental Affairs. A native Chicagoan, Nash demonstrated a great commitment to children in Chicago Park District programs, volunteering as a mentor and teacher in his spare time.\n "}, {"id": 378, "title": "Neighbors' Garden Park", "address": "\n 2533 N.Sacramento Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "This community garden hosts garden plots for individuals, groups, and organizations in the area to grow vegetables and flowers. The park is maintained by volunteers from the community for the beautification of the park and enjoyment of park patrons. Please feel free to visit, observe, take pictures, and enjoy. For information on obtaining a plot or volunteering in the garden, please contact communitygardens@chicagoparkdistrict.com\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this property in 1974, at the urging of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, which saw the need for a neighborhood \"tot-lot\" to supplement facilities at Haas Playground, just 4.5 blocks to the southeast. No playground equipment was ever installed. Instead, local residents developed the lot as a community garden, with the help of NeighborSpace Corporation and the Chicago Botanic Garden. In 1999, the park district officially designated the site Neighbors' Garden Park, the name used by the gardeners themselves.\n "}, {"id": 379, "title": "Nelson (Andrew) Park", "address": "\n 2951 W. Nelson St. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "Nelson Park is 0.15 acres and it is located in the Avondale neighborhood, sits approximately two blocks south of Belmont Avenue and two blocks west of California Avenue. Children enjoy playing in the soft surface playground.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Brands Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "As World War II drew to a close, the city began creating many new playgrounds and playlots to serve Chicago's growing population of young children. By 1945, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation had transformed a city-owned lot in the Avondale neighborhood into a playlot with a sandbox; a spraypool; a jungle gym; a marble ring; and hopscotch, horsheshoe, and basketball courts. As the bureau's practice was then to name parks for adjacent streets, the site became known as Nelson Park. The street name honors Andrew Nelson (1818-1887), a north side real estate speculator who served on the Lincoln Park Board of Commissioners from 1869 to 1871. In 1959, the city transferred Nelson Park to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties. After upgrading the park the 1960s, the district installed a new soft surface playground in 1992.\n "}, {"id": 380, "title": "Nichols (John Fountain) Park", "address": "\n 1355 E. 53rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located at 1355 E. 53rd St. in the Hyde Park community, Nichols Park totals 11.48 acres and features a gymnasium and a multi-purpose room. Green features of the park include a community flower garden, community vegetable gardens, and Wildflower Meadow. Outside, the park offers two playgrounds, a baseball diamond, walking path, and a sandbox. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium and multi-purpose room.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, preschool activities, bitty basketball, and low impact aerobics. During the summer, youth can participate in the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Sports Camp.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1963, the Chicago Park district acquired more than six acres of land in the deteriorating Hyde Park neighborhood from the city's Department of Urban Renewal. The park district soon improved the site with a reflecting pool, tennis courts, walkways, and asphalt-surfaced play areas for tots and older children. In 1970, Italian-American artist Cosmo Campoli created a fanciful bronze sculpture called \"Bird of Peace\" which enlivens the park's central lawn. Though the park district expanded the park a bit during the following decade, several acres of cleared land immediately to the south remained undeveloped for years. In the mid-1980s, the Hyde Park Development Corporation recommended that the vacant property be used for stores and upscale townhouses. Many neighborhood residents instead favored expanding Nichols Park. After lobbying for the project for several years, the community convinced the City Council to approve the expansion. The park district's 1991 acquisition of the property brought Nichols Park to more than ten acres, and the new park land soon had a formal garden, a fountain, and a grassy courtyard. The park honors artist and urban planner John Fountain Nichols (1912-1980), a life-long resident of Hyde Park. A student of the Art Institute of Chicago, Nichols participated in the Federal Artists' Project during the Great Depression. (One of his many murals can be found at the north side Lane Technical High School.) After returning to his studies and earning a BFA during World War II, he taught art in south side public schools, later becoming an architectural draftsman. During the 1950s and 1960s, Nichols worked for the Department of Urban Renewal, developing plans to rehabilitate his Hyde Park neighborhood. After his retirement in the 1970s, Nichols continued to participate in arts-related events at Murray School, which sits adjacent to the park.\n "}, {"id": 381, "title": "Ninebark Park", "address": "\n 1447 S. Harding Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the North Lawndale community.\u00a0The park is 0.37 acres and it\u00a0features a playground and water feature.\u00a0 It is an active community park.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Franklin Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this once-vacant lot in 1970, with the help of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.\n\nOfficially designated Ninebark Park in 1975, the playground was one of a number of parks named for trees and plants at this time. Ninebark is an ornamental shrub grown for its white flowers, attractive seed pods, and bright green foliage. As its long branches age, their bark becomes loose and separates in numerous thin layers. Primarily a North American plant, the hardy ninebark can be found along shorelines, rocky banks, and thickets.\n "}, {"id": 382, "title": "Noethling (Grace) Park", "address": "\n 2645 N. Sheffield Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Located in the Lincoln Park community, Noethling Playlot Park is a 0.54 acre\u00a0dog-friendly area known to local residents as Wiggly Field. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Wrightwood Park.\n ", "history": "Located in the now-affluent Lincoln Park neighborhood, Noethling Park was one of 36 parks established by the Chicago Park District in 1970 to meet the recreational needs of under-served areas of the city. At the time, urban renewal efforts were beginning to take effect in the Lincoln Park community, which had suffered many years of decline. Acquiring property on North Sheffield Avenue in 1974 with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funds, the park district improved the site with shade trees, planters, walks, and asphalt-surfaced play areas. A soft surface playground was added in 1992. A portion of the property is now used as a dog exercise area, informally known as \"Wiggly Field.\" The park honors Grace Noethling, founder of the Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association, a local organization that contributed much to the neighborhood's revitalization. Noethling remained very active in the community group until the time of her death at age 88.\n "}, {"id": 383, "title": "Normandy Park", "address": "\n 6660 W. 52nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60638\n ", "description": "Located in the Garfield Ridge Community, Normandy Park totals 2.90 acres and features multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers a softball field and volleyball court.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports including softball, preschool and playschool activities,Women\u2019s Flag Football, Moms, Pops, & Tots, and scrapbooking. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Normandy Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Normandy Park is one of many new parks created by the City of Chicago to meet increasing recreational needs after World War II. The surrounding Garfield Ridge community experienced a remarkable building boom after the war, when nearby industrial development drew many new residents. Between 1940 and 1960, population jumped from just under 7,000 to more than 40,000. The city identified two-and-a-half acres in the far western section of the neighborhood for park development in 1955. The following year, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation drew up park plans that included a small fieldhouse, volleyball and basketball courts, two softball diamonds, a spray pool, and playground equipment. Following common practice at the time, the park was named for the adjacent street, Normandy Avenue. The street name honors the Normandy region of France, coincidentally the site of the pivotal Allied invasion of Europe in 1944. The city transferred Normandy Park to the Chicago Park District in 1959, along with more than 250 other properties.\n "}, {"id": 384, "title": "North Boundary Park", "address": "\n 7211 N. Kedzie Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60645\n ", "description": "This passive park is 2.21 acres and it\u00a0runs along the North Shore Channel of the Chicago River at Touhy Ave. While this park doesn't offer structured programs to the community, we invite you to visit Chippewa, Indian Boundary Park Cultural Center, or Rogers Park.\n ", "history": "Stretching along Kedzie Avenue, just north of Touhy Avenue, Park #557 is a 1.6-acre passive park located at the northern boundary of Chicago. The site was acquired by the Chicago Park District only in the last decade. Prior to that, the North Boundary Home Owners League (NBHOL) maintained the stretch of green space at its own expense. For years, the organization had paid private landscape companies for spring clean-ups, fall clean-ups and mowing during the growing seasons for many years. As the green space serves as the western border of the NBHOL neighborhood and the city limits, organization has always upheld that the Park #557 serves as the gateway, providing visitors with \u201cfirst impression\u201d of the neighborhood. The North Boundary Home Owners League first incorporated in 1945. At the time, the group\u2019s biggest challenges related to noise and air pollution caused by a former brick company. Since that time, the NBHOL has continuously worked and advocated for improvements particularly relating to safety, noise, beautification, public services, recreational facilities, as well as the appropriate maintenance of the area\u2019s landscapes, streets, alleys, and utilities. Because of the park\u2019s location and its importance to the surrounding community, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners named the site North Boundary Park in 2014.\n "}, {"id": 385, "title": "North Mayfair Park", "address": "\n 4533 W. Carmen Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "This playground is located on 0.33 acres\u00a0in the\u00a0North Mayfair\u00a0neighborhood, one block south of Foster Avenue, two long blocks east of the Edens Expressway.\n\nAs part of the ChicagoPlays! playground renovation program the playlot received a new colorful playground. It's a great place for the kiddos and families to hang out and play! There are two great picnic tables for families to gather and have a treat.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Gompers or Mayfair.\u00a0\n ", "history": "North Mayfair Park is one of six neighborhood parks created by the Jefferson Park District. Established in 1920 to provide neighborhood parks for its rapidly-developing northwest side community, the Jefferson Park District was one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. In 1930, the Jefferson Park District purchased a half-acre of land in the Mayfair neighborhood at the urging of the North Mayfair Community Women's Club, from which the park takes its name. The women's club, a local benevolent organization founded by Mrs. Barbara Reich, had petitioned for the creation of the park. North Mayfair Park was only one of the club's many efforts to better the community. Others included a program for distributing fuel, clothing, and food to the needy of the neighborhood and a campaign to build a community social house.\n "}, {"id": 386, "title": "North Park Village Nature Center Park", "address": "\n 5801 N. Pulaski Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "Located on the northwest side of Chicago, North Park Village Nature Center features a 46-acre natural area and educational facility, situated within the 155-acre North Park Village campus. The park offers trails that wind through woodland, wetland, prairie, and savanna. A discovery room, a hands-on table of natural objects, and interactive displays are highlights of the Nature Center. In addition to the Nature Center and natural area, visitors can also enjoy exploration through Walking Stick Woods, a 12-acre woodland with trails and nodes designed for Nature Play.\n\nThere are public programs for preschoolers, school-age children, families, and adults. Eco-Explorers summer day camp focuses on nature-based games and learning activities for children aged 5-14 years old. Neighborhood Naturalists is a special outreach program serving third graders in Chicago Public Schools. Volunteers find many ways to express their interests at the Nature Center, including helping lead field trips, assisting during festivals, greeting visitors at the reception desk, and participating in ecological restoration efforts.\n\nThe mission of North Park Village Nature Center is to provide visitors with an opportunity to interact with and learn about wildlife and natural resources in an urban setting. There are programs, events, and activities for all ages to enjoy while discovering our shared natural heritage at the first nature center within the city of Chicago. Open 7 days a week (excluding holidays) from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.\n\nWhether you seek serenity, a place to spot a rare bird or a place to volunteer your time and talent, visit this oasis of nature in the city \u2013 this hidden gem.\n ", "history": "The North Park Village Nature Center is often described as a hidden gem in the city. But this site was well known to generations before us, and clues to how people used the land can be found here. During pre-settlement times, the wild onion and wild leek growing in wet woods here inspired Native Americans to name area the \u201cland of the stinking onion\u201d which was translated to \u201cChicago\u201d by European settlers. In the early 1800s, farmers drained the wet areas to plant crops. And in the mid-1850s, a Norwegian immigrant Pehr Samuel Petersen purchased the land and established a tree nursery here. The very successful Mr. Peterson provided trees and shrubs for the World\u2019s Fair in 1893, many of the trees historically planted in Lincoln Park and a large number of all the trees planted in Chicago\u2019s parkways and boulevards by 1910.\n\nDuring the early 20th century, as increasing numbers of Chicagoans were contracting Tuberculosis, local officials decided to establish a sanitarium at the outskirts of the city where patients could live and receive treatment in a country-like setting.\u00a0 After the passage of the State and City Sanitarium Acts of 1909, a 160-acre plot of previous nursery land and some adjacent farmland at Bryn Mawr and Pulaski avenues was selected as the site for the sanitarium.\n\nThe Sanitarium\u2019s Board of Directors hired landscape architect Ossian Cole Simonds (1855 \u2013 1931) and architects Clark & Otis to design and layout the facility.\u00a0 Portions of the land were changed into paths, gardens for growing food, fields to play and a pond for recreation. Clark & Otis designed a small brick cottage like structure that would become the Nature Center.\u00a0 This originally served the Sanitarium\u2019s dispensary, where certain patients could come to get their medications. Patients were here from 1915 when Chicago\u2019s Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium first opened until the mid 1970s, when facility closed after TB had been largely eradicated.\n\nIn the late 1970s, developers planned to raze the buildings and landscape and convert build commercial property here. However, community activists rallied against these plans, ushering in the creation of North Park Village and preservation of the buildings and landscape. In 1989, an easement was enacted to prohibit any development of this property and to define how it was to be maintained as a natural area for 75 years. Efforts are being made by today\u2019s community activists to extend this protection into perpetuity.\n\nNow, in a short stroll, visitors can experience a forest, a prairie, wetland and oak savanna. And in the 1980s, a sweet new tradition was begun: the Maple Syrup Festival, which taps into the very trees that Pehr Peterson planted more than a century ago. Eventually, programming and visits to the Nature Center grew with additional events such as the Harvest Festival, Winter Solstice, and City Wilds Fest.\n\nOn April 1, 2004 the Nature Center became part of the Chicago Park District. Whether you seek serenity, a place to spot a rare bird, or a place to volunteer your time and talent, visit this oasis of nature in the city \u2013 this hidden gem.\n "}, {"id": 387, "title": "North Shore Beach Park", "address": "\n 1040 W. North Shore Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Whether you are looking to relax on the sandy beach soaking in some rays or getting active our beaches are a great summer destination right in the middle of a bustling Chicago.\u00a0 North Shore Beach Park is 0.66 acres.\n ", "history": "North Shore Beach Park lies at the southern end of the Rogers Park neighborhood, where North Shore Avenue meets Lake Michigan. North Shore Avenue apparently takes its name from the former Town of North Shore that later became part of Rogers Park. North Shore Beach Park is one of 18 street-end beaches acquired by the Chicago Park District from the City of Chicago in 1959. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation was operating 27 such beaches by 1937; some of these were in existence as early as 1921. Although lifeguards manned these small municipal beaches, they had no changing rooms or other facilities. In Rogers Park, the beaches met the summertime recreational needs of the residents who lived in the many apartment buildings built in the eastern portion of the community between 1900 and 1930.\n "}, {"id": 388, "title": "Northerly Island Park", "address": "\n 1521 S. Linn White Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60605\n ", "description": "Northerly Island Park is a 119-acre park situated along the Lake Michigan shoreline on Chicago\u2019s beautiful Museum Campus. Chicago's famous architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham imagined Northerly Island as one of the northernmost points in a series of manmade islands stretching between Grant and Jackson Parks and exists as the only island to be completed. The site of the Century of Progress World Fair in 1933, Northerly Island has since been transformed into an urban nature sanctuary, making it the ideal location to investigate the intersection of Chicago\u2019s natural and built environments.\n\nThis lakefront Natural Area features prairie and savanna, a 5-acre pond, and strolling paths that offer great views for observing birds and other native wildlife. The path runs along the western side of the peninsula, terminating at the southern end.\u00a0There are over 150 different varieties of native plants and an emerging savanna with 20,000 trees and shrubs, all of which provide an ecosystem for migratory and local birds.\n\nNortherly Island offers year-round outdoor and environmental programs that are a catalyst for bringing communities together to develop an awareness, appreciation and knowledge of our natural environment. Programs include youth nature programs, guided nature field trips & tours, camping, fishing, paddling and annual seasonal festivals that highlight nature in the city, such as the popular Polar Adventure Days.\n\nToday, Daniel Burnham\u2019s vision is now a reality. With wild prairie grasses taking root, strolling paths, superb fishing spots and rolling hills that frame a spectacular view of the City skyline, we invite you to come out and enjoy the emerging world of Northerly Island.\n\nThe Northerly Island\u2019s Visitor Center is open weekdays from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.\n ", "history": "Chicago's famous architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham imagined Northerly Island as one of the northernmost points in a series of manmade islands stretching between Grant and Jackson Parks. His vision for this park included lagoons, harbors, beaches, recreation areas, a scenic drive and grand stretches of green space that would provide breathtaking views of the lake and City skyline. Northerly Island and Burnham Park were selected as the site of Chicago's second World's Fair entitled A Century of Progress, 1933-34, and by the early 1930s, Northerly Island had been increased to its present size. In 1938, the Chicago Park District removed the bridge leading to Northerly Island and built a causeway connecting the island to Burnham Park. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Northerly Island featured paths and walkways, scattered trees and grass, a parking lot and the 12th Street Beach. In 1947, a small airport known as Meigs Field opened under the Exposition Authority Act. Operations at Meigs expanded with the building of an air control tower in 1952. The 50-year lease granted by the park district for Meigs Field expired on September 30, 1996. The City, Park District, and numerous civic organizations agreed that the airport should revert to parkland. Today, Daniel Burnham\u2019s vision is now a reality. With wild prairie grasses taking root, beautiful strolling paths, casual play areas, and a spectacular view of the City skyline, we invite you to come out and enjoy the emerging world of Northerly Island.\n "}, {"id": 389, "title": "Norwood Circle Park", "address": "\n 7117 W. Peterson Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60631\n ", "description": "This semi-triangular passive recreation area is 2.63 acres and it is located in the Norwood Park\u00a0community (located on Peterson Avenue, one block east of Harlem Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Norwood Park.\n ", "history": "Norwood Circle Park, nestled in what is now the Norwood Park neighborhood, dates to just after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Five years earlier, the Norwood Land and Building Association had purchased property northwest of Chicago and platted the new Village of Norwood, with its unusual Circle Avenue. The developers named their village for the 1867 novel Norwood, written by clergyman and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887). When local development surged after the Fire, a 3-acre triangular site along Circle Avenue was set aside as parkland. Twenty years later, the City of Chicago annexed the village and took control of Norwood Circle Park. By 1909, the wooded triangle was the responsibility of the city's Special Parks Commission. The city transferred Norwood Circle Park to the Chicago Park District in 1959.\n "}, {"id": 390, "title": "Norwood Park", "address": "\n 5801 N. Natoma Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60631\n ", "description": "The 16.23-acre Norwood Park boasts the Chicago Park District's only outdoor swimming pool on the North Side with a water slide, making it a favorite destination for summer day camps and young swimmers in the neighborhood. Sports programs for youth include flag football, floor hockey, outdoor soccer, track & field, and tumbling. On the cultural side, they can enjoy classes in acting, piano & music, and tap dancing.\n\nNorwood Park is home to a state-of-the-art fitness center, equipped with circuit weight machines, free weights, and cardiovascular machines. A .22-mile oval [approx. 4.5 laps equal a mile], gravel running track with lights surrounds the baseball diamonds, an outdoor inline skating area, a dog park, and four tennis courts sit south of the park fieldhouse.\n\nParents with preschoolers gather for such programs as Musical Moms, Pops & Tots, MightyFitFamily, as well as arts & crafts. A range of activities exists for adults and seniors, including aerobics, and basketball leagues. Recently the park added a Special Recreation program for children/adults with special needs.\n\nNorwood Park hosts some of the most entertaining special events for neighborhood families, outdoor movies, Halloween parties, and its annual Dinner with Santa.\n\nThe Norwood Park Senior Center opened in September 2009 on Park District property adjoining the existing Norwood Park Field house. \u00a0This senior center offers fitness classes, computer classes, a dining room where hot meals will be served, and health screenings for the elderly to the community. Info call: 773.775.6071.\n\nThe Senior Center is a partnership of the City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, the Chicago Park District, and Norwood Seniors Network.\n ", "history": "Norwood Park, located in the community area of the same name, dates to the 1920s. Thirty years earlier, the City of Chicago had annexed Norwood Park Village, already a community of substantial homes. When residential development surged after 1910, citizens created a local park district to serve the area. Established in 1920, the Norwood Park District was one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. The Norwood Park District purchased 14 acres for its first park in 1921. Site drainage began in 1922, and bath house and swimming pool construction shortly thereafter. In 1928, the park district added a fieldhouse with a 500-seat assembly hall. The community, the park district, and the park itself all take their names from Norwood, an 1867 novel by clergyman and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887). The moniker \"Park\" was added to the community name because Norwood was already the name of an Illinois post office.\n "}, {"id": 391, "title": "Nottingham Park", "address": "\n 7101 W. 63rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60638\n ", "description": "Located in the Clearing community area, Nottingham Park is a 0.65-acre park location used for passive recreation. Park patrons can relax in this open green space while enjoying the beauty of nature. This park contains a water fountain and benches.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 392, "title": "O'Hallaren (Bernard) Park", "address": "\n 8335 S. Honore St. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Auburn Gresham community, O\u2019Hallaren Park totals 9.19 acres and features a multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers a walking trail, football/soccer fields, two basketball courts, three baseball diamonds, two tennis courts, a playground, and spray pool. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose room.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, martial arts, tennis, track & field, and adult fitness. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, O\u2019Hallaren Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as our Back to School Picnic and other holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "O'Hallaren Park, in the south side Auburn Gresham neighborhood, is one of many city parks created to meet the recreational needs of post-World War II Chicago. After leasing land from the Board of Education in 1946, the city began improving the site with a small recreational building, a multi-purpose athletic field that could be flooded for ice skating in winter, and a playground with separate areas for boys, girls, and small children. On December 22, 1947, the city officially named the site O'Hallaren Park, in honor of 18th Ward Alderman Bernard J. O'Hallaren (--1947), who had died suddenly the previous week. Elected alderman in 1939, O'Hallaren had been an enthusiastic and untiring supporter of the park, dying just a few months short of its completion. In 1959, the city transferred management of O'Hallaren Park to the Chicago Park District, which added basketball and volleyball courts in 1966 and a spray pool and tennis courts in the early 1980s. Within a few years of rehabilitating and replanting the playground area in 1988, the park district acquired formal ownership of the park from the Board of Education.\n "}, {"id": 393, "title": "Oakdale Park", "address": "\n 965 W. 95th St. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Washington Heights neighborhood, Oakdale Park totals 9.71\u00a0acres and features two multi-purpose clubrooms. Outside, the park offers a playground, spray pool, four baseball diamonds, and an outdoor pool. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose clubrooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, baseball and football leagues, karate, line dancing, and arts & crafts. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Oakdale Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Oakdale Park takes its name from the surrounding neighborhood within Chicago's Washington Heights community. In the 19th century, oak groves stood throughout the area, inspiring the name Oakdale. The Oakdale neighborhood developed east of Halsted Street before World War II. When construction of single-family homes began west of Halsted during the war, the Oakdale name was applied to this area as well. At the close of the World War II, the Chicago Park District initiated a Ten Year Plan to increase recreational opportunities in under-served and rapidly-growing areas of the city. Among the neighborhoods identified for park development was Oakdale, where housing construction was rapidly depleting vacant land. The park district purchased the 9.5-acre park site in 1947, and soon developed plans for the park. Park improvements were slow to materialize, however, due to the flurry of construction at other parks throughout the city. By 1955, Oakdale Park had an athletic field, playground equipment, and a comfort station, which was improved and expanded in 1959. During the 1960s, the park district asked local residents to choose between further expansion of the recreational building and a new swimming pool. Residents opted for the pool, constructed in 1969. A soft surface playground area and ornamental fencing were added in the 1990s.\n "}, {"id": 394, "title": "Oakley Park", "address": "\n 6441 S. Oakley Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60636\n ", "description": "Located in the Chicago Lawn community, Oakley Playlot Park is a recreational destination totaling 0.48 acres and it is enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing equipment.\n ", "history": "Oakley Park dates to at least 1950, by which time Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation was leasing the park site from the Board of Education. The Chicago Park District took over the lease in 1959, and assumed full ownership in 1990. Although there is no record of the park's naming, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation often named parks for adjacent streets. Oakley Street takes its name from Charles Oakley (1792-1849), a trustee of the Illinois & Michigan Canal accused of using canal construction to create patronage jobs in the 1840s.\n "}, {"id": 395, "title": "Ogden (William) Park", "address": "\n 6500 S. Racine Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60636\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Ogden Park totals 60.08\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium, fitness center, boxing gym, dance studio, and a multi-purpose room. Green features of the park include a Nature Garden. Outside, the park offers three playgrounds, a carousel, walking track, swimming pool, baseball diamonds, basketball/tennis courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, fields, and multi-purpose clubroom.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, Junior Bears Football, dance, boxing, wrestling, track & field. During the summer, youth can participate in the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Ogden Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including our Englewood Back to School Parade and other holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Named for William B. Ogden (1805-1877), Chicago's first mayor, Ogden Park opened to the public in 1905. The site was one of ten revolutionary parks created to provide relief to Chicago's overcrowded tenement districts. The other nine were Sherman, Palmer, and Hamilton Parks and Armour, Russell, Davis, Cornell, and Mark White Squares. (Mark White Square is now known as McGuane Park.) Offering a variety of valuable recreational, educational, and social services to their surrounding communities, these ten properties soon influenced the development of other parks throughout the nation. Nationally renowned landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers and architects Daniel H. Burnham and Co. created a unique design for each park. Ogden, however, shared traits with Sherman Park in terms of both size and design. Each site was 60 acres in size. Additionally, each had a beautiful landscape with a meandering waterway near a meadow of ballfields. Ogden Park's waterway was drained and filled in 1940. The classically-designed fieldhouse underwent a major remodeling in 1972. In 1998, the Chicago Park District created a major regional playground in Ogden Park. One of the city's most exciting places for children, the Ogden Park playground includes assembly and stage areas, play equipment, an interactive water feature, and a canopied carousel.\n "}, {"id": 396, "title": "Ogden (William) Plaza Park", "address": "\n 429 N. Columbus Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "This small green space is 1.38 acres and it is located in the\u00a0Near North\u00a0community. It offers a quiet spot for respite in a busy commercial area.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Lake Shore Park.\n ", "history": "Ogden Plaza Park honors William Butler Ogden (1805-1877), Chicago's first mayor. It is the second Chicago park to honor Ogden. The other, located on the city's south side, was established in 1905.\u00a0\n\nA native New Yorker, Ogden moved west to Chicago in 1835. Just two years later, the 4,000 inhabitants of the newly-incorporated city elected him mayor. After bringing Chicago safely through the Panic of 1837, Ogden went on to make his fortune in real estate. Ogden reinvested his profits in the burgeoning city, investing in its first railroad, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (later acquired by another Ogden rail line, the Chicago and Northwestern), constructing bridges and streets, and donating land for churches and schools.\n\nIn 1857, Ogden was among the founders of the Chicago Dock and Canal Company, established to develop land on the north bank of the Chicago River for industrial purposes. A young Abraham Lincoln provided legal counsel to the fledgling company.In the mid-1980s, real estate developers began planning a mixed-used development, Cityfront Center, on land owned by Chicago Dock and Canal Trust, a successor to Ogden's firm.\n\nIn 1988, Chicago Dock and Canal Trust donated slightly more than an acre of property to the Chicago Park District for recreational development at Cityfront Center. Designed by Lohan Associates in 1990, Ogden Plaza Park a multi-leveled plaza studded with trees and benches. A large outdoor sculpture, \"Floor Clock II,\" created by internationally-recognized artist Vito Acconci provides a focal point for the plaza.\n "}, {"id": 397, "title": "Ohio & Harding Park", "address": "\n 601 N. Harding Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "Located in the Humboldt Park community, Ohio & Harding Park is 0.55 acres and it\u00a0features an outdoor basketball court and a playground that was renovated Fall 2013, Chicago Plays!\u00a0 Through Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! playground initiative, 327 playgrounds across the city were built or renovated from 2013 through 2016, ensuring every child in every neighborhood is within a 10-minute walk of a park or playground\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Clark Park.\n ", "history": "Ohio & Harding Park takes its name from the two intersecting streets on which it lies. Ohio Street is named for the midwestern state and the river that flows through it. The word Ohio means \"great\" or \"beautiful river\" in the Iroquois language. Harding Avenue got its name in 1872, with the development of the Frederick Harding subdivision, in which the park lies. Frederick Harding, whose family subdivided substantial areas of Chicago's northwest side, was a Civil War captain who organized the city's first company of Union troops. Ohio & Harding Park is one of many small parks created by the city to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. The city purchased this small property in the Humboldt Park community in 1950, and installed playground equipment and a basketball court in following years. In 1959, the city transferred Ohio & Harding Park to the Chicago Park District, which rehabilitated the playground in 1968 and again in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 398, "title": "Ohio Park", "address": "\n 4712 W. Ohio St. \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.48 acres and it is located in the\u00a0Austin Community.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Tilton\u00a0Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "Ohio Park takes the name of the adjacent street, which refers to the midwestern state and the river that flows through it. Ohio means \"great\" or \"beautiful river\" in the Iroquois language. Ohio Park is one of many small parks established by the City of Chicago at the close of World War II. In the early 1950s, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation began leasing Board of Education-owned land in the Austin neighborhood to create a small playground. The city transferred management of the site to the Chicago Park District in 1959. A decade later, the property was rehabilitated, and a spray pool added to the original play equipment and basketball court. After assuming ownership of Ohio Park from the Board of Education in 1990, the park district installed a new soft surface playground.\n "}, {"id": 399, "title": "Olympia Park", "address": "\n 6566 N. Avondale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60631\n ", "description": "The 9.75-acre Olympia Park located west of Harlem Avenue in the Edison Park community offers an immense range of programming for residents. Making the most of its gymnasium and two club rooms, Olympia Park provides instruction in basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer, and floor hockey for youth.\u00a0\u00a0Outdoors, the park features two senior and one junior baseball field, as well as a combination soccer / football field, four basketball standards, three tennis courts, a playground, and water spray feature.\n\nFor those interested in art, there are classes in painting,drawing, and arts & crafts. Olympia Park begins instruction for children as young as 18 months old, with its moms, pops and tots and parent/child art classes. For ages 3-5, the park offers the following developmental programs: fitness fun, preschool, storytime and crafts, seasonal tot t-ball and tot soccer. Teens gather at the park for basketball. Adults can join the popular basketball and volleyball leagues. Seniors participate in their own walking and fitness classes.\n ", "history": "Olympia Park takes its name from Olympia Avenue, the street on its northwestern border, which in turn makes reference to the ancient Greek site of the first Olympics. During the 1910s and 1920s, the population of the surrounding Edison Park neighborhood increased from 300 to over 5,000 residents, although stretches of farmland still separated the fine homes. Local residents established the Edison Park District in 1913 to provide recreational opportunities for the developing community. Twelve years later, the Edison Park District purchased a 10-acre tract of open land to create a much-anticipated athletic field. The local athletic association pushed for rapid improvements, even offering to help with fund-raising efforts. The park district quickly responded by grading the site, laying out a baseball field, and erecting a grandstand. In 1934, the Great Depression forced consolidation of Chicago's 22 independent park boards into the unified Chicago Park District. By 1940, the Chicago Park District had improved Olympia Park with a children's playground, tennis courts, and an athletic field that was flooded for ice skating in winter. The park also became known for its 14 beautiful flower beds. During the 1950s, the Chicago Park District constructed a small recreation building in the park. This was remodeled and expanded around 1970. In 1980, a meeting room in the Olympia Park fieldhouse was named in honor of local resident Fred Norton, who was instrumental in lobbying for the fieldhouse expansion.\n "}, {"id": 400, "title": "Oriole Park", "address": "\n 5430 N. Olcott Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60656\n ", "description": "Situated just south of Bryn Mawr Avenue and west of Harlem Avenue on the northwest side of the city, Oriole Park covers 19.51 acres of land and provides numerous programs year-round for every age resident. Outdoor amenities include two senior and four junior-sized baseball fields, one softball field and\u00a0one combination soccer/football fields. In addition to two Chicago Plays! renovated\u00a0playgrounds [one has a ship theme]\u00a0a sandbox and an awesome\u00a0interactive spray pool, the park features three tennis courts, two regular and one junior basketball standard and a paved path for walking, running, biking or inline skating.\n\nFor its youngest park patrons, Oriole Park offers preschool, storytime and crafts, moms, pops and tots, tot music and t-ball. Adults can participate in walking, piano lessons and co-rec volleyball. Teenagers play basketball or get moving with roller hockey. Oriole Park is used most by youth ages 6-12, who may gain skills in basketball, recreational tumbling, team gymnastics, floor hockey, volleyball, indoor tennis and track and field programs. The park also offers a seasonal sports class that provides practice and preparation for specific regional and citywide athletic tournaments. Piano lessons and fun with food classes are also offered at Oriole Park. Students enrolled in programs become the stars of gym showcases, where they show off the skills they have learned over the past season.\n\nDuring the summer months the staff offers it's popular and affordable 6-week day camp.\u00a0 Check us out!\n ", "history": "Oriole Park takes its name from the surrounding subdivision in the Norwood Park community. As late as 1930, it was a sparsely-settled, semi-rural area. Lying a mile from the Northwestern Railway's Norwood Park station, the neighborhood began to fill with single-family homes in the 1920s, when newly-affordable automobiles allowed middle-class families to move further out. Oriole Park was created by the Edison Park District, one of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Several years before the consolidation, a committee of the 77th Avenue Improvement Club urged the Edison Park District to create a playground along Oriole Avenue. The local park district purchased the land in mid-1931. By late the following year, the city had vacated an adjacent alley, bringing the park to 2.29 acres. The Edison Park District considered constructing a softball field on the property, but made few improvements to the swampy site. Still, local children used the new park enough to prompt a neighboring farmer to ask that a fence be erected to prevent stray baseballs from ruining his crops. Not long after the 1934 transfer to the Chicago Park District, a softball diamond and a playground were installed at Oriole Park. After World War II, the park district added more than 16 acres to the park in anticipation of increased population expected because of construction of the Northwest Highway. For a time, the park district and the Chicago Board of Education provided joint programming at the park and the adjacent Oriole Park School. This co-operative relationship ended in the early 1970s, when a large fieldhouse was constructed in the park. During the 1990s, the park received a new soft surface playground and an interactive waterplay area.\n "}, {"id": 401, "title": "Orr (Rezin) Park", "address": "\n 744 N. Pulaski Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "Orr Park is located in the Humboldt Park community and it is 5.26 acres.\n ", "history": "The 1869 creation of Chicago's West Park System spurred rapid development in the Humboldt Park community. Only two years later, industry moved west from the city due to the devastation caused by the Great Chicago Fire. New Chicago and North Western Railroad car shops soon covered the southwestern corner of the Humboldt Park community, and railroad workers built inexpensive homes nearby. A century later, the economic importance of the railroad had faded, and the surrounding area was suffering decline. In 1971, the Chicago Park District teamed with the Board of Education and the Public Building Commission to create a new school/park complex. The office of Mies Van Der Rohe, architect of Chicago's IBM Building and Illinois Center, was commissioned to design the new high school and adjacent recreational building. The park district soon improved the surrounding property with basketball and tennis courts, a straight-away running track, and facilities for various track and field events. Although the park district transferred ownership of the property to the Board of Education in 1991, the agencies have continued joint operations at the site ever since. Both Orr Park and the adjacent high school honor Rezin Orr, founder of a railway employees union that served the neighborhood's early residents. Orr's accomplishments were first recognized in 1919, when the previous neighborhood high school (since demolished) was named in his honor.\n "}, {"id": 402, "title": "Owens (Jesse) Park", "address": "\n 8800 S. Clyde \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the South Calumet community, Owens (Jesse) Park totals 18.43 acres. A newly constructed field house was built in 2009 and features a gymnasium, fitness center, and multi-purpose rooms. Green features of our facility include a G.O. friendly building, nature garden surrounding the park, a rooftop garden and solar panels on the roof. Outside, the park offers four ball diamonds, a multi-purpose field, tennis courts, an Olympic\u2013themed playground, and 5 picnic groves. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, fields and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, Special Recreation for\u00a0youth, teens, and adults\u00a0and youth, adult and senior\u00a0fitness classes. During the summer, youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Jesse Owens Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events. Jesse Owens also offers rental space available on Saturdays from 12-4 pm.\u00a0\n ", "history": "When Chicago's Calumet Heights neighborhood experienced a building boom after World War II, the Chicago Park District established a new park there to meet the area's increasing recreational needs. The park district acquired more than 17 acres of property in 1947, and constructed a recreation building, a spray pool, and ball fields during the following decade. The new park was initially known as Stony Island Park for nearby Stony Island Avenue. In the 1980s, the Women's Committee for a Chicago Black Athletic Hall of Fame, the 87th Street Businessman's Association, and park district vice-president Margaret T. Burroughs suggested that the park be renamed in honor of world-renowned athlete Jesse Owens (1913-1980). Owens, an African-American, was born in Danville, Alabama in 1913 and attended Ohio State University, where he was an All-American in track and field. Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics of 1936, running the 100-meter dash in 10.3 seconds (tying the world record), jumping 26'5.25\" in the long jump (an Olympic record), running the 200-meter dash in 20.7 seconds (an Olympic record), and running the first leg of the 400 meter relay in 39.8 seconds (an Olympic and world record). Owens won much recognition for his athletic prowess. The Associated Press acclaimed him the \"Athlete of the Half Century\" in 1950, and President Ford awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976. Owens, who travelled extensively throughout his life, served briefly as director of the Chicago Boys Club, the Illinois State Athletic Commission, and the Illinois Youth Commission.\n "}, {"id": 403, "title": "Oz Park", "address": "\n 2021 N. Burling St. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Located in the Lincoln Park community, parents gather with their preschoolers at Oz Park to enjoy the park which celebrates \"The Wizard of Oz\" theme. \u201cDorothy\u2019s Playlot\u201d is filled with play equipment for the little ones to climb, swing, and run. In the \"Emerald Garden\", families can enjoy a leisurely afternoon among the beautiful flowers. Take a stroll through the park and you\u2019ll be greeted by statues of the Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, and everyone\u2019s favorite, Dorothy & Toto. Organized activities for children include soccer,\u00a0day camp, and t-ball.\n\nThe park is 14.40 acres and it features Dorothy's Playground, a community garden, tennis courts, ball fields, and basketball courts.\n\nWe invite you to check out our programs offered year-round!\n ", "history": "Although the area surrounding Oz Park is considered prime real estate today, in the late 1950s it was in sub-standard condition. In the 1960s, the Lincoln Park Conservation Association approached the City of Chicago in efforts to improve the community, and the neighborhood was soon designated as the Lincoln Park Urban Renewal Area. The urban renewal plan identified a 13-acre site for a new park, and in 1974, the Chicago Park District acquired the land. In 1976, the park was officially named Oz Park in honor of Lyman Frank Baum (1856-1919), the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Baum settled in Chicago in 1891 several miles west of what is now the park. Having begun writing children's books at age 41, Baum wrote more than 60 books, including 14 Oz books, by the end of his life. In 1939, the production of an MGM movie, The Wizard of Oz, immortalized Baum's classic work of fiction.\u00a0In the early 1990s, the Oz Park Advisory Council and the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce commissioned artist John Kearney to create a Tin Man sculpture, installed in October 1995.\u00a0 The Advisory Council followed up by raising funds for the Cowardly Lion, installed in May 2001; the 7 ft./800 lb. cast bronze Scarecrow, installed June 2005 and in Spring 2007 Dorothy & Toto joined their friends in the park. Other elements which celebrate Oz Park's theme, include the \"Emerald Garden\" and \"Dorothy's Playlot.\" The playlot not only relates to the park's name but also to that of its donor, Dorothy Melamerson, a retired local schoolteacher whose savings have paid for a number of park improvements in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. The Oz Park Advisory Council has raised more than $1,6600.00 to support enhancements to Oz Park.\n "}, {"id": 404, "title": "Packingtown Park", "address": "\n 4856 S. Laflin St. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.21 acres and it is located in the\u00a0New City\u00a0community.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Davis Square\u00a0Park for recreation in the gym, fun in the outdoor pool, exercise in the Fitness Center or a game of soccer on the artificial turf.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased the site of this playlot in 1973 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1998, the park was given the name Packingtown Park, after a historic nickname for New City, the community area in which the park is located.\n\nNew City was for many years a center of meat packing, long among Chicago's most widely-recognized and influential industries. The enormous Union Stock Yards opened south of Pershing Road and west of Halsted Street on Christmas Day, 1865. The development of the refrigerated rail car in the 1870s prompted exponential growth in the industry. By 1884, more than 30 large packing houses had been established to the west of the yards. Well into the 20th century, immigrants arriving in Chicago found jobs in the slaughter houses and packing plants and took up residence in the surrounding community.\n\nKnown as Packingtown, the area received notoriety through Upton Sinclair's 1905 novel, The Jungle. The Chicago packing industry began its slide into decline in the 1920s. In 1971, the Union Stockyard closed its doors entirely.\n "}, {"id": 405, "title": "Palmer (John McAuley) Square Park", "address": "\n 2200 N. Kedzie Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Located within the\u00a0Logan Square community this lovely small city park is 7.69 acres and it\u00a0is a favorite among residents.\n\nA great place to read a book and picnic\u00a0in the summertime, and if you want to explore the area you can walk the boulevard system to either Logan Square or Humboldt Park.\n\nThe Chicago Park District made improvements to Palmer Square in 2008. This included upgrading the running track that circles around the edges of the green space and creating a custom-designed playground for younger children that was inspired by the famous book The Velveteen Rabbit. The park has four nodes based on the book by Margery Williams and a rabbit trail linking the nodes together.\u00a0\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "A seven-acre rectangular swath of green space, Palmer Square was created as part of Chicago\u2019s historic boulevard system in the early 1870s. The West Park Commissioners originally called the site Palmer Place, renaming it Palmer Square by ordinance in 1909. The name honors John McAuley Palmer (1817 \u2013 1900), a lawyer and Civil War General who served as the 15th Governor of Illinois, and as a United States Senator.\n\nAs elegant residences began developing along Palmer Square and Humboldt Boulevard between the 1880s and early 1900s, Chicagoans often used the thoroughfares for strolling, carriage rides, and cycling. At the time, a bicycle craze swept through Chicago, largely spurred by the recent invention of the safety bike. Palmer Square became a popular spot for \u201cwheelmen,\u201d local clubs, and even national biking organizations. Biking enthusiasts used the ovular paved road surrounding the parkland as a track, sometimes even sharing it with pedestrians who occasionally objected to these \u201cscorchers\u201d taking over the roads. Because of its boulevard connection with Humboldt Park, Palmer Square was also used in city-wide bike routes, races, and parades. These events, ranging from two to 25 miles, were extremely popular with clubs across the city. In one particularly descriptive Chicago Tribune article, dated May 25, 1896, the writer calls the Associated Cycling Clubs Annual Run \u2013 where clubs chose specific colors and patterns as riding emblems - a \u201ckaleidoscope of color.\u201d This trend is especially interesting considering that Ignaz Schwinn (1860 - 1948), founder of Schwinn Bicycles, lived at the corner of W. Palmer St. and N. Humboldt Blvd. during the 1910s.\n\nChicago\u2019s West Park System managed Palmer Square until 1934, when all of the city\u2019s independent park commissions were consolidated into the Chicago Park District. As part of the Functional Consolidation Act of 1958, the City of Chicago assumed ownership of the property. In recent years, City and Park District officials determined that the surrounding Logan Square neighborhood suffered from a deficit in recreational facilities.\n\nUsing funds from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Chicago Park District made improvements to Palmer Square in 2008. This included upgrading the running track that circles around the edges of the green space and creating a custom-designed playground for younger children that was inspired by the famous book The Velveteen Rabbit. The City of Chicago transferred Palmer Square back to the Chicago Park District in 2013.\n "}, {"id": 406, "title": "Palmer (Potter) Park", "address": "\n 201 E. 111th St. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the Roseland community, Palmer Park totals 38.44 acres and features a fitness center, youth wellness center, gymnasium and multi-purpose clubrooms. Outside, the park offers an aquatic center, soccer field, baseball/softball diamonds, basketball /tennis courts, and playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, and multi-purpose clubrooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, cheerleading, tumbling & gymnastics, arts & crafts.On the cultural side, Palmer Park offers Youth & Teen Dance. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty Camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Teen Arts Camp\n\nIn addition to programs, Palmer Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Palmer Park was named for Potter Palmer (1826-1902), one of Chicago's most successful merchants. Palmer opened a dry goods store in 1852, which became known for remarkable customer service practices. Several years later, he sold the business to Marshall Field and Levi Z. Leiter. In the late 1860s, Palmer began buying property on State Street. Although Lake Street was then the city's commercial center, Palmer successfully shifted this activity to State Street, developing it as the city's major retail thoroughfare. Palmer was a member of the South Park Commission and vice-president and director of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. The South Park Commission acquired Palmer Park in 1904 as part of its innovative neighborhood park system. Conceived by superintendent J. Frank Foster, this system was based on a new type of park providing social services as well as breathing spaces to the city's congested tenement districts. The Olmsted Brothers landscape architects and D.H. Burnham and Co. architects designed the first ten neighborhood parks, which all opened in 1905. In addition to Palmer Park, these were Ogden, Sherman, Bessemer, and Hamilton Parks, and Mark White, Russell, Davis, Armour, Cornell Squares. Palmer Park became part of the Chicago Park District in 1934, when the city's 22 independent park commissions were consolidated into a new unified system. Later that year, park district art director James Edward McBurney created three murals for Palmer Park as a Works Progress Administration project funded by the federal government. The three are: \"Native Americans,\" \"explorers,\" and \"Dutch settlers.\" McBurney painted other notable Chicago murals at Wentworth School, Tilden High School, and Woodlawn National Bank.\n "}, {"id": 407, "title": "Palmisano (Henry) Park", "address": "\n 2700 S. Halsted St. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Palmisano Park, formerly known as Stearns Quarry, \u00a0is a 26.60-acre site on Chicago\u2019s southwest side\u00a0in the heart of the Bridgeport community. Its story is one of transformation, as it has changed from coral reefs to quarry to landfill to park. Not surprisingly, each incarnation played a major role in developing the next.\n\nTake the Palmisano Park Audio Tour\n\nThis is a dynamic park, with a fishing pond, interpretive wetlands, preserved quarry walls, trails, an athletic field, a running track, and a hill that offers dramatic views. Over 1.7 miles of paths, including recycled timber boardwalks, concrete walks, a crushed stone running path, and metal grating walkways traverse the park. These trails allow for a variety of experiences along the quarry wall, across the terracing wetlands, and down to the pond. Scenic overlooks provide dramatic overviews of the pond and wetlands, and spectacular city views can be seen from the mound.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby McGuane Park.\n ", "history": "In 2009, this park was one of Chicago's newest and most interesting green spaces, opened in the Bridgeport neighborhood.\n\nAfter convening community meetings to determine the needs of local residents, the Chicago Park District hired Site Design Group to develop a plan for the park. The environmentally-sustainable design was inspired by the natural history of the site.\n\nThis is the site of an ancient coral reef dating back to the Silurian age 400 million years ago. Dolomite limestone formed, and fossils that were found here are now in the collections of several area museums including Field Museum of Natural History.\n\nIn the late 1830s, the land was purchased by the Illinois Stone and Lime Company which began quarry operations. Within a short time, one of its partners, Marcus Cicero Stearns took over and renamed the quarry. Stearns was an early Chicago settler who got his start by opening a supply store for workmen who blasted out rock to build the Illinois and Michigan Canal.\n\nEven after Stearns died in 1890, the quarry continued operating under his name until 1970. For the next few decades, the site was used as a landfill for clean construction debris. After the dumping ended, the idea of transforming the site into a new park emerged. The new park would be especially important because the surrounding Bridgeport neighborhood had long suffered from a lack of adequate green space.\n\nToday, visitors to Palmisano Park can go fishing in a pond that retains old quarry walls; stroll along a wetland area that drains into the pond; watch for birds and other wildlife attracted by the site's vast range of native plants; fly kites in an open meadow; or take in the views of the cityscape.\n\nChicago Park District Project Manager Claudine Malik explains: \u201cThe Stearns Quarry of today has certainly come a long way from the days of a limestone quarry. The vibrant, active park is a welcome respite from city life, an educational opportunity, a place for recreation and a prime example of what creative thinking can accomplish and yet the memory of the quarry and its lasting historic legacy remain inextricably a part of the park.\u201d\n "}, {"id": 408, "title": "Park No. 326", "address": "\n 6430 S.Kenwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn community, Park No. 326 is a 0.22 acre park location used for passive recreation. Park patrons can relax in this open green space\u00a0while enjoying the beauty of nature.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 409, "title": "Park No. 382", "address": "\n 8116 S. Halsted St. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Park No. 382 is a\u00a0great location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing, enjoying nature and the outdoors.\u00a0 The park is 0.77 acres and it is located i the Auburn Gresham community area.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 410, "title": "Park No. 399", "address": "\n 1420 N. Artesian Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60622\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0West Town\u00a0Community. The park is 0.17 acres and it features a\u00a0playground, swings\u00a0and green space. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Smith Park.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 411, "title": "Park No. 414", "address": "\n 4302 W. Division St. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "Park No. 414 is 0.30 acres and it is\u00a0located in the\u00a0Humboldt community. This small playground features an artificial turf field for athletic activities.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Augusta Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 412, "title": "Park No. 419", "address": "\n 8001 S. Wabash Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Chatham community, Park No. 419 is 0.24 acres and it is\u00a0an idyllic location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing, enjoying nature and the outdoor.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 413, "title": "Park No. 421", "address": "\n 5300 S. Halsted St. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Playlot Park No. 421 is located in the New City community. This park is 1.19 acres and it is used as a passive recreation site.\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 414, "title": "Park No. 422", "address": "\n 3232 W. Congress Pkwy. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "Park No. 422 is located in the East Garfield Park community. The park is 0.78 acres and it features a small playground and is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Homan Square Park for recreation.\n\n\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 415, "title": "Park No. 432", "address": "\n 3349 W. Rice St. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "Playlot Park No. 432 is 0.08 acres and it is\u00a0located in the Humboldt Park community.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Augusta Park for recreation.\n\n\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 416, "title": "Park No. 437", "address": "\n 5653 S. Loomis St. \n Chicago, IL 60636\n ", "description": "Playlot Park No. 437 is 0.28 acres and it is located in the West Englewood community.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 417, "title": "Park No. 468", "address": "\n 4556 W. 56th St. \n Chicago, IL 60629\n ", "description": "Park No. 468 is 1.32 acres and it is located in the West Elsdon community area.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 418, "title": "Park No. 474", "address": "\n 3231 S. Dearborn St. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Perhaps the smallest park in the District, Park No. 474 is 0.01 acres and it is located in the Douglas community. Known for its sculpture, \"Man on a Bench,\" \u00a0this small park is located on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). \u00a0\n\n\"Man on a Bench\" is a sculpture by George Segal that was created in 1986. The male figure is cast in bronze and sealed with white acrylic resin. \u00a0It was commissioned to commemorate the centennial of\u00a0architect\u00a0Mies van der Rohe\u2019s birth.\u00a0\"Man on a Bench\" is the first piece of public sculpture displayed outdoors of the IIT campus and was made possible with a grant from the B.F. Ferguson Memorial Fund.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, patrons can visit nearby\u00a0Williams Park to enjoy programming as well as the indoor gym, interactive water spray feature and athletic field.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 419, "title": "Park No. 489", "address": "\n 2420 W. Adams St. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "", "history": ""}, {"id": 420, "title": "Park No. 500", "address": "\n 730 S. Springfield Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "Park No. 500 is 1.31 acres and it is located in the West Garfield Park community. The park's playground was renovated Fall 2016, Chicago Plays!\u00a0 Through Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! playground initiative, 327 playgrounds across the city were built or renovated from 2013 through 2016, ensuring every child in every neighborhood is within a 10-minute walk of a park or playground.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Sumner Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 421, "title": "Park No. 512", "address": "\n 1800 N. Ashland \n Chicago, IL 60622\n ", "description": "Park No. 512 is 3.38 acres and it is located in the Logan Square community area.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 422, "title": "Park No. 514", "address": "\n 1420 N. Monticello Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60651\n ", "description": "Park No. 514 is located in the\u00a0Humboldt Park\u00a0community. This small park is 0.68 acres and it\u00a0features a\u00a0community garden and passive green space. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs and facilities offered at nearby Kedvale Park, including\u00a0the artificial turf junior soccer field, soft surface playground and interactive water feature.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 423, "title": "Park No. 517", "address": "\n 5914 N. Sheridan Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60660\n ", "description": "This 0.65-acre passive recreation area is located in the Edgewater\u00a0community (on Sheridan Road, two blocks north of Hollywood Avenue). With a lush green garden area with a pergola and benches, community members gather for a relaxing time at the park. For those looking for a bit more activity, directly across the street on Sheridan Road is Lane Beach and playground. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Berger Park Cultural Center.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 424, "title": "Park No. 519", "address": "\n 1944 S. St. Louis Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.08 acres and it is located in the North Lawndale Community.\u00a0\u00a0 The park features a playground.\u00a0\u00a0 While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Douglas Park for recreation in the gym and fun in the outdoor pool and get in shape at the Fitness Center or enjoy a game of soccer on the artificial turf.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 425, "title": "Park No. 527", "address": "\n 141 W. 62nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Park No. 527 is 5.16 acres and it is\u00a0a great\u00a0location for families to spend a portion of their\u00a0relaxing and enjoying nature. \u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "This park is located in the Grand Boulevard community area.\n "}, {"id": 426, "title": "Park No. 528", "address": "\n 6336 S. Kilbourn Ave \n Chicago, IL 60629\n ", "description": "Park No. 528 is 5.78 acres and it is located in the West Lawn community area.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 427, "title": "Park No. 529", "address": "\n 2155 W. Wabansia Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Located in the West Town community, Park No. 529 is comprised of 0.64 acres of undeveloped land located in the Wicker Park neighborhood (approximately 4 and a half blocks east of Western Avenue, three blocks north of North Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Holstein Park.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 428, "title": "Park No. 534", "address": "\n 1300 S. St. Louis \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0South Lawndale\u00a0Community.\u00a0\u00a0 The park is 3.62 acres and it is features a playground, swings, walking path, athletic field and benches. It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Homan Square\u00a0Park for recreation in the indoor\u00a0pool and or exercise in the Fitness Center. \u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 429, "title": "Park No. 535", "address": "\n 800 W. Wisconsin \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Located in the Lincoln Park community, Park No. 535 is 0.14 acres and it\u00a0is a quaint play area designed for the little ones ages 5 & under. The playground features colorful play areas, including swings, a playhouse, and caterpillar soft surface bridge.\n ", "history": "Prior to the 2006 playground renovation the site was a small city plaza with trees, lighting, and benches - built in the 1960's.\n "}, {"id": 430, "title": "Park No. 536", "address": "\n 1401 N. Noble Street \n Chicago, IL 60622\n ", "description": "Park No. 536 is located in the West Town community. This park is 0.30 acres and it offers passive green space for quiet reflection.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Pulaski Park.\u00a0\n\n\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 431, "title": "Park No. 538", "address": "\n 6426 N. Kedzie Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60645\n ", "description": "Park #538, located in the West Ridge community offers over 3-miles of Rustic Hiking Trails through uncultivated woodland-grassland and riverbank habitats, all neatly fitting into an accessible one-mile stretch of parkland situated on the east bank of the\u00a0North Shore Channel, running along Kedzie Avenue between Touhy\u00a0and Devon\u00a0Avenues.\u00a0 Overall, it encompasses 29.67\u00a0acres of land \u2013 of this, about 30 acres (including a renovated junior-league baseball stadium) is leased from the MWRDGC which retained about 5-acres along the Channel banks.\n\nThe park is home to the Stadium at Devon and Kedzie.The stadium\u00a0is owned by the Chicago Park District and managed by ASM Global. Visit\u00a0www.thebsdk.com\u00a0to learn more about the stadium. For rental information please contact the ASM Global Sr. Facility Manager at\u00a0bczachor@mcfetridgesportscenter.net\u00a0or call (773)478-2609 ext. 225.\n\n\nFlora & Fauna\n\nEssentially four zones of a surprising variety of terrain, flora, and fauna are sandwiched between Kedzie and the Channel including [1] a Mowed grass strip along Kedzie; [2] a \u201cTall-grass\u201d buffer; [3] the Woodlands and [4] the Riverbank.\n\nAlong the \u201cTallgrass\u201d Trail, hikers often see wildflowers attracting bees, butterflies, and birds including robins and starlings.\n\nOn the \u201cWoodlands\u201d and \u201cRiverbank\u201d Trails, a variety of mammals has been seen, including beaver, coyote, deer, opossum, rabbits, raccoons, red fox, river otters, skunks, squirrels, and voles.\u00a0 A variety of Birds seen from the river banks including Canadian geese, mallard ducks blue herons, cormorants, egrets, hawks, owls, starlets, and seagulls.\u00a0 Reptiles sunning themselves on the river banks include large box turtles and snapping turtles.\n\n\u00a0\n\nACTIVITIES\nThe informal character of the park permits a wide range of uses for our patrons. The park is used predominantly for nature walks and dog walking, as well as a place for responsible outdoor enthusiast activities such as xc-skiing, trail running, and mountain biking.\u00a0 Park volunteers also conduct environmental service projects in conjunction with local schools and the Friends of the Chicago River.\n\nRestrooms | Visit nearby Chippewa Park, located two blocks east, 6748 N. Sacramento Ave during normal hours.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 432, "title": "Park No. 540", "address": "\n 24th and Federal \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "This small park is located in the Armour Square community. The park is 5.04 acres and it features a softball/baseball field, a running track and a playground that was recently renovated as part of the Chicago Plays! program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no schedule programming taking place at this location, we invite you to visit the nearby Park at NTA to enjoy year-round programs, special events, the gymnasium and the indoor pool.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 433, "title": "Park No. 546", "address": "\n 450 E. Benton Place \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "Park No. 546 is 5.09 acres and it is located in the Loop\u00a0community area.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 434, "title": "Park No. 548 - Major Taylor Bike Trail", "address": "\n 12000 South Emerald Avenue \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Covering a distance of more than six miles and named after legendary African American cyclist Marshall \u201cMajor\u201d Taylor, the Major Taylor Trail stretches from 81st St. on the north end to 134th St. on the south end.\u00a0 Most of the route is off-street trail that runs through the Cook County Forest Preserve's Dan Ryan Woods and Whistler Woods, and park space managed by the Chicago Park District.\u00a0 A\u00a0portion of the trail is on-street bike lanes managed by the Chicago Department of Transportation. See more information on the sections below.\u00a0 \u00a0The trail goes through the following neighborhoods: Brainerd, Gresham, Beverly, Morgan Park, Roseland and West Pullman, as well as the Village of Riverdale.\u00a0 The park is 35.30 acres.\n\u00a0\n\nTrail Sections:\n\n81st St. - 95th St.:\u00a0 off-street trail through Dan Ryan Woods Forest Preserve\n95th St. - 105th St.:\u00a0 on-street bike lanes which wind through various neighborhood streets\n105th St. - 129th Pl./Little Calumet River:\u00a0off-street trail through park space\u00a0\n129th Pl. -\u00a0134th St.:\u00a0 off-street trail through Whistler Woods\u00a0Forest Preserve\u00a0\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "\u201cMajor\u201d Taylor Trail History Created along an old rail line in the late 1990s, the \u201cMajor\u201d Taylor Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian link between the Dan Ryan Woods in Chicago and Whistler Woods in Riverdale. In 2006, the Chicago Park District entered into a lease agreement with the Chicago Department of Transportation to manage and maintain the site. The trail honors Marshall W. \u201cMajor\u201d Taylor (1878 \u2013 1932) who was one of the most celebrated bicycle racers of the late nineteenth century. The son of an African American Civil War veteran, Marshall Taylor was born in rural Indiana. He moved with his family to Indianapolis, where his father, Gilbert Taylor found work as a coachman for a wealthy white family, the Southards, who gave Marshall his first bicycle when he was around twelve years old. Marshall became such a good cyclist that he was hired by a local bicycle store owner to perform stunts outside of his shop. Because the owner had Marshall wear a soldier\u2019s uniform while performing his popular bicycle stunts, he became known as \u201cMajor\u201d Taylor. In 1891, at the age of 13, he entered his first race as a joke. Taylor won this race, which was held in Indianapolis. According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune, Taylor \u201cstartled the city with his rare performance and soon became the big drawing card at bicycle races,\u201d throughout the nation. He moved to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1895, and continued setting new records at races. By 1899, Taylor held seven world records, but because of racial prejudice, he was not given the opportunity to compete in a national championship until 1900, when he won the American Spirit competition. Over the next several years, he competed in and won races in Australia, New Zealand, and throughout Europe. He retired from racing at the age of 32 in 1910. Taylor published his autobiography entitled The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World in 1928. After encountering years of financial and health problems, he returned to Chicago in 1930. Two years later he died in the charity ward of Cook County Hospital. A group of bicycle enthusiasts, including Frank Schwinn donated money to purchase a proper gravesite for Taylor. In 1948, they had \u201cMajor\u201d Taylor\u2019s remains exhumed and reburied to his new gravesite in a Mt. Glenwood, Illinois cemetery.\n "}, {"id": 435, "title": "Park No. 551", "address": "\n 353 N. DesPlaines St. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "Park No. 551, commonly known as Fulton River Park, is a 1.19-acre green space that was completed in 2008. \u00a0As part of a planned development, the Fifield Realty Corporation improved the park and donated it to the Chicago Park District.\n\nThe project provided unique design challenges because two of the adjacent streets \u2014 Kinzie and DesPlaines avenues \u2014 are elevated. Landscape architects Ted Wolff and Associates created terraced levels to address the grade differential caused by the elevated streets.The design also includes a dog friendly area, a playground and a passive lawn area with shade trees.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Jesse White Park and Community Center.\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 436, "title": "Park No. 556", "address": "\n 2529 W.Logan Blvd. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Park No. 556 is located in the Logan Square community. The park is 0.62 acres and it is home to the Logan Square Dog Park!\u00a0We hope your dog enjoys running, playing and socializing with other dogs in this Chicago Park District dog-friendly area.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 437, "title": "Park No. 559", "address": "\n 6151 N.Sheridan Road \n Chicago, IL 60660\n ", "description": "This lovely passive park with a breathtaking view of Lake Michigan is 0.61 acres and it is\u00a0the perfect place to relax.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Berger Park Cultural Center.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 438, "title": "Park No. 567", "address": "\n 1801 N. Milwaukee Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Located in the West Town community on the corner of Milwaukee and Leavitt this small passive park is an access point to The 606. The park is 0.33 acres and it features a path bordered by rock circles and small greenspace designed for relaxation.\n\nWhat is The 606?\u00a0The park and trail system is on Chicago\u2019s Northwest side, running along Bloomingdale Ave (1800 N), from Ashland Ave (1600 W) on the east to Ridgeway Ave (3750 W) on the west. The project connects four ethnically and economically diverse Chicago neighborhoods: Wicker Park, Bucktown, Humboldt Park and Logan Square.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 439, "title": "Park No. 569", "address": "\n 1358 W. Monroe St. \n Chicago, IL 60607\n ", "description": "This small dog park is 0.46 acres and it is located in the\u00a0Near West\u00a0community.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Skinner Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 440, "title": "Park No. 571", "address": "\n 2828 S. Eleanor St. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Located in the Bridgeport community, Park No. 571 totals 4.35 acres and contains a two-building boathouse facility with a seating area, rowing training and boat storage.\u00a0\n\nThe first building is 5,832 square feet and features a mechanically heated training facility with an open plan for a ergometer workout space, including 57 \u201cerg\u201d machines. These machines simulate the action of rowing and measure work output. This facility also contains a multi-purpose community room, main office and restrooms.\u00a0\n\nThe boat storage building is 13,171 square feet and includes a rowing office, four team storage bays, a heated boat storage repair bay, vending area and a clear span boat storage space that includes five unheated boat storage bays to store 66 rowing shells and support equipment.\n\nPark No. 571 also features site improvements including a floating boat launch dock in the Chicago River, walkways, new lighting, outdoor fitness equipment, installation of landscape plantings and eight parking spaces. \u00a0There is acess to Wi-Fi both indoor and outdoor areas.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District is reclaiming the Chicago River as a major system of parks and water-based recreation for all Chicagoans with the creation of four new boathouses and river launches. The first two boathouses opened in 2013 (Ping Tom and Clark Street). The third location at River Park was completed in 2014. The forth Boathouse is at Park 571 (2828\u00a0S. Eleanor).\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 441, "title": "Park No. 574", "address": "\n 2540 W Jackson Blvd \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "Located in the Near West community, Park No. 574 sits on the former Rockwelll Gardens Housing\u00a0complex. This new park is 2.45 acres and it offers a complete state-of-the-art fitness playground, which includes a .20 mile walking path, adult fitness stations, a zip line, challenge hills and slides, pommel horses, rings and a water\u00a0feature.\u00a0The playground was built in the Fall 2014 as a part of the Chicago Plays! program.\n\nWhile there is no programming offered at this location, we invite you to visit nearby\u00a0Skinner Park for afterschool programs, indoor swimming pool and more.\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 442, "title": "Park No. 576 - \"Whitford Pond\"", "address": "\n 2100 E 134th St \n Chicago, IL 60633\n ", "description": "", "history": ""}, {"id": 443, "title": "Park No. 578", "address": "\n 1919 W. Maypole Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60607\n ", "description": "Located in the Near West Side community, Park No. 578 is 2.03 acres and it offers patrons a new playground and water spray feature. This playground was completed in Summer 2016\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Union Park.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 444, "title": "Park No. 579 - Ridgeway Trailhead", "address": "\n 1801 N. Ridgeway Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Ridgeway Trailhead is the far west access point to Bloomingdale Trail, also commonly known as the 606.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 445, "title": "Park No. 580", "address": "\n 4139 N. Oak Park Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60634\n ", "description": "This new 7.2-acre park is\u00a0located in the Dunning Community.\u00a0 Sports enthusiasts will find a regulation-size artificial turf field/lacrosse combination field, sports lighting, scoreboard, 1000 seat bleacher system, parking lot, and landscaping.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 446, "title": "Park No. 581", "address": "\n 11625 S. Oakley Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Park No. 581 is 8.74 acres and it is located in the Morgan Park community area. This is a passive green space for you to enjoy nature.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 447, "title": "Park No. 583", "address": "\n 10108 S. Exchange Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Park No. 583 features a nature play space which first opened in 2021.\u00a0 This park is 0.24 acres in size and is located in the South Deering community area.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 448, "title": "Park No. 585", "address": "\n 6049 S. Whipple Street \n Chicago, IL 60629\n ", "description": "Park No. 585\u00a0 is .09 acre and is located in the Chicago Lawn area. This park features a playground and a picnic area. Park No. 585 is a partnership with the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Grant through the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources.\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 449, "title": "Park No. 593", "address": "\n 4546 N Kedvale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "Located in the Albany Park community this passive park (0.28 acres) is a lovely place to hang out with the family.\n\nThe park features new landscaping, large blocks of limestone and granite boulders for seating, a nature play area including a creative play mud kitchen for children, an open multipurpose use lawn area, a covered and lighted pavilion with fixed tables and chairs for picnicking, gatherings and events; all-new park utilities including a drinking fountain/water bottle filler, hand pump for water play, lawn hydrants for landscape maintenance and lighting for security.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 450, "title": "Park No. 598", "address": "\n 1514 N. Larrabee \n Chicago, IL 60610\n ", "description": "Park No. 598 is a 4.02 acre park located near Stanton Park in the Near North community area. It is a passive family friendly green space.\u00a0 While dogs on leash are welcomed it is not a designated Dog Friendly Area (DFA).\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 451, "title": "Park No. 601 - \"Dunning Read Natural Area\"", "address": "\n 4050 North Oak Park Avenue \n Chicago, IL 60634\n ", "description": "Park 601, often known as \"Dunning Read Conservation Area\" or \"Dunning Read Natural Area\", is an approximately 21-acre park in the Dunning Community of northwest Chicago. Comprising prairies, wetlands, and woodlands, the park has approximately 0.8 miles of trails and is under active restoration.\n\nHelp keep wildlife wild, safe, and healthy by following posted signage and\u00a0Natural Areas Rules and Regulations.\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 452, "title": "Park West Park", "address": "\n 745 W. Wrightwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Located in the Lincoln Park community, Park West Playlot Park is a quaint little 0.21 acre playground and a popular gathering place for families with little ones.\n\nThe Park West ADA accessible soft-surface playground features colorful age appropriate equipment, a brick patio, planters, and lush landscaping.\n ", "history": "In 1916, the City of Chicago purchased this Wrightwood Avenue property for construction of a fire station to serve the surrounding Lincoln Park community. Years later, the fire department relocated to another site and the city transferred the property to the its Bureau of Parks and Recreation. By 1950, the bureau had improved the park with a spray pool, a sand box, and playground equipment. In 1959, the city transferred the park to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties. After improving the park in 1978, the park district thoroughly rehabilitated the playground and plantings in 1990.\n\nFor years, the park was known as Wrightwood Playlot for the adjacent street. In 1979, the park district honored a request from 43rd Ward Alderman Martin J. Oberman and the Park West Community Association to rename the park for the surrounding neighborhood, which was then experiencing a resurgence. The new name also helped to distinguish the park from Wrightwood Playground, located only a few blocks to the west.\n "}, {"id": 453, "title": "Parkview Playlot Park", "address": "\n 3823 W. School St. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "This playground sits on 0.78-acre\u00a0in the Avondale neighborhood (one block north of Belmont, 3 \u00bd blocks west of the intersection of Pulaski and Milwaukee).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Avondale Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Park-View Park takes its name from the surrounding northwest side neighborhood. As early as 1900, Avondale residents formed the Park View Improvement Association to enhance the area and to encourage property owners to create park-like landscapes in their own yards. In 1913, the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad adopted the Park View name for its new commuter station. As the neighborhood continued to develop through the 1920s, many of its organizations and businesses also took the name. In 1943, the City of Chicago began creating a new park for the Park View neighborhood. Five years later, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation installed a sand box, a small brick recreation building, and a playing field that could be flooded for ice skating in winter. In 1959, the city transferred Park-View Park to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties. Having upgraded the site numerous times, the park district recently installed separate play equipment for younger and older children and enclosed the playground area with new iron fencing.\n "}, {"id": 454, "title": "Parsons (Lucy) Park", "address": "\n 4712 W. Belmont Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60641\n ", "description": "Located in the Belmont/Cragin neighborhood at the intersection of Belmont and Kilpatrick \u2013 Lucy Parsons Park is 0.32 acres and it is the gathering place for community residents of all ages.\n\nKids enjoy the soft-surface/ADA accessible playground that features play areas with swings, slides,activity panels and climbing elements that keep children busy. Plus,water spray area to cool off in on those warm summer days. Our older residents enjoy sitting at one of the community tables - under the shade umbrella - playing a game of cards or visiting with friends.\n ", "history": "Lucy Ella Gonzales Parsons (1853- 1942) is nationally important for her role in labor reform and the efforts for women\u2019s rights. Born of a mixed Native American, African American, and possibly Hispanic heritage, she married Albert Parsons, a labor organizer who became one of the martyrs who was executed after the Haymarket Riot. In 1878, Lucy Parsons helped organize the Working Women\u2019s Union No. 1 (WWU), then the only women workers unions in Chicago. She was a prolific writer on issues related to socialism and labor reform, writing for publications such as the Socialist . She also wrote about race relations in an article that appeared in Freedom . After her husband\u2019s death, she published Anarchism: Its Philosophy and Scientific Basis, which he wrote in prison while awaiting execution. In 1905, Parsons helped to found the Industrial Workers of the World, along with Eugene Debs and Mother Jones. Though involved in anarchism and often portrayed as a \u201cdangerous woman\u201d she was defended by important Chicago leaders collaborated with social reformers such as Jane Addams. At the time of her death, Ms. Parsons lived at 3130 N. Troy, which is only slightly more than a mile from this park site.\n "}, {"id": 455, "title": "Paschen (Christian) Park", "address": "\n 1932 W. Lunt Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Located at Lunt and Damen Avenues in the Rogers Park community, Paschen Park is 0.98 acres and it is a great little place to enjoy holiday and special events, such as summer fest, unity day, concerts in the parks and movie night. The park\u2019s playground with sandbox attracts many families, and teens and children use the four outdoor basketball standards and volleyball court. During the school year, Paschen Park offers an after-school program for ages 6-12 that combines drama, arts & crafts, gymnastics, sports, game room and homework hour. Participants enjoy using three new computers generously donated by a member of the Lunt Neighbors Association.\n\nThe park\u2019s pre-teen club also uses the computers for their needs. Youth can experience cultural programs at Paschen Park, including arts and crafts, play production and dance such as hip-hop, tap, and jazz. Or, they may participate in track and field, floor hockey, recreational tumbling, co-recreational volleyball, basketball and, in the summer, day camp. Smaller children join in preschool classes or moms, pops & tots where adults also participate. For adults, Paschen Park offers basketball.\n ", "history": "In 1929, the City of Chicago began leasing less than an acre of land from the Board of Education to create a small park in the Rogers Park community, which was experiencing significant growth. The city installed playground equipment and a center playfield, which was flooded for ice-skating in the winter. A small one-story brick building also was constructed. This office and bathroom building was flanked by open brick structures sheltering boys' and girls' sand courts. In 1947, the city enlarged the building by enclosing the brick shelters. The Board of Education transferred Paschen Park to the Chicago Park District in 1990. The city named this park in honor Christian P. Paschen (1884-1954), who served as Commissioner of Buildings from 1927 to 1931. Paschen, owner of one of Chicago's oldest and largest companies, Paschen Construction, was involved in various philanthropic efforts.\n "}, {"id": 456, "title": "Pasteur (Louis) Park", "address": "\n 5825 S. Kostner Ave \n Chicago, IL 60629\n ", "description": "Located in the West Elston Community, Pasteur Park totals 11.81 acres and features a multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers baseball/softball/soccer fields, an artificial turf field, tennis/roller hockey courts, playground, and a sprinkler.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, preschool activities, gymnastics, tap & ballet. On the cultural side, the park offers acting/drama classes, painting, and choir. Nature programs include Garden Buddies. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Pasteur Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as Park Showcase and holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Pasteur Park, which sits adjacent to Pasteur School, is among a number of park sites operated jointly by the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Board of Education. The park district acquired most of the park property in 1948, as part of a ten-year plan to increase recreational opportunities in under-served neighborhoods in post-World War II Chicago. At the time, the southwestern section of the West Elsdon community was experiencing substantial residential growth. When the city vacated a portion of South Kolin Street and adjacent alleys in 1953, the park expanded by several acres. Within the next few years, the park district installed playground equipment and constructed a comfort station with an office and game room. The park district rehabilitated the playground in 1996. Pasteur Park and the adjacent school bear the name of chemist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895). A native of Dole, France, Pasteur is recognized as the founder of the microbiological sciences. Pasteur postulated that microscopic organisms, which he called germs, caused both spoilage in food and disease in humans. Following up on his theories through experimentation, he developed pasteurization, a heat treatment that destroys micro-organisms in food and other perishable items. His experiments also led to vaccines for various life-threatening diseases, including rabies.\n "}, {"id": 457, "title": "Pendleton (Hadiya) Park ", "address": "\n 4345 S. Calumet Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the Grand Boulevard Community. The 2.14\u00a0acre park features a jungle gym and merry-go-round play apparatus, benches, a water fountain, interactive water feature and contemporary sculptures \u00a0The park was\u00a0formerly\u00a0named Buckthorn Park.\n\nIn February 2015, \u00a0two years after the tragic death of Kenwood teenager Hadiya Pendleton, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners received a request to rename Buckthorn Park in honor of Hadiya. Following a 45-day public notice, the decision to rename the park was unanimous among the Board.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Taylor Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District transformed this once-vacant lot to parkland in 1969, and officially named it Buckthorn Park in 1974. The park was one of a number of properties named for trees and plants at this time. There are roughly 100 species of buckthorns, comprising both trees and shrubs. All are small in size, with spiny branches and fruit that resembles small berries. The berries are eaten by birds, thus dispersing the seeds.\n\nIn April of 2015, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners renamed Buckthorn Park in honor of Hadiya Pendleton. At the time, plans were underway to expand the small playlot from less than a quarter acre in size to a 2 acre park. The Chicago Park District hired Planning Resources Inc. to design the enlarged park in a manner that honor the cultural heritage of Bronzeville and pay tribute to the park\u2019s namesake. Plans included a new playground, interactive water feature, a walking path, and fitness stations. Many of the park's features such as a \u201cmusical staff path,\u201d sculptural seating to emulate books and musical instruments, and inscriptions in planters and knee walls\u00a0symbolize Bronzeville\u2019s cultural heritage.\n\nThe new park is considered a fitting tribute to Chicagoan Hadiya Pendleton (1997 \u2013 2013). An honor student at King College Prep High School, Hadiya Pendleton was killed as the result of a senseless act of violence. While sitting under a shelter in nearby Vivian Gordon Harsh Park in January of 2013, Hadyia and her friends came under fire by gang members who had mistaken them as rivals.\n\nOnly a few weeks earlier, Hadiya had performed as a drum majorette in President Obama\u2019s second inauguration. Hadiya\u2019s murder has brought national attention to the widespread gun violence plaguing communities throughout America. Her parents Nathaniel and Cleopatra Pendleton attended President Obama\u2019s State of the Union Address in which he spoke passionately about the need for gun control.\n\nMichelle Obama has also made powerful speeches in which Hadiya served as an important symbol for the need to stop this violence. In a speech to students at Chicago\u2019s Harper High School, the First Lady implored the audience to consider Hadiya a role model. She urged them to use their own lives to give meaning to Hadiya\u2019s life.\n "}, {"id": 458, "title": "Periwinkle Park", "address": "\n 30 W. 66th St. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Periwinkle Park is 0.50 acres and it is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing equipment, along with benches for a picnic.\n ", "history": "Periwinkle Park is one of four parks created in 1973 as part of the Expressway Property Development Plan initiated by the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago. All four occupy small parcels of land that remained undeveloped after the construction of the Chicago Expressway System. The Chicago Park District now leases Periwinkle and the other three parks from the Illinois Department of Transportation. Providing much-needed playground facilities for its Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood, Periwinkle Park is one of a number of Chicago parks named for plants and trees. The park takes its name from the periwinkle plant, which has been used to make vinblastine, a treatment for childhood leukemia.\n "}, {"id": 459, "title": "Peterson (Pehr Samuel) Park", "address": "\n 5801 N. Pulaski Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "The scenic, wooded 23-acre Peterson Park create the perfect setting for community members to enjoy the outdoors. Outside, Peterson Park\u2019s two soccer fields are constantly filled with young players. The park also features four tennis courts, a brand new playground, two softball fields, six basketball standards, and beautiful walking paths throughout the park.\n\nAt the park field house, youth can enjoy Mighty Fit Kids, Arts & Crafts, and Acting. Peterson Park has many early childhood programs that include Kiddie College, Mom, Pops, Tots, Young Scientists, Junior Detectives, Arts & ABC\u2019s, Dino Diggers, Music & Movement and many more. There is also a fitness center for adults. The senior social club thrives at Peterson Park, meeting weekly and scheduling trips to exciting destinations across the city.\n\nPeterson Park is even more known for its state-of-the-art gymnastics center, which offers quality instruction for beginners to advanced competitors year-round. The gymnastic center and park field house sit within the city\u2019s North Park Village, just off of Peterson and Pulaski Avenues.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Peterson Park honors Pehr Samuel Peterson (1830-1903), a pioneer nurseryman and early inhabitant of the Swedish community known as Peterson Woods, in what is now the North Park neighborhood. Arriving in the United States in 1850, Peterson came west to Chicago four years later and started a landscape nursery northwest of the city, eventually acquiring over 500 acres of land. Peterson developed an innovative technique for transplanting large trees from his nursery. Peterson's trees soon shaded many Chicago parks and boulevards, including Jackson Park, which was made lush and green for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Peterson also was active in Swedish-American civic and religious groups. The King of Sweden knighted him for his accomplishments. Several years after Peterson's death in 1903, his family donated 160 acres of land to the City of Chicago for a municipal tuberculosis sanitarium. When the sanitarium opened in 1915, TB was the Western World's leading killer, but by mid-century, improved public hygiene and the advent of vaccines and antimicrobial drugs had drastically reduced the incidence of the disease. In the 1970s, the city decided to redevelop the under-used sanitarium property as North Park Village, a campus for city programs and social services. The redevelopment plan called for transforming the original hospital and grounds into senior citizen housing, a school for the developmentally disabled, and a wooded, 46-acre natural area. In addition, nearly 24 acres were developed as parkland. The Chicago Park District began leasing the site in 1977, and soon improved it with playgrounds, basketball and volleyball courts, and athletic fields. An existing building provided space for indoor recreation. Improvements made in the 1990s included the addition of two soft surface playgrounds and the creation of a gymnastics center in another of the old sanitarium buildings.\n "}, {"id": 460, "title": "Pietrowski (Sylvester) Park", "address": "\n 9650 S. Avenue M \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the East Side community, Pietrowski Park is 0.66 acres and it\u00a0includes an outdoor basketball court. This location is currently closed.\n ", "history": "Originally known as Avenue \"M\" Park for the adjacent street, Pietrowski Park was established by the City of Chicago on Board of Education property in 1928. By 1950, the half-acre park included a playing field and a shelter house, and part of the property was flooded for ice skating in winter. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation maintained the park until 1959, when the Chicago Park District began managing the site. Gaining full ownership from the Board of Education in 1991, the park district soon installed a soft surface playground area and a community garden. Pietrowski Park is one of three Chicago parks named in honor of a group of firemen who perished in a disaster fire on March 1, 1957. Fireman Second Class Sylvester L. Pietrowski (1920-1957), along with fellow firefighters Howard J. Strohacker (1909-1957) and George L. Donovan (1916-1957), perished when the factory of the Lawrence Corporation, a shortening manufacturer, exploded, burying the three in tons of debris. At the time of his death, Pietrowski lived one mile north of the park site, at 8818 South Buffalo.\n "}, {"id": 461, "title": "Pine Park", "address": "\n 9501 S. Oglesby Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Pine Playlot Park is 0.36 acres and it is\u00a0located in the South Deering community. This site has a wonderful playground where families can spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying nature.\n ", "history": "In 1948, developers of the new Merrionette Subdivision in the South Deering neighborhood set this property aside as public parkland. However, no improvements were made until after the Chicago Park District acquired the site in 1959. The park district officially named the playlot Pine Park in 1973, when a number of properties were named for trees and plants. The term \"pine\" takes in many varieties of trees, including 95 species in the Northern Hemisphere, and 34 native to North America alone. In the forest, pines provide a source of food and shelter for many birds and mammals. Pines are frequently used as Christmas trees because they retain their needles for a substantial length of time.\n "}, {"id": 462, "title": "Piotrowski (Lillian) Park", "address": "\n 4247 W. 31st St. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "Located\u00a0in the South Lawndale community in the area often called Little Village, Piotrowski Park Cultural Center\u00a0totals 23.76 acres and features a convertible domed pool for year round use, a gymnasium, fitness center and meeting rooms.\n\nOutside, the park offers baseball fields, athletic fields for soccer or football, a playground, tennis courts and a new skate park.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Patrons can play seasonal sports, picnic or skate at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. A therapeutic recreation specialty camp is offered in the summer as well.\n\nIn addition to programs, Piotrowski Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as concerts, Movies in the Park and holiday events.\n ", "history": "In 1946, the Chicago Park District began developing a sizable new park for the South Lawndale community as part of its Ten-Year Plan to increase recreational opportunities after World War II. By 1949, seven temporary ball diamonds filled the large tract of land. During the next few years, the park district made permanent improvements, including a playground, a comfort station, and a field house. A large outdoor swimming pool was constructed south of the fieldhouse in 1984. In recent years, the park district added a new soft surface playground. Originally known as Lawndale Park for the surrounding community, the site was renamed in 1974 to honor Lillian Piotrowski, a life-long neighborhood resident. Piotrowski devoted much of her life to politics and public service, and served as a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners at the time of her death.\n "}, {"id": 463, "title": "Pleasant Point Park", "address": "\n 6801 W. Imlay St. \n Chicago, IL 60631\n ", "description": "This 2.23-acre park contains a playslab with four basketball standards, a spray pool, and a playground. The park, previously called \u201cImlay Park,\u201d is located in the Norwood Park neighborhood (two blocks north of Devon Avenue, and one block west of Oak Park Avenue).While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs at nearby Rosedale Park\n ", "history": "Pleasant Point Park was created by the Norwood Park District, one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Immediately after its establishment in 1920, the Norwood Park District developed the first of its parks, 14-acre NorwoodPark. In 1926, the Pleasant Point Improvement Association called for additional recreational facilities in the neighborhood. Four years later, the park district selected a new park site, but residents balked at the property's high cost. Shortly thereafter, the park district chose the present site. The landscape was immediately improved and fitted with playground equipment. In 1932, the park district erected a shelter house and tennis courts. For years, the park was commonly known as Norwood Playground despite its proximity to the much larger Norwood Park. In 1999, to avoid further confusion, the Chicago Park District officially designated the park Pleasant Point after its original promoters.\n "}, {"id": 464, "title": "Poplar Park", "address": "\n 4044 S. Prairie Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Grand Boulevard\u00a0Community. The park is 0.28 acres and it\u00a0features a playground and water feature.\u00a0For structured programming or afterschool activities, visit nearby Anderson Playground Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this once-vacant lot for parkland in 1969, officially designating it Poplar Park in 1973. The park was one of a number of park district properties named for trees and plants at this time. Poplar trees are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, mostly in the temperate zone. In North America, trees known as cottonwood, quaking aspen, and poplar are all poplar species. Poplars can reach heights of 40 to 100 feet. Hardy and fast-growing though short-lived, they are often planted as windbreaks. In the natural landscape, poplars provide winter and spring diets for many animals. Moose and deer eat the twigs and leaves. Beavers and hares consume bark, leaves, and buds. Birds dine on buds and young flower stalks or catkins.\n "}, {"id": 465, "title": "Portage Park", "address": "\n 4100 N. Long Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60641\n ", "description": "Portage Park is located in the Portage Park community.\u00a0 Portage Park warmly welcomes patrons with a decorative gateway entrance at the corner of Irving Park Road and Central Avenue and an expanse of lush landscaping. Many Chicago residents choose Portage Park for their wedding ceremonies and special outdoor occasions because of its natural, scenic beauty. The 38.18-acre park is much more than a pretty picture\u2014it\u2019s the site for hundreds of valuable sports, early childhood recreation and cultural programs, as well as fantastic family special events.\n\nPortage Park offers something for every kind of play\u2014six tennis courts, a new soft-surface ADA accessible playground, a slab for in-line skating, a new dog friends area, a bike path, a nature walk, five baseball fields, two combination football/soccer fields and two fieldhouses, one housing a gymnasium and the other a cultural arts building.\n\nIn the heat of summer, Portage Park is the place to keep cool. Its Olympic-size pool features a large deck for sunning, misting sprays, an interactive water play area with slide and diving boards. The park also contains a smaller heated pool.\n\nFor youth, programming includes an exemplary after-school program, woodcraft, recreational tumbling and gymnastics, floor and roller hockey, music, and a wide range of sports each season. Adults can get involved with a walking or senior club, stay fit with an aerobics or conditioning class, or explore their creative side with lessons in piano, concert band, or woodworking.\n\nThe park features a boxing center where boxing programs are offered for ages 8 and older. The Chicago Park District\u2019s boxing program has produced a number of professionals including Olympians Michael Bennett, David Diaz, Nate Jones and Leroy Murphy and former champion Montell Griffin. The Chicago Park District operates 20 citywide boxing centers.\n\nIn 2003, a 6,500-square-foot senior center was created in coordination with the City of Chicago Department of Aging.\n\nIn 2011 a 3,000 square-foot dog friendly area was developed at the north west corner of the park.\n ", "history": "Portage Park was created in 1913 by the Old Portage Park District, an independent park board formed by local citizens to enhance property values and improve their northwest side neighborhood. The name of the new park district, and that of its first and largest park, makes reference to several nearby routes used by Native Americans and fur traders to portage their canoes between the DesPlaines and Chicago Rivers. The American Park Builders Company prepared the original plan for Portage Park and completed initial construction between 1913 and 1917. The park design included a naturalistic swimming lagoon, which opened to the public in July, 1916. By the 1920s, the new park was thriving. Noted architect Clarence Hatzfeld designed a handsome prairie-style fieldhouse in 1922, followed by an attractive brick gymnasium in 1928. Portage Park quickly became the center of the community, providing athletics and team sports, cultural and club activities, festivities and special events. In 1934, the city's 22 independent park commissions were consolidated into the Chicago Park District, and the new agency soon secured federal funds through the Works Progress Administration. WPA improvements at Portage Park included additional plantings, whimsical stonework fountains and gateways, and a comfort station. WPA workers also removed the original swimming lagoon and constructed a kidney-shaped concrete pool. In 1959, the park district replaced the concrete pool with an Olympic-sized pool in preparation for hosting the Pan American Games. In 1972, Portage Park hosted the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, where Gold Medalist Mark Spitz set new world's records. In 1998, the swimming pools and plaza area were rehabilitated and an interactive water play area was created for children. The 1922 fieldhouse is now being used as a cultural center, offering art crafts, drama, music, and senior citizens programs.\n "}, {"id": 466, "title": "Pottawattomie Park", "address": "\n 7340 N. Rogers Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Pottawattomie Park, located in the Rogers Park community, offers the following activities: baseball, basketball, bridge club, dance, floor hockey, soccer, step aerobics, track & field, tumbling, teen club, volleyball, holiday parties and special events for Chicago Public School non-attendance days. The Park Kids after-school program gives would-be latch-key kids a supervised place to learn new sports and music, do arts & crafts, have a quiet area for homework, and gain socialization skills.\n\nLocated on 9.40 acres, the park is comprised of three baseball fields, a combination football-soccer field, four basketball standards, turf soccer field, two playgrounds including a spray pool and a dog park/run. The air-conditioned fieldhouse contains a fitness center, racquetball court, gymnasium, kitchen, and four club rooms.\n\nPottawattomie Park is home to the Abbott Fund Wellness Program - providing the community with multifaceted, year-round nutrition and fitness programming.Fitness classes, fitness arcading and interactive fitness equipment are designed to help children and adults have fun while they get fit. Pottawattomie Park is also a C.A.P.S. monthly meeting site where neighbors can discuss 24th Police District issues.\n\nThe new\u00a0\"dog\u00a0friendly area\"\u00a0is\u00a0nestled in\u00a0the northeast corner of the\u00a0park along the Metra tracks and\u00a0behind the townhomes at\u00a07403-27 N. Wolcott.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "Pottawattomie Park was one of four parks created by the Ridge Avenue Park District, established in 1896. The Ridge Avenue Park District's early parks were Morse and Indian Boundary. In 1931, the park district purchased property for two additional parks, Chippewa and Pottawattomie. Pottawattomie Park was the idea of the Birchwood Improvement Association, which lobbied for the establishment of a community center east of Ridge Avenue and north of Rogers Avenue. The park's name honors the Pottawattomie (Potawatomi) Indians, one of nine tribal groups living around the Great Lakes after 1600. The Pottawattomies lived on the eastern edge of Lake Michigan until about 1760, when they moved westward into the Chicago region. Although many Pottawattomies intermarried with French, British, and American traders, the tribe was nevertheless forced from the area after the Blackhawk War of 1832. A large Works Progress Administration painting in the park fieldhouse depicts a meeting between Native Americans and whites.\n "}, {"id": 467, "title": "Prairie Wolf Park", "address": "\n 6310 S. Drexel Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Woodlawn neighborhood, Prairie Wolf Park is 0.17 acres and it\u00a0is an idyllic location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing, enjoying nature and the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing apparatus.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this once-vacant lot for recreational use in 1969, and officially named it Prairie Wolf in 1998. The prairie wolf, or coyote, was among the many animals that inhabited Cook County when European settlers arrived. Settlers used the term prairie wolf to distinguish the animal from the larger gray or timber wolf. Although the number of coyotes in Cook County has fallen over time, recent sightings within the city make clear that they have not disappeared entirely.\n "}, {"id": 468, "title": "Printers Row Park", "address": "\n 632 S. Dearborn St. \n Chicago, IL 60605\n ", "description": "\"Printer's Row Park,\" (formerly Park No. 543) this\u00a0small passive green space is 0.38 acres and it is\u00a0nestled in the heart of the old Printer's Row area of the Loop offers seating, a community garden and an ornamental fountain sculpture.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no programming taking place at this location, we invite you to visit nearby\u00a0Maggie Daley Park\u00a0for\u00a0playground fun, indoor classes and activities,\u00a0special events, ice skating and more.\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 469, "title": "Prinz (Tobey) Beach Park", "address": "\n 1050 W. Pratt Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Prinz Beach Park is 2.40 acres and it\u00a0is located in Rogers Park on the north side. Chicago's 26 miles of public beaches offer the perfect settings for playing, relaxing and soaking it all in. From charming neighborhood beaches to Oak Street's skyline view, we've got a beach just for you.\n ", "history": "In 2014, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners officially renamed Pratt Beach Park in honor of Tobey Prinz (1911 \u2013 1984)\u00a0a teacher, community activist, and advocate for lakefront green space. In the 1950s, Prinz was a founding member of the Rogers Park Community Council (RPCC), and over the years, she served as the organization's conservation committee chairman and vice-president. Prinz was also involved in many other local organizations and devoted her efforts to improving the Rogers Park community.\u00a0 She was a longtime member of the Chicago Teachers Union and a board member for Truman City College. Actively involved in the 1960s civil rights movement, Ms. Prinz attended the March on Washington in 1963 and helped organize \u201cEducation vs. Racism,\u201d the second conference in the U.S. to promote the teaching of African-American studies in the schools\u2014 an award winning initiative.\u00a0\n\nTobey Prinz strived to encourage open housing practices in Rogers Park and was a founder and leader of the Rogers Park Tenants Committee which had a long lasting influence on Chicago\u2019s housing conditions.\u00a0 She was also a strong proponent for parks and open space in the Rogers Park Community.\u00a0 She was involved in the successful campaign to convert the Bryn Mawr Country Club into Warren Park, when developers wanted to convert the site into a shopping center and housing complex.\u00a0 In the late 1950s and early 1960s, when lakefront property in Rogers Park was available for development, Prinz led a \u201cSave the Beaches\u201d campaign that resulted in the protection of approximately a dozen street-end beaches. Renaming Pratt Beach in honor of Tobey Prinz is a fitting tribute to Tobey Prinz\u2019s extraordinary commitment to saving beaches and parkland as well as to make life better in Rogers Park and throughout Chicago.\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 470, "title": "Pritzker Park", "address": "\n 310 S.State St. \n Chicago, IL 60604\n ", "description": "Pritzker Park is a small restful green space in Chicago\u2019s vibrant State Street corridor. Recently acquired and improved by the Chicago Park District, the 1.15-acre site includes concession stands and seating, a plaza, raised lawn and landscape with ornamental grasses and trees. The lawn is edged by a concrete knee-wall inscribed with quotations by famous authors including Richard Wright, Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman and Sandra Cisneros.\n\nThe Chicago Park District has also partnered with the Chicago Loop Alliance to bring their placemaking initiative to Pritzker Park. Visit pritzkerpark.org for more information on upcoming events.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Maggie Daley Park.\n ", "history": "Located just north of the Harold Washington Library, Pritzker Park is located on the former site of the Rialto, the last single-room occupancy hotel downtown which was demolished in 1990. At the time, the Harold Washington Library was under construction, and the City developed the park as an outdoor enhancement to the new library.\n\nThe city\u2019s Department of Planning and the non-profit group Sculpture Chicago commissioned New York artist Ronald Jones to design the space. Jones created an installation inspired by Rene Magritte\u2019s famous surrealist painting entitled \u201cThe Banquet,\u201d as well as the circular benches, known as council rings, by landscape architect Jens Jensen who began his career in Chicago\u2019s parks. When Pritzker Park opened in 1991 with the Ronald Jones-designed improvements, it was unclear as to whether the park would remain as open space or eventually be developed.\n\nTwo years later, Chicago\u2019s Department of Planning and Development created design guidelines as part of a State Street plan recommending that the park should remain as a permanent green space. That year, 100 boulders were installed throughout the Loop to commemorate the achievements of 100 important Chicago women, including several in and near the park.\n\nThe boulder installation was especially appropriate because the park is named for an extremely significant Chicago woman, Cindy Pritzker. A member of the Library Board of Directors from 1984 - 1998, and its president from 1989 \u2013 1998, Cindy Pritzker was a tireless leader of the Chicago Public Libraries, spearheading the construction over thirty new branch libraries and the Harold Washington Library Center. She was the founder and chair of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, serving in that position until June of 2004. During her tenure, the Foundation saw the creation and growth of an endowment in excess of $20 million to support book collections, technology and programming.\n\nCindy Pritzker also serves on the University of Chicago Women\u2019s Board, and is a co-founder of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. In addition to the park, the Harold Washington Library Auditorium has been named in Cindy Pritzker\u2019s honor. After the Chicago Park District assumed ownership of Prizker Park in 2008, the agency commissioned Hoerr Schaudt landscape architects to redesign the space. Their improvements included new plantings, a long angular knee-wall inscribed with quotations from famous authors, concession stands and seating and a plaza. The plaza was designed to allow for temporary art installations. The most recent was Tony Tasset\u2019s sculpture \u2018EYE\u2019, a 30-foot tall plexiglass eyeball.\n "}, {"id": 471, "title": "Privet Park", "address": "\n 1844 N. Sheffield Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Privet Playlot Park is 0.16 acres and it is located in the Lincoln Park community (on Sheffield Avenue, one long block south of Armitage Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Adams Playground Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this once-vacant lot from Turtle Wax, Inc. in 1970, officially designating it Privet Park in 1974. The playground was one of a number of parks named for trees and plants at this time. Privets are shrubs or small trees grown primarily for their attractive foliage and white flowers. Although privets can be found in open woods and along roadsides, they are often trimmed to create formal, ornamental hedges. European in origin, privets belong to the olive family.\n "}, {"id": 472, "title": "Promontory Point", "address": "\n 5491 S. Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lake Shore Drive \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Burnham Park totals about 600 acres and sits on Chicago\u2019s Lakefront just south of Grant Park. The park was named for Chicago's famous architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham, who envisioned a south lakefront park with a series of manmade islands, linear boating harbor, beaches, meadows, and playfields, as published in his seminal The\u00a0Plan of Chicago of 1909.\n\nToday, Burnham Park features the naturalistic Promontory Point designed by Alfred Caldwell and a popular skate park at 31st Street. The park also benches located at 12 Street, 31st Street, Oakwood and 57th Street, bird sanctuaries and beautiful natural areas. The Margaret T. Burroughs Beach and Park is a newer park feature and stretches from 31 Street to 26th Street.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Ellis\u00a0Park.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In the mid-1890s, Chicago's famous architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham began sketching a magnificent park and boulevard that would link Jackson Park with downtown. As Chief of Construction for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, Burnham (1846- 1912) had transformed sandy, wind-swept, Jackson Park into the glistening White City. After the fair, Burnham began imagining a more beautiful, orderly, and functional Chicago. Burnham's vision, including a south lakefront park with a series of man made islands, linear boating harbor, beaches, meadows, and play fields, was published in his seminal 1909 Plan of Chicago. The South Park Commission wanted to create the park, however development was delayed by disputes with the Illinois Central Railroad over riparian rights. Property rights and government approvals were finally secured in 1920, and voters approved a $20 million bond issue to create the park. By the time the site was named Burnham Park in 1927, only the northern part of the site had been filled. In 1933 and 1934, the Century of Progress, Chicago's second World's Fair took place in Burnham Park. In the mid-1930s, the newly created Chicago Park District used federal funds from the Works Progress Administration to complete landfill operations and improve Burnham Park, including the naturalistic Promontory Point landscape by renowned designer Alfred Caldwell. In 1935, Mayor Edward J. Kelly began pursuing the idea of a permanent fair in Burnham Park. To facilitate this, the state passed a bill creating the Metropolitan Fair and Exposition Authority. The legislation allowed the construction of Merrill C. Meigs Airport in 1946 and the McCormick Place convention hall in 1960. The original McCormick Place burned down in 1967, and despite opposition, a new facility opened in Burnham Park in 1971. In recent years, Mayor Richard M. Daley's vision for a greener, more beautiful Burnham Park has begun taking shape. Sixty acres of asphalt were transformed into a landscaped Museum Campus. And the former Meigs Field has been transformed into a 91-acre natural area park, known as Northerly Island where park patrons can enjoy a paved all-purpose trail. Birders catch glimpses of migrating birds in the fall and spring seasons, while anglers can find the perfect fishing spot.\n "}, {"id": 473, "title": "Prospect Gardens Park", "address": "\n 10940 S. Prospect Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Prospect Gardens Park is 3.66 acres and it is located in the Morgan park community area.\n ", "history": "In 1872, when developers were platting the early suburb of Morgan Park, they set aside nearly three acres of property on Prospect Avenue as parkland. In 1905, the Village of Morgan Park transferred the property to the Calumet Park District, one of 19 neighborhood park boards created after 1895 to supplement the original three park districts, the South, the West, and the Lincoln Park Commissions. In 1906, the Calumet Park District officially designated the park, originally known as Prospect Park, Prospect Gardens. At the same time, the District adopted a park plan designed by noted landscape architect Jens Jensen, who was then General Superintendent of the West Park Commission and also ran a thriving private practice. Among Jensen's creations was a lily pond begun in 1909. The following year, the park district expanded the park by purchasing a small triangular tract adjoining Prospect Gardens. The Chicago Park District took control of Prospect Gardens in 1934, when the 22 park boards were consolidated into a unified district.\n "}, {"id": 474, "title": "Pulaski (Casimer) Park", "address": "\n 1419 W. Blackhawk St. \n Chicago, IL 60642\n ", "description": "Located in the West Town Community Area, Pulaski Park totals 4.15 acres and features an auditorium, two gymnasiums, a kitchen and meeting rooms. The third floor tower room is used as an office for Free Street Theater, a non-profit organization that provides programming through the Chicago Park District\u2019s Arts Partners in Residence Program. Outside, the park offers a softball diamond, interactive water spray feature and a swimming pool.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play baseball or go swimming at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp\n\nIn addition to programs, Pulaski Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday celebrations, Movies in the Park and other Night Out in the Parks events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "The West Park Commissioners created Pulaski Park in 1912, as part of an effort to expand neighborhood parks throughout the congested west side. Several years earlier, Dvorak, Eckhart and Stanford Parks opened, providing tenement districts with breathing spaces and social services including public bathing, branch libraries, children's playgrounds, athletics and inexpensive hot meals.\n\nSites were soon identified for new parks, including a 3.8-acre parcel in West Town\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a crowded, predominantly Polish neighborhood of factories and workers' housing. To make way for the park, the West Park Commission had to displace 1,200 people, demolishing some buildings, and moving others to nearby locations in the neighborhood.\n\nAfter filling the low site, the contractors began improvements following the plans of renowned landscape designer Jens Jensen. A large field house and outdoor swimming facility were constructed in 1914. Incorporating elements such as tile roofs, half-timbering, a tower, dormers and verandahs, architect William Carbys Zimmerman designed the three-story brick field house to emulate Eastern European architecture familiar to the immigrant community.\n\nIn 1919, Jensen met with officials at the Art Institute of Chicago to discuss the idea of a competition for art students to paint a mural on the semi-circular proscenium above the stage in the Pulaski Park field house. The park commissioners provided the prizes of $100, $50 and $25, and instructors at the School of the Art Institute selected the winners. The first prize went to James G. Gilbert, who received $200 for materials as well as the $100 prize. In 1920, Gilbert painted his mural composed of a dramatic series of allegorical figures. A second mural, hidden in the upper tower room, portrays Polish themes. A Chicago Park District arts and crafts class created this painting in the late 1930s.\u00a0\n\nThe park pays tribute to Casimir Pulaski (c. 1748-1779) a Polish war hero who fought for the American cause in the Revolutionary War. After distinguishing himself in the Battle of Brandywine, Pulaski was appointed by Congress as Brigadier-General. Pulaski died in action at the Battle of Savannah.\n "}, {"id": 475, "title": "Pullman (George) Park", "address": "\n 11101 S. Cottage Grove Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the Pullman neighborhood, Pullman Park is a park location totaling 1.02 acres and it is used for passive recreation. Park patrons can relax in this open green space on benches while enjoying the beauty of nature.\n ", "history": "Pullman Park is one of two parks donated to the town of Pullman by its founder, George M. Pullman (1831-1899). (The second is nearby Arcade Park.) The City of Chicago acquired Pullman Park in 1909, transferring it to the Chicago Park District fifty years later. George Pullman vastly improved the comfort of long distance rail travel when he introduced the sleeping car that bears his name. In 1877, Pullman began to buy up 3,500 acres of land on the western shore of Lake Calumet on which to build his new factory. Plant construction began in 1880. To lure well-qualified workers, Pullman also built worker housing, stores, churches, and public buildings - an enormous company town. Pullman hired architect Solon S. Beman to design the town's buildings and Nathan F. Barrett to plan the landscape. By 1884, Pullman had around 8,000 residents. True to the original designer's intent, Pullman Park remains a landscaped park, uninterrupted by structures.\n "}, {"id": 476, "title": "Quinn (Mary Berkemeier) Park", "address": "\n 6239 N. McClellan Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "This 0.89-acre park contains both a passive and a nature area. It is located in the picturesque Forest Glen's Edgebrook\u00a0community (nestled by the Edgebrook Golf Course, south of Devon and west of Central avenues). Please show respect for the plants and animals that share this park with you. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Wildwood Park\n ", "history": "Quinn Park bears the name of Mary Berkemeier Quinn (1890-1967), an attorney and Republican Party Committeewoman who served as Cook County Public Guardian from 1942 to 1949. Quinn was a director of the Women's and Children's Hospital, and president of the State Federation of Women's Clubs and the National Republican Women's Club of Chicago. Quinn and her husband, Edward M. Quinn, lived on a wooded lot in Forest Glen's picturesque Edgebrook neighborhood, which had been developed in the 1890s as a suburban retreat for railroad executives. When Edward Quinn died in 1980, he left their property to the Chicago Park District. Under the terms of the bequest, the park district officially named its new park the Mary Berkemeier Quinn Park of Trees. As the name implies, the property is composed of a grove of black oaks, white oaks, maples, lindens, cottonwoods, and elms-all trees native to Illinois. In 1988, the wooded park became part of the City of Chicago's Old Edgebrook Historic Landmark District.\n "}, {"id": 477, "title": "Railroad Junction Park", "address": "\n 7334 S. Maryland Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Greater Grand Crossing community, Railroad Junction Park is 0.25 acres and it\u00a0is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains a playground with swings and benches to sit and enjoy nature or have a picnic.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased the site of this playlot in 1970 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The park was officially named Railroad Junction in 1998. During the 1850s, Grand Crossing, the area in which this park is located, was a major junction for rail lines entering Chicago from the south and east. The community became known as Grand Crossing after a dramatic collision between an Illinois Central and a Michigan Southern train. Eighteen people died and 40 were injured in the accident.\n "}, {"id": 478, "title": "Rainbow Beach Park", "address": "\n 3111 East 77th St. \n Chicago, IL 60649\n ", "description": "Located in the South Chicago neighborhood, Rainbow Beach and Park totals 142 acres. Indoor amenities include a gymnasium, fitness center, and multipurpose rooms. Outside, the park offers a beach and comfort station, community garden, basketball/ tennis/ handball courts, baseball diamonds, and two playgrounds. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our fields, gymnasium and multipurpose clubrooms. Rainbow Beach is home to one of the most ecologically important natural areas in the city, Rainbow Beach Dunes.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids afterschool program, seasonal sports, arts & crafts, youth and adult fitness classes, Senior Club, Teen Club, cheerleading, and basketball leagues. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Rainbow Beach Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Named for the U.S. Army's 42nd Rainbow Division that fought gallantly in World War I, Rainbow Beach & Park began as two separate municipal beaches. The first was established in 1908 by the Special Parks Commission, a city agency that studied open space needs and created parks, playgrounds, and beaches in densely- populated areas of Chicago. This small site at 79th Street and Lake Michigan was known as Rocky Ledge Beach. The name referred to the area's rocky terrain, and to the manmade limestone ledge that served as a shore promenade and provided protection from shoreline erosion. By 1912, the heavily-used beach had bathrooms and changing rooms. Illuminated by electric lights, the beach remained open until 9:30 p.m. for the benefit of working men and women.\n\nIn 1914, the city began efforts to expand the beach, and soon acquired land between 75th Street and Rocky Ledge Beach. The City Council officially named the new site Rainbow Beach in 1918. The smaller, adjacent Rocky Ledge Beach continued operating as a children's beach.\n\nThe two beaches were consolidated in 1959, when the Chicago Park District began leasing the site from the city. For many years the park lacked sufficient indoor recreational facilities, so in 1999 a large fieldhouse was constructed. Designed by David Woodhouse Architects, the fieldhouse takes full advantage of Rainbow Beach & Park's breathtaking views of the lakefront and skyline.\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 479, "title": "Rainey (Edward) Park", "address": "\n 4350 W. 79th St. \n Chicago, IL 60652\n ", "description": "Located in the Scottsdale/Greater Ashburn Community, Rainey Park totals 14.25\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium\u00a0and a multi-purpose room. Outside, the park offers baseball/soccer fields, tennis courts, walking path, and a playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in Park Kids, youth sports classes, adult fitness & Early Childhood programs.\u00a0 After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth can participate in the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Rainey Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as Pumpkin Patch, Turkey Trot and other holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "The establishment of Ashburn Flying Field, a World War I pilot training facility and Chicago's first airport, spurred development in Chicago's Ashburn community. By the late 1920s, area residents needed a park to serve their fledgling community. On October 19, 1929, the South Park Commission agreed to purchase a substantial property in Ashburn. Unfortunately, the stock market crashed just a ten days later, and the resulting financial hardships prevented the South Park Commission from improving the site. In 1934, the city's 22 independent park boards were consolidated into the Chicago Park District, and the newly-formed agency took control of the Ashburn property. Park district designers soon developed a preliminary plan for the site, already called Rainey Park for Edward J. Rainey (1905-1911), an influential South Park Commissioner who advocated neighborhood park creation. Though the initial Rainey Park plans were not executed, the property did serve as a temporary nursery. In 1942, when the U.S. Defense Department condemned the northern half of the park for a Chrysler Corporation airplane factory, the park district purchased property to the south. In late 1945, the Chicago Housing Authority leased Rainey Park to provide temporary housing for returning World War II veterans. The lease ended in December, 1956, at which time the park district sold a portion of its land to the Chicago Board of Education for the new Hancock Elementary School. Improvements finally began at Rainey Park in 1959. Park facilities soon included a baseball diamond, tennis and horseshoe courts, and playground equipment. From the beginning, the park and the adjacent school have been jointly operated by the park district and the Board of Education. Though Hancock School closed for several years in the 1980s, the park district continued to use the building for programs, and the school has since reopened. The school gymnasium doubles as a fieldhouse for Rainey Park.\n "}, {"id": 480, "title": "Ravenswood Manor Park", "address": "\n 4604 N. Manor Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "Located in the middle of the Ravenswood Manor community, the park is 0.83 acres and it is the crown jewel of the neighborhood! Over the years, the park has become the place for families and neighbors to gather.\n\nWhether enjoying a summer concert in the park or just hanging out with the kids in the playground, the community embraces its gem of a park.\n ", "history": "In 1913, New York real estate speculator William Harmon began developing the lovely Ravenswood Manor and Ravenswood Gardens neighborhoods. Residents soon voted to form their own park district, electing Mrs. Helen Meder the first president of its board. Although these were comfortable, middle-class neighborhoods, the Ravenswood Manor Gardens Park District had limited resources because its tax-base included only a 1/4-mile area. As a result, it created very small parks which emphasized landscape improvements, rather than recreational facilities. In 1915, the district acquired land for Ravenswood Manor Park, which was named for the surrounding community. The triangular site, originally bisected by Eastwood Avenue, soon included trees, shrubs, benches, a trellis-like pergola, and a small stucco office building. The park district held its meetings in the building, and made it available for many other community purposes. Among the groups who met there was the Ravenswood Manor Gardens Community Club, which apparently encouraged attendance by passing out cigars at meetings. Boys' and girls' clubs, Red Cross volunteer groups, and other civic organizations also used the building. In 1934, Ravenswood Manor Park became part of the newly-formed Chicago Park District. Using federal relief funds, the park district rehabilitated the park's landscape, planting hundreds of shrubs and an impressive perennial garden. The park office building was razed in 1956. Fifteen years later, playground equipment was installed in the park. In 1990, the city closed the bisecting stretch of Eastwood Avenue and the park district sodded-over the street. Since that time, Ravenswood Manor Park has received numerous improvements including a major replanting, a soft surface playground, and a new pergola.\n "}, {"id": 481, "title": "Renaissance Park", "address": "\n 1300 W. 79th St. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Auburn-Gresham community, Renaissance Park is a park location totaling 1.25 acres and it is used for passive recreation. Park patrons can relax in this open green space on benches while enjoying the beauty of nature, reading or having a picnic. The centerpiece of Renaissance Park is a sculptural fountain produced by artist Jerzy Kenar. The artwork symbolizes the strength and energy of the residents of the surrounding neighborhood as well as the African American community in general. A pyramidal pile of black granite spheres represents significant African American figures who have made important contributions to music, literature, sports, politics, and social change. The names of eleven significant individuals such as Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Harold Washington, and Maya Angelou are incised into the stone. Water flows from the stone, forming a river that represents a spring of positive change. The river trickles towards a tall black granite plinth, symbolically allowing love and positive energy to flow through the entire community.\n ", "history": "In 2000, the City of Chicago transferred a derelict site in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood to the Chicago Park District so that it could be transformed into a new park. TheChicago Park District hired landscape architects Site Design Group and artist Jerzy Kenar to plan the new park. When Mayor Daley dedicated the park two years later, he stated that \u201cThe area, which was once ignored and run-down, has begun a new era, a renaissance, of exciting change.\" RenaissancePark was named in honor of its symbolic and physical importance to the improving-community it serves.\n "}, {"id": 482, "title": "Revere (Paul) Park", "address": "\n 2509 W. Irving Park Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "Located along Irving Park Road, Revere Park opens its doors to a steady stream of traffic from children and adults seeking fun athletic leagues and instruction year round. Whether your game of choice is baseball, softball, football, soccer, volleyball, basketball or even rugby, there is a sport for everyone to choose from at the park. The park is 9.49 acres and it features four outdoor tennis courts, baseball fields and a new ADA accessible playground.\n\nDuring the school year, Revere Park hosts a strong PARK KIDS after-school program that runs from 2 to 6 p.m. every weekday. They also have many programs for ages 5 and under including Tumbling, Fun & Games, Kids Fitness, and Arts & Crafts\n\nThe Revere Park field house contains a beautifully-restored auditorium with stage, which can be permitted for private events. The auditorium also comes to life for summer camp talent shows, dance classes, and other special events.\n ", "history": "Revere Park lies just east of the Chicago River's North Branch, in the North Center neighborhood, once home to a nationally important brick making industry. In 1898, Wolfram Blaul built a brick factory on the 9-acre property that would later become Revere Park. In little more than a decade, however, the site's clay pits were being used as a city dump. By 1917, River Park District Commissioner John J. O'Shea had tired of this eyesore, and began to push for a park on the site. O'Shea quickly won over the park board, which acquired the property in 1921. Improvements began the following year. Blaul's original cottage was remodeled as a fieldhouse, and some planting began. In 1926, another River Park District board member, Albert F. Otte, suggested that the new park, then known as O'Shea Park, be dedicated to the honor of patriot Paul Revere (1735-1818). Revere, a silversmith, made a famous midnight ride through the Massachusetts countryside to warn of the British approach during the early days of the American Revolution. By 1928, Jacob L. Crane, Jr., a landscape architect and an early River Park board member, had prepared detailed plans for Revere Park. The Chicago Landscape Company executed a modified version of Crane's plans that included an athletic fields and tennis courts set in a green landscape of trees and curving paths. Chicago architect Clarence Hatzfeld designed a slate-roofed, brick fieldhouse, dedicated in 1931. Blaul's old cottage was remodeled yet again, this time for use as a community house. In 1934, the River Park District and 21 other independent park commissions consolidated into the unified Chicago Park District. The Chicago Park District installed a wading pool with sand courts and a shelter house in 1948. Around 1960, the park district demolished the original cottage, replacing it with a new boys' club building. The park received a new soft surface playground in 1989.\n "}, {"id": 483, "title": "Reyes (Guadalupe) Park", "address": "\n 821 W. 19th St. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "This small park is located in the South Lawndale community. The park is 0.71 acres and it features\u00a0basketball courts, bleachers and checker/chess tables. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own boards and pieces when using the chess tables.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs and fitness opportunities offered at nearby Dvorak Park, including\u00a0recreation in the gym and swimming in the outdoor pool.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District began converting a vacant lot into this small park in the early 1970s, originally naming it Rose Park. In 2004, the Board of Commissioners renamed the park in honor of Guadalupe Reyes as part of an initiative to recognize the contributions of Chicago women.\n\nGuadalupe Reyes (1918- 2000) was an activist and community leader devoted to improving the lives of Chicago\u2019s Hispanic residents. One of eight children born to a family of Mexican immigrants, Guadalupe Reyes had little formal education. Despite this, she devoted her life to improving the plight of children, seniors, and the disabled. After one of her eleven children suffered severe disabilities caused by spinal meningitis in the 1950s, she began a 50-year campaign addressing the needs of people with disabilities.\n\nIn 1969, Reyes established a school for children with developmental disabilities called Esperanza, which means hope in Spanish. In 1973, she founded El Valor, which means courage. This organization, still active today, provides many services to children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities.\u00a0Reyes was also a leading force in the struggle to create Benito Juarez High School. She was active in the Pilsen Neighbor Community Council, and helped establish the Proyecto Maravialla, a Pilsen senior citizens\u2019 center.\n\nReyes played a pivotal role in creating the Fiesta del Sol, an annual neighborhood festival in Pilsen. Over her lifetime, she received many honors and awards including a 1988 article about her achievements published in Reader\u2019s Digest. Kraft Foods named a scholarship for her, and El Valor has a Children and Family Center named for her. It is appropriate to rename Rose Park in her honor as it lies in the heart of Pilsen.\n "}, {"id": 484, "title": "Ridge Park", "address": "\n 1817 W. 96th Street \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Beverly community, Ridge Park totals 10 acres and features a gymnasium, auditorium, indoor swimming pool, fitness center, woodshop, and multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers three baseball fields, playground, tennis courts and walking path.Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, fields, auditorium, and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, cheerleading, aquatics, lacrosse, model car making, furniture building and repair, woodcraft, pottery, ceramics. On the cultural side, the park offers theater.After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Theater Camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Ridge Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Ridge Park was the first of five Beverly neighborhood parks created by the Ridge Park District, one of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Soon after its 1908 establishment, the Ridge Park District began a search for park property. Enthusiastic residents advocated the purchase of property along Longwood Drive, already the site of \"fine homes set in spacious grounds.\" The park district's board of commissioners agreed, and in 1911 and 1912 purchased 9.32 acres of property, including a small, city-owned park. The new park was named Ridge Park for the tree-studded ridge that runs along the park's western boundary, the one-time shore line of glacial Lake Chicago. John Todd Hetherington (1858 - 1936) was a Canadian-born architect who lived in the Beverly neighborhood served as a member of the Ridge Park Board of Commissioners from 1911 to 1913. Hetherington had originally recommended another local architect, Arthur Foster, to design the park. In 1912, however, the other board members asked Hetherington to take on the project. Hetherington created an original plan including a small field house, outdoor swimming pool, wading pool, and a running track. Constructed in 1913, the building and athletic facilities were all surrounded by a restful landscape of trees, shrubbery, flowers, lawns, and walks. The fashionable Beverly district grew dramatically during the 1920s, and by late in that decade, Ridge Park was in need of a much larger field house. By this time, John T. Hetherington had formed a partnership with his son Murray D. Hetherington (1891 - 1972). The Ridge Park District commissioned Hetherington architects to design a much larger brick fieldhouse for the park. They retained a part of the old field house as the auditorium, incorporating some of the room's original features such as its trusses. They also built the addition around the outdoor swimming pool, which then became an indoor aquatic facility. In addition to the indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, auditorium and club rooms, the building also provided a home for the John H. Vanderpoel Memorial Art Gallery, a collection of some 500 works by American painters and sculptors. The Vanderpoel collection was assembled to honor the contributions of Beverly resident John H. Vanderpoel (1857-1911), who taught painting at the Art Institute for more than 30 years and who, with his mentor, Art Institute Director, W.M.R. French, helped to make Beverly a culturally-rich community. Most of the works displayed were donated by the artists themselves out of respect for Vanderpoel's genius. Ridge Park includes a number of monuments to veterans of various wars. In the early 1990s, the park district grouped these together in a single memorial area when the community sought to recognize Beverly resident and U.S. Marine Corps Captain William J. Hurley (1963-1991), who died while on a training mission during the Desert Storm conflict.\n "}, {"id": 485, "title": "Ridge Wetlands Park", "address": "\n 9512 S. Wood St. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Beverly community, Ridge Park Wetlands is a tranquil nature oasis in the heart of the city totaling 1.21 acres. Park patrons and their families come out and enjoy a nature area and the beautiful outdoors.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired this low, wooded wetlands site in 1991 in order to save it from destruction. Metra, the commuter rail service, had purchased the property in 1988, with the intent to pave it for parking. The park district stepped in after a concerned neighborhood group, the Beverly Open Space Committee, requested that the valuable wetlands area be set aside as parkland. Officially named Ridge Park Wetlands in 1998, the wetlands shares its name with Ridge Park, located less than a block away.\n "}, {"id": 486, "title": "Riis (Jacob) Park", "address": "\n 6100 W. Fullerton Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60639\n ", "description": "Located within the Belmont/Cragin community Riis Park totals 57.30 acres and features a field house with a gymnasium and an assembly hall with stage plus other multi-purpose rooms.Outdoors, the park offers a waterpark for the little ones children, a large pool and changing area for everyone, and an ice rink for those who enjoy the winter weather.For those looking to get some exercise take a run/walk around the track plus, you can watch a soccer game on the newly installed artificial soccer field.If tennis or fishing is your game we have 10 courts and a casting pool with pier.\n\nIn Fall 2014 the playground area was updated as park of Chicago Plays! playground renovation. The new signature playground features custom equipment, rubberized soft surfacing, large rubberized soft surfacing play mounds, passive water runnel area, water bottle/bucket filler, natural pathways,trees, and shrubs.\n\nWhen the weather gets nice Riis Park is the community gathering place for families. The park has specified picnic area \u2013 available for permitting [see park staff for additional information.]\n\nThere is something for everyone at Riis Park. Young park-goers can play basketball, soccer, wrestling, gymnastics, dodge ball, and badminton at the facility.On the cultural side, Riis Park offers arts & crafts, ceramics, acting, and family ceramics. In the summer, youth attend our traditional 6-week day camp\u2026filled with tons of fun.\n\nAdults participate in a range of activities, including co-rec volleyball, basketball, ceramics, and theater [scene study]. Parents gather at Riis Park with their preschoolers for Arts & ABC\u2019s and Tot Spot [we provide the space \u2013 you provide the fun].Fun and Games, Play School, Preschool, Story time, are also available for preschool-age residents.\n\nSeniors stay active and healthy by participating in our crazy crafter\u2019s club, ceramics, low impact aerobics, and table fun & games.\n\nIn the winter months,\u00a0Riis Park boasts\u00a0the\u00a0Chicago\u00a0Blackhawks Ice Rink for skating. This winter, the ice rink will operate (weather permitting) from Thanksgiving weekend (Friday) until February. Call (312) 746-5735\u00a0 for skate fees, times, and rental information. If it gets a little chilly...no worries we have a toasty warming trailer.\n\nWe invite you go come out and check out all that Riis Park has to offer!\n ", "history": "Teddy Roosevelt once said that Jacob A. Riis came nearer than anyone to being \"the ideal American.\" Riis (1849-1914), a photojournalist and reformer, drew national attention to the plight of the inner-city poor through his expose, How the Other Half Lives. Riis advocated the creation of small playgrounds to provide \"breathing spaces\" for densely-populated urban neighborhoods. His 1898 speech at Chicago's Hull House inspired local reformers to petition for city playgrounds. By the time the Northwest Park District created Riis Park in 1916, the playground movement Riis had helped to inspire had in turn fueled park-building across the nation. The park district designed Riis Park to provide a broad range of recreational amenities for its developing middle class neighborhood. The park remained essentially undeveloped until 1928, however, when the park district installed a ski jump and golf course, and commissioned locally-prominent architect Walter W. Alschlager to design a fieldhouse. In 1934, Riis Park came under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Park District, which used Works Progress Administration funding for further improvements. Riis Park developed in two distinct halves separated by a steep glacial ridge, a remnant of the shoreline of Lake Chicago. To the east stood the Georgian-revival fieldhouse, surrounded by various other athletic facilities. Respected landscape architect Alfred Caldwell designed the western portion of the park. Caldwell's plan, fully implemented by 1940, incorporated naturalistic plantings; a stone-edged lagoon; shady, enclosed areas; and a broad, sunny meadow.\n "}, {"id": 487, "title": "River Esplanade Park", "address": "\n 401 E. River Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "\u00a0\n\nThis small passive green space is 1.12 acres and it is located\u00a0in the\u00a0Near North Community. \u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Lake Shore Park. \n\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 488, "title": "River Park", "address": "\n 5100 N. Francisco Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "Located at the convergence of the Chicago River and canal, River Park is 28.81 acres and it\u00a0offers rich wildlife habitat, excellent fishing, and a canoe launch. River Park boasts a swimming pool and an interactive water playground in the summer months.\n\nThe artificial turf soccer field and running track, as well as a soft-surface playground, draw visitors from around the city. The park also features seven tennis courts and two baseball fields.\u00a0\n\nNumerous children head to River Park for its strong Park Kids after-school program. Several programs are held in the park\u2019s large auditorium, which is also available for\u00a0rental by private groups. Basketball and indoor soccer are two popular programs for both youth and teens. Teens get together for a leadership camp in the summer, and preschoolers gather for playgroups. Adult programming at River Park includes men's basketball.\u00a0\n\nRiver Park Boathouse, located west of the river is home to the Chicago RIverLab, and the Chicago Park District's family paddling programs. An accessible boat launch for the human-powered craft is available for public use at no charge. When launching from River Park, please park on the street and carry your paddle craft to the launch. Vehicles may not use the bike path for loading or unloading. See events below.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "At 30 acres, River Park is the largest of the six parks established by the River Park District, one of 22 independent park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Northwest side residents created the River Park District in 1917 to provide recreational opportunities and increase property values in the territory along the Chicago River's North Branch and the North Shore Channel. Almost immediately after its creation, the River Park District began to purchase land north of Argyle Avenue, where the river and the channel separate. Although land acquisition was not completed until 1922, the site opened to the public on July 4, 1920, when the park district dedicated a new flag pole there to neighborhood children. Formal improvements began two years later, with the remodeling of an existing building for fieldhouse use. In 1926, landscape architect and River Park District board member Jacob L. Crane, Jr. developed a plan for River Park. Crane's plan covered nearly 40 acres of land, including approximately ten acres northwest of the fork. (This ten-acre plot was never actually developed as parkland, and now belongs to North Park College.) In 1927, the Chicago Landscape Company implemented a modified version of Crane's plan that included beautiful greenspaces, a foot bridge over the North Branch dam and waterfall, children's playgrounds, athletic fields, and pathways for walking, bicycling, and horseback riding. Chicago architect Clarence Hatzfeld designed an impressive brick fieldhouse with a three-story central section and a long wing on either end. Constructed in 1929 to replace the original structure, the fieldhouse included a 300-seat assembly hall and a fully-equipped kitchen. The Chicago Park District installed a new swimming pool in 1948, and a new bath house in 1970. During the fall of 1999, the City of Chicago began constructing a boat launch and river walk along the south side of the North Branch, which the park district will operate once completed.\n "}, {"id": 489, "title": "Roberts (David) Square Park", "address": "\n 5230 W. Argyle St. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "Located in the Jefferson Park\u00a0community (two blocks east of Northwest Highway, three blocks south of Foster Avenue), this 4.49\u00a0acre park contains a playground with a sandbox and a walking path.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Jefferson Park.\n ", "history": "This 4+ acre park located on Argyle Street in Jefferson Park has been known as Roberts Square since 1873, when this public square was donated to the Village of Jefferson Park by David L. Roberts, an early settler of the village.\u00a0 This donation was shortly after Jefferson Park\u2019s incorporation. Mr. Roberts was one of the organizers of Jefferson Township and was the township\u2019s first Clerk. He also held the position as highway overseer and as a justice of the peace. Mr. Roberts and his family donated land and also helped establish the first church in Jefferson Park, the Jefferson Park Congregational Church, which still is exists.\n\nWhen Chicago annexed Jefferson Township in 1889, the park became City property. In 1929, the City passed an ordinance granting control and use of Roberts Square for park and playground purposes to the Jefferson Park District.\u00a0 \n\nJefferson Park District was one of the 22 park commissions that was consolidated in 1934 into the newly formed Chicago Park District.\u00a0 The Chicago Park District took over control and use of the Roberts Square. In 1957, pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act, title to this park property was transferred from the City to the Chicago Park District.\n\n\u00a0In keeping with David Roberts' original intent, the site has always been used for ornamental purposes, and no buildings have ever been constructed there.\n "}, {"id": 490, "title": "Robichaux (Joseph) Park", "address": "\n 9247 S. Eggleston Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Washington Heights community, Robichaux Park totals 13.78\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium and multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers basketball/tennis courts, baseball fields, a playground and a walking track. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, fields, and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program and seasonal sports. On the cultural side, the park offers modern dance. During the summer, youth can participate the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Robichaux Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as our annual talent showcase and other holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Chicago's south side Washington Heights neighborhood experienced significant residential growth after World War II. By the mid-1960s, members of the neighborhood's Greenwood Park Community Council were urging the Chicago Park District to set aside vacant land along the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad tracks for parkland. Within a few years, the park district had purchased more than 13 acres of property with the help of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding made available through the Urban Beautification Act. Improvements began in 1970. The new park was soon equipped with basketball and tennis courts, an athletic field, a playground, and a brick fieldhouse designed by Dubin, Dubin, Black and Moutoussamy. The park honors Joseph J. Robichaux (1919-1971), a businessman and community organizer. Beginning in 1967, Robichaux served as executive director of the Baldwin Ice Cream Company, the first African-American-owned ice cream producer in the nation. Robichaux was active in the political life of Chicago, serving as a Cook County Commissioner and as a 21st Ward Committeeman. He also participated in various charitable and civic organizations, including the Catholic Youth Organization, the United Servicemen's Organization, and the National Amateur Athletic Union.\n "}, {"id": 491, "title": "Robinson (Jackie) Park", "address": "\n 10540 S. Morgan St. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Washington Heights neighborhood, Jackie Robinson Park totals 12.27 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers a playground, softball/baseball diamonds, and basketball courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our ball fields. This park is adjacent to Jackie Robinson Little League, a CPS facility.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, cheerleading, dance.\u00a0After school programs are offered throughout the school year. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include\u00a0sports camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Jackie Robinson Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "In the years following World War II, the Chicago Park District began a major effort to create new parks in rapidly-growing neighborhoods. As part of this initiative, a committee formed in 1946 with representatives of the Chicago Park District and Board of Education to determine how facilities could jointly serve as schools and parks. At that time, the Chicago Park District had identified dozens of sites for park expansion and 16 of them were adjacent to existing schools. The Joint Committee on School-Parks studied the 16 locations and made specific recommendations for additions to the school buildings, and improvements to the surrounding grounds including playgrounds, athletic fields, and passive landscape areas. The proposed improvements included club rooms and gymnasiums for use during afterschool hours and weekends. Mount Vernon Elementary School in Chicago\u2019s Washington Heights neighborhood was one of the initial 16 schools identified for the program. The park district began purchasing land adjacent to Mount Vernon School in 1946, and plans for the new School-Park were published in the Chicago Tribune in 1955. Two years later, the Chicago Park District and Board of Education completed the project. Both the park and the adjacent school were originally named Mount Vernon, for George Washington's Virginia home. In 1999, the Chicago Park District formally renamed the park in response to the Mount Vernon Park Advisory Council\u2019s suggestion that it should honor baseball great Jackie Robinson (1919-1972). When he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Robinson became the first African-American to play major league baseball. He was voted \"Rookie of the Year\" for his part in Brooklyn's pennant-winning season. Two years later, he led the league in batting and stolen bases, and was named most valuable player. Jackie Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1984, President Ronald Regan posthumously awarded Jackie Robinson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor for a civilian who has contributed to the national interests of the United States of America.\n "}, {"id": 492, "title": "Rogers (Phillip) Beach Park", "address": "\n 7705 N. Eastlake Terrace \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Rogers Beach Park is 2.38 acres of open green space located along Lake Michigan.\u00a0In addition, there are tennis courts for those looking to stay active.\n ", "history": "Rogers Beach Park is one of 18 street-end beaches acquired by the Chicago Park District from the City of Chicago in 1959. By that time, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had been operating such small municipal beaches since at least 1921. Many of these beaches were located in the Rogers Park neighborhood, where a growing population of apartment dwellers lacked easy access to recreational opportunities. In contrast to the city's larger municipal beaches, the street-end beaches, though manned by lifeguards, had no changing rooms or other facilities.\n\nRogers Avenue and the adjacent beach take their names from Phillip Rogers (1812-1856), the first white settler in the area. Rogers, an Irish immigrant, arrived from New York in 1836 and soon became a successful truck farmer, amassing over 1,600 acres of land before he died. His son-in-law, Patrick L. Touhy (1839-1911), later subdivided some of Rogers' land and named the town Rogers Park in his honor.\n "}, {"id": 493, "title": "Rogers (Phillip) Park", "address": "\n 7345 N. Washtenaw Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60645\n ", "description": "Rogers Park was one of many parks created through a ten-year program providing additional recreational space for post-World War II Chicago. In 1947, the park district acquired a 22.35-acre property on North Washtenaw Avenue in the West Ridge community. By 1950, the site had four temporary softball diamonds, but no further improvements were made until the mid-1950s.\u00a0\n\nRogers Park and the adjacent school honor Phillip Rogers (1812-1856), an Irishman who arrived from New York in 1836. Rogers cleared land north of Chicago and built a cabin atop the natural ridge that gives West Ridge its name. A successful farmer, Rogers eventually purchased over 1,600 acres of property. After his death in 1856, Rogers' land passed into the hands of his son-in-law, Patrick L. Touhy (1839-1911), who joined with others to develop the Rogers Park community in the 1870s.\n ", "history": "Rogers Park was one of many parks created through a ten-year program providing additional recreational space for post-World War II Chicago. In 1947, the park district acquired a 13-acre property on North Washtenaw Avenue in the West Ridge community. By 1950, the site had four temporary softball diamonds, but no further improvements were made until the mid-1950s. At that time, the Board of Education built the nearby Phillip Rogers Elementary School, and sold adjacent land to the park district. Improvement of the expanded park soon followed. Rogers Park is among a number of parks jointly operated by the park district and the Board of Education. Rogers Park and the adjacent school honor Phillip Rogers (1812-1856), an Irishman who arrived from New York in 1836. Rogers cleared land north of Chicago and built a cabin atop the natural ridge that gives West Ridge its name. A successful farmer, Rogers eventually purchased over 1,600 acres of property. After his death in 1856, Rogers' land passed into the hands of his son-in-law, Patrick L. Touhy (1839-1911), who joined with others to develop the Rogers Park community in the 1870s.\n "}, {"id": 494, "title": "Ronan (George) Park", "address": "\n 3000 W. Argyle St. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "Restored in 2002, the Ronan Park includes 3 acres of naturalized river edge habitat along the North Branch of the Chicago River [Lawrence Ave to Argyle Street, west of Chicago river between Sacramento and California] on City's north side. A wooded chipped path in the park parallels the river, making Ronan Park a perfect spot for bird watching or a nature walk.\n\nIn spring 2011, The Multi-ethnic Sculpture Park and Healing Garden in Ronan Park was installed. The park is 12.47 acres and it embraces our community\u2019s multicultural heritage through the creation of a community space that is to feature a rotating schedule of sculpture, cultural activities, and free performances, as well as community-designed and managed gardens.\n\nWhile there is no structured programs offered at Ronan Park, please check out the variety of offerings at nearby River Park!\n ", "history": "In 1929, the City of Chicago built a new pumping station east of the channelized North Branch of the Chicago River to meet the increasing need for water in the neighboring Lincoln Square and Albany Park communities. Just over thirty years later, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and the Chicago Park District began working together to create recreational space adjoining the pumping station. The park district soon signed a lease for 7.5 acres of water district land, and by the mid-1960s, playgrounds and greenspaces lined both sides of the North Shore Channel. In the 1990s, the park district began leasing additional water district land, bringing the park's total acreage to nearly 13 acres. The entire park was rehabilitated, and a bike path added as part of a larger plan to create a recreational corridor along the river. Ronan Park honors Ensign George Ronan, who died in the Fort Dearborn Massacre on August 15, 1812, when Potowatomi warriors routed the Federal forces at Chicago. Ronan was the first West Point graduate to fall in battle.\n "}, {"id": 495, "title": "Roosevelt (Theodore) Park", "address": "\n 62 W. Roosevelt Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60605\n ", "description": "Roosevelt Park is located in the\u00a0Near South community. The park is 2.26 acres and it features open space, a play area and three tennis courts.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Maggie Daley Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Roosevelt Park lies in the South Loop's Dearborn Park housing development, laid out by the architecture firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in the mid-1970s. As planning for the 51-acre residential complex progressed, the Chicago Park District began acquiring property at the southern end of the development for parkland. Improvements began in 1980, and the 1.6-acre site soon had three tennis courts and a small lawn encircled by a running track. Both the park and adjacent Roosevelt Road take their names from Theodore Roosevelt (1856-1919), 26th President of the United States. Roosevelt was a New York Republican who was elected Vice President in 1896. He rose to the nation's highest office in 1901, after an assassin killed President William McKinley. A lover of America's wilderness, Roosevelt is sometimes called the \"Conservation President\" because it was under his administration that the federal government first took a serious interest in protecting natural lands and established the U.S. Forest Service. Roosevelt was also an advocate of city park creation, and in 1907 pronounced Chicago's revolutionary system of south side neighborhood parks \"one of the most notable civic achievements of any American city.\"\n "}, {"id": 496, "title": "Rosedale Park", "address": "\n 6312 W. Rosedale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "Located one block south of Peterson Avenue, just east of Nagle Avenue, Rosedale Park may only cover 3.02 acres, but it packs into its schedule sports, recreational, and leisure opportunities for all ages and interests.\n\nOne of the most popular activities at the park is gymnastics/tumbling. Other sports include; track & field, cheerleading, bitty basketball, soccer, dodgeball and teen sports. Children can also have tons of fun getting crafty with arts & crafts and painting. We offer a number of fun Wellness programs for kids too.\u00a0 Yoga, mighty fit kidz, fun with food, and sports conditioning, plus great dance and taekwondo classes.\u00a0\n\nThe park serves a number of young preschoolers with classes such as tiny tot tumbling, music & movement, playgroup, arts, as well as moms, pops & tots (which involves parent participation).\n\nAdults can enjoy sewing and our Wellness classes consisting of yoga, pilates, and bootcamp.\u00a0 Plus we invite you to check out our popular senior club.\n\nIn addition to its fieldhouse with a gymnasium, Rosedale Park features a softball field,a junior-size soccer field, two basketball standards, two tennis courts, two playgrounds and a spraypool. If you're looking to host a birthday party or a small event the park clubroom is available for rentals. Check with the park for availability.\n ", "history": "Rosedale Park was the creation of the Jefferson Park District, established in 1920 to provide neighborhood parks for its rapidly-developing northwest side community. The park district began to purchase land for Rosedale Park in 1930. By 1933, the district had issued contracts for site development, including an agreement to build a fieldhouse, one of three designed for the district by architect Clarence Hatzfeld. The following year, the park came under the control of the Chicago Park District when the Jefferson Park District and 21 other park commissions merged to form the new consolidated district. Rosedale Park takes its name from the avenue that runs along its southern border. The street was in turn named for Rosedale, Pennsylvania, the hometown of John Lewis Cochran (1857-1923), the developer of the Edgewater community along Chicago's lakeshore.\n "}, {"id": 497, "title": "Rosenblum (J. Leslie) Park", "address": "\n 7547 S. Euclid Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60649\n ", "description": "Located in the South Shore community, Rosenblum Park is 10.32 acres and it features a gymnasium, swimming pool, an artificial turf field, basketball courts, a playground, and tennis courts. Rosenblum Park is adjacent to South Shore International College Preparatory High School.\n ", "history": "Rosenblum Park was one of many parks created as part of a ten-year plan to provide additional recreational space for post-World War II Chicago. For the well-established South Shore neighborhood, the park district chose a three-block site bisected by a railroad right-of-way and occupied by a coal company, a gas station, a ball field, and a number of homes. The process of land acquisition began in 1946, but obtaining the property proved somewhat difficult, and the process was not complete until 1953. Demolition began the same year. Though the rail line still divided the property in two, the city agreed to vacate South Bennett and South Euclid Streets, which had further carved up the parkland. The park district soon added a small recreational building and tennis and shuffleboard courts to supplement the existing softball field, and planted numerous red oaks and other new trees. For several decades, the park district and the Chicago Board of Education jointly operated the 9-acre park along with adjacent board-owned property. In 1965, the park district sold a small portion of its land to the Board of Education for an addition to South Shore High School. The two agencies terminated their cooperative agreement in 1980. Three years later, the park district expanded the park by acquiring the railroad right-of-way that still cut through the park. During its early years, the park was known as South Shore Park for the surrounding community. In 1965, however, the park district renamed the site Rosenblum Park in honor of J. Leslie Rosenblum , a long-time South Shore resident. Rosenblum, a local pharmacist, was an active participant in the South Shore Chamber of Commerce and the area Lions Club. A strong supporter of the Neighborhood Boys' Club, he left his estate to the organization upon his death.\n "}, {"id": 498, "title": "Rowan (William) Park", "address": "\n 11546 S. Avenue L \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located at 11546 S. Ave. L in the East Side neighborhood, Rowan Park totals 18.52 acres and features a gymnasium and multi-purpose clubrooms. Outside, the park offers an ice rink, ball fields, and a playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, fields, and multi-purpose clubrooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports and preschool activities. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Play Camp, a specialty camp for preschool age children is also offered during the summer.\n\nIn addition to programs, Rowan Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, including Winter Wonderland and other holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this long-vacant property in 1948, hoping to give East Side residents relief from the starkness of surrounding steel mills and manufacturing plants. Despite these good intentions, the 17-acre site remained unimproved for at least a decade. Improvements began in 1959. The park district has since installed athletic fields, a running track, a fieldhouse, and, quite recently, a combination ice skating and roller skating rink. The park honors former 10th Ward Alderman William A. Rowan, who served the area in the 1920s and 1930s. Rowan was also a two-term Representative to the U.S. Congress. While in office, he sponsored much legislation to improve the health, welfare, education, and recreational opportunities of children.\n "}, {"id": 499, "title": "Ruiz (Irma C.) Park", "address": "\n 3801 W. 45th St. \n Chicago, IL 60632\n ", "description": "Irma C. Ruiz park, formerly named Walnut Playground Park, is located in the Archer Heights community. The 0.53-acre park offers a small playground that was renovated in Fall 2015\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to visit nearby Curie Park\u00a0for sports, recreation and indoor swimming.\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1958, the City of Chicago purchased a quarter-acre property in the growing southwest side Archer Heights community from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. Although the city transferred the site to the Chicago Park District the following year, it remained undeveloped until around 1970, when the park district improved it with playground equipment, a basketball court, a curved walkway, and a short stone wall for seating. In January, 2000, the park was nearly doubled in size when the park district acquired the right-of-way of adjacent West 45th Street and South Hamlin Avenue. Officially designated Walnut Park in 1973, the park was one of many properties named for trees and plants at the time. The term \"walnut\" encompasses a genus of nut-bearing hardwood trees that include the European walnut, the butternut or white walnut, and the black or American walnut. The black walnut is one of the country's most valuable and sought-after timber trees. Its fine-grained, dark-toned wood has been used for high-quality American furniture and cabinetry since colonial times. When white settlers arrived in Illinois in the late 18th- and early 19th-centuries, the black walnut was common to the region's woodlands and along its river banks. Unfortunately, due to its usefulness, the tree became scarce within a few short decades.\n "}, {"id": 500, "title": "Russell (Martin) Square Park", "address": "\n 3045 E. 83rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the South Chicago neighborhood, Russell Square Park totals 9.99 acres and features a gymnasium, fitness center, and multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers a swimming pool, multi-purpose ball fields, walking trail, basketball/sand volleyball courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, fields, and multi-purpose clubrooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, Inter-City Basketball/Baseball, badminton, Junior Bears Football. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Sports Camp. In addition to programs, Russell Square Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as our Park Showcase, Turkey Trot, and other holiday-themed events\n ", "history": "The visionary South Park Commission superintendent J. Frank Foster conceived Russell Square along with nine other revolutionary parks that opened to the public in 1905. These innovative parks provided social services as well as breathing spaces to overcrowded tenement neighborhoods on Chicago's south side. In addition to year-round recreational facilities and social activities, the new parks offered English lessons and other educational programs, the earliest branches of the Chicago Public Library, inexpensive hot meals, free public bathing facilities, and other health services. The ten parks, which quickly proved to be nationally influential, included Russell, Mark White, Davis, Armour, and Cornell Squares, and Bessemer, Ogden, Sherman, Palmer, and Hamilton Parks. Although the entire system was originally designed by the Olmsted Brothers landscape architects and Daniel H. Burnham & Co. architects, Russell Square has undergone many changes. The fieldhouse designed by Chicago Park District architects replaced the original building in 1967. The park pays tribute to Martin J. Russell (1845-1900), an accomplished native Chicagoan. After serving as Lieutenant in the Union Army during the Civil War, Russell began a career in journalism. In 1874, he began serving on the Board of Education, and two years later, he was elected Town Clerk. In 1880, he was appointed to the Board of the South Park Commission. He continued serving on the board until 1894, when President Cleveland appointed him Collector of Customs for the port of Chicago. Russell resigned from the collectorship in 1897 and continued in his journalistic career.\n "}, {"id": 501, "title": "Rutherford Sayre Park", "address": "\n 6871 W. Belden Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60707\n ", "description": "Rutherford Sayre Park is located in Chicago\u2019s Montclare\u00a0community (with Oak Park Avenue at the eastern edge of the park\u2014and close to Chicago\u2019s border with Elmwood Park: two blocks south of where Fullerton Avenue changes its name to Grand Avenue).\n\nThe park is 13.94 acres in size, and its fieldhouse contains a fitness center, gymnasium, and kitchen. Outside, the park offers two junior baseball fields, a softball field, a combination football-soccer field, two tennis courts, a new ADA soft-surface playground with spray pool, a nature area, plus passive recreation areas.\n\nRutherford Sayre Park offers a great variety of programming for all ages. Toddlers / preschoolers can enjoy Fun & Games, Moms Pops & Tots Interaction. Recreation includes the fitness center / weight training, baseball, basketball, dodgeball, flag football, floor hockey, golf, seasonal sports, soccer, team tumbling, volleyball, and (Olympic) weight lifting. In the summer, youth can attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nOn the cultural side, Rutherford Sayre Park offers several visual arts programs, including arts & crafts, drawing & (water color) painting, and ceramics. Nature programming involves a community garden. The teen art camp has created several colorful mosaics within the park's grounds.\n ", "history": "In mid-1999, the Chicago Park District combined three of its parks (Rutherford, Sayre, and Rutherford Sayre) to form Rutherford Sayre Park. The three separate parks, lying adjacent to the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad tracks on the city's northwest side, had long been treated as one by area residents. All three were set aside as parkland just before World War I and came under the control of the Chicago Park District in 1959. The park properties were donated by two local families, the Sayres and Rutherfords, who had farmed and later subdivided the surrounding area. The western portions of the parkland had been part of the Sayre homestead, purchased by William E. Sayre in the early 1830s. Thomas A. Rutherford, the area's first postmaster, donated the eastern section, at the southwest corner of Belden and Oak Park Avenues. In 1916, the Northwest Park District began to improve the area north of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul tracks, erecting a fieldhouse with an assembly hall and a gymnasium. Per a stipulation in the Rutherford deed, the fieldhouse originally included a bowling alley as well, an unusual feature for a Chicago park fieldhouse. In the 1920s, the Chicago Landscape Company designed a spray pool for the park.\n "}, {"id": 502, "title": "Sacramento Park", "address": "\n 3520 N. Sacramento Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60618\n ", "description": "This park covers 0.93 acres and contains a softball field, a playslab with two basketball standards, and a soft surface playground. It is located in the Avondale neighborhood (approximately one block south of Addison Street, and roughly two blocks east of Elston Avenue).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Brands Park.\n ", "history": "Sacramento Park is one of many small parks created by the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation to meet increasing recreational demands in post-World War II Chicago. In 1950, the bureau purchased this small property on Sacramento Avenue in the Avondale neighborhood, and soon improved the site with playground equipment, a basketball court, and a ballfield. Following the bureau's general practice, the park was named for the adjacent street. (Sacramento, a Spanish word meaning \"sacrament,\" is also the name of the capital of California.) In 1959, the city transferred Sacramento Park to the Chicago Park District, which installed a new soft surface playground in 1992.\n "}, {"id": 503, "title": "Sauganash Park", "address": "\n 5861 N. Kostner Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "Check out our new playground! Tucked away in the Sauganash neighborhood, Sauganash Park is 5.25 acres and it\u00a0offers a great variety of programs to its patrons. Indoor facilities include a gymnasium an auditorium/assembly hall with a stage. Outdoors, Sauganash offers two small softball fields, four tennis courts and a playground.\n\nArea youth play sports, such as volleyball, basketball, flag football, t-ball baseball, softball, floor hockey, outdoor tennis, indoor and outdoor soccer, kids fitness, Dodgeball and Nerf\u00ae football. Youth also participate in day camp, sports camp, recreational tumbling, team tumbling and girls\u2019 gymnastics team. Many of the youth and teens participate in citywide sporting events.\n\nPreschoolers get started early building skills in t-ball baseball, tumbling, kids fitness and indoor soccer. The park offers traditional early childhood recreation classes\u2014 moms, pops, and tots interaction, play group, preschool, puppetry, story telling, and Moms, Dads, & Tots Gymnastics. Adults join in athletics with basketball, co-recreational volleyball, walking, and conditioning.\n\nOn the cultural side, Sauganash Park offers music classes for all ages. Toddlers, starting as young as 18 months, participate in sing along, children's theater, voice, tap and ballet, and music and movement. Youth choose from tap and ballet, arts and crafts, play production, acting, guitar, and piano. In addition they can participate in play production where they act in a full-scale productions for the community. For adults and seniors, there are classes for those looking to learn piano.\n ", "history": "Sauganash Park and its surrounding neighborhood bear the name of Potawatomi chief and early Chicagoan Sauganash (1780-1841), also known as Billy Caldwell. Born in Canada of a Wyandot Indian mother and an Irish father, Sauganash (\"The Englishman\"), was educated by Jesuit priests at the French settlement of Detroit. Sauganash became a Chicago resident in 1820, and was elected a justice of the peace six years later. In 1830, the federal government granted him a 1,200-acre reservation along the North Branch of the Chicago River. Sauganash sold most of his land six years later, moving to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to join the Potowatomis. For nearly a century, farmers held much of the reservation land. In the mid-1920s, however, Henry G. Zander, Sr. and George F. Koester began to subdivide the area for homes. In 1926, residents of northwest Chicago's prestigious new Sauganash development petitioned for a park board to create recreational facilities in their growing community. The newly-formed Sauganash Park District acquired nearly four acres of property from developer Koester in late 1928. In August 1930, the district approved park plans and began improvements including walks, tennis and horse shoe courts, and a wading pool. Work was completed by Christmas Eve, and the district illuminated the park lights in celebration. Construction of a single-story, English-style fieldhouse with a 300-seat auditorium began in March of 1934. The Chicago Park District assumed ownership of Sauganash Park only two months later. The consolidated park district added ball fields and playground equipment and made other improvements over time. In the mid-1970s, the park district acquired another acre-and-a-half of adjacent property and built a large gymnasium addition to the fieldhouse\n "}, {"id": 504, "title": "Sauganash Trail Park", "address": "\n 4400 W. Devon Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "The Sauganash Trail is 11.64 acres and it officially opened June 21, 2008 in the Sauganash community on Chicago\u2019s Northwest Side. It\u2019s one mile long, running from Bryn Mawr to Devon near Kostner. It\u2019s a wonderful little path that is used regularly by locals. Community residence can access the path at Bryn Mawr to pedal downtown,take a leisurely stroll or power walk, walk your dog [don't forget to bring a doggie poop bag], or take jog in the neighborhood.\n ", "history": "In the mid-2000s, the Chicago Department of Transportation built a new multi-use recreational trail adjacent to Sauganash Park. The 2.1 million project was funded by Federal and State grants. Construction required the demolition and replacement of two unsafe railroad bridges over Peterson and Rogers Park avenues. The trail was built to Chicago Park District standards with a 12-foot wide paved surface flanked by soft-surface running/walking surfaces that are each 3-feet wide. There are two access ramps\u2014one at Sauganash Park and one at Thome Street, and the trail is accessible at Bryn Mawr and Devon avenues. It is lined on both sides with lawn and trees. The Chicago Park District leases the linear park from the City of Chicago. Since its completion in 2008, the site has been called Sauganash Trail Park, and it is well known to the community by that name.\n "}, {"id": 505, "title": "Schaefer (Edward) Park", "address": "\n 2415 N. Marshfield Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Located in the Lincoln Park community (1/2 long block north of Fullerton Avenue, one block west of Ashland Avenue), Schaefer Playlot Park is 0.25 acres and it was renovated under the Chicago Plays! playground renovation.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Wrightwood Park.\n ", "history": "In 1908, the City of Chicago opened a public bath in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, one of 14 such facilities operated by the Chicago Department of Health at the time. The first of these baths had opened in 1894 at the urging of social reformers, who sought to provide health and hygiene services for overcrowded inner-city neighborhoods where few residences had running water. The city named the Lincoln Park bath for leading Chicago physician Fernand Henrotin (1847-1906), who served as surgeon to both the Fire and Police Departments for many years. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation began operating the public baths on behalf of the city around 1930. By this time, living conditions were improving, and bath attendance had long since begun to decline. Still, as late as 1945, Henrotin Bath drew 24,000 patrons, more thantwo-thirds paid no admission. In the mid-1950s, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation developed plans for a small playground on property adjacent to the bath house. Shortly thereafter, the new playground was designated Schaefer Park, in honor of local civic leader and Republican precinct captain Edward J. Schaefer (1895-1955). Schaefer, an aid to 44th Ward Alderman John Burmeister, suffered a fatal heart attack while listening to election returns at the alderman's campaign headquarters. The city transferred Schaefer Park and the adjacent Henrotin Bath to the Chicago Park District in 1959. In 1971, the park district demolished the aging bath house, expanding the playground unto the now empty site. In 1992, a new soft surface playground was installed.\n "}, {"id": 506, "title": "Schafer (Clara D.) Park", "address": "\n 8900 S. Green Bay Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Park No. 503 is located in the South Chicago community. This park is 15.47 acres and it is used for passive recreation.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District and City of Chicago worked together to acquire 15 and-a-half acres of land for a new park in the city\u2019s South Chicago community. The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners officially named the new park in honor of Clara D. Schafer in 2014. \u00a0Clara Dorothy Schafer (c. 1898 \u2013 1972) was a nurse and hospital administrator who saved South Chicago Hospital (now Advocate Trinity Hospital) from extinction. \u00a0Born and raised in Chicago, Schafer had considered pursuing a career in the opera or theater, but decided to devote her life to helping others. \u00a0She graduated from Chicago\u2019s Burnside Hospital School of Nursing in 1917, and began working as an assistant superintendent in the hospital. Three years later, she became superintendent and administrator of South Chicago Hospital. At the time, the 30-bed facility, nicknamed \u201cPill Hill,\u201d was on the brink of bankruptcy. \u00a0The State Department of Public Health threatened to close the small hospital. Clara Schafer turned the institution around, making it one of the most important facilities in the community. On Schafer\u2019s tenth anniversary, the hospital board announced that between 1920 and 1929 she had increased the average number of annual patients from 700 to 2,700. \u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n\nSchafer was deeply committed to the hospital and the people it served. She was known to shop for and cook hospital meals, scrub floors, and visit the room of each patient. \u00a0Additionally, she helped make the South Chicago Community Hospital School of Nursing a great success. After serving in her position for 38 years, Clara D. Schafer retired in 1957. She won many awards including an induction into the Academia Cultural y de Cincias Humanicas of Mexico and was also the subject of a biography entitled The Light on the Hill. \u00a0Park #503 is an appropriate site to name in honor of Clara D. Schafer because it is located only two miles from South Chicago Community Hospital (now Advocate Trinity Hospital) at 2320 East 93nd Street where Ms. Schafer worked and lived. \u00a0(Her residence at 2325 E. 92nd Place was within the hospital complex.)\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 507, "title": "Schreiber Park", "address": "\n 1552 W. Schreiber Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Located in Rogers Park (north of Devon Avenue and east of Clark Street), Schreiber Park offers weekday programming for various age groups. Programs include children\u2019s arts and crafts, sports and fitness, dance, games and homework hour, adult walking club, as well as moms, pops & tots. The park\u2019s ping-pong table is rather popular.\n\nThe 2.48-acre park continues to expand its open green space and contains a new ADA accessible soft-surface playground, an open space ideal for junior field sports, community garden and a basketball court.\n\nPlease note: If you are interested in swim programs offered at nearby Sullivan High School Pool, patrons can register at Schreiber Park.\u00a0If you are already registered for swim programs, please enter the school using door number 10, which is located adjacent to the H.S. parking lot [Albion right before Bosworth].\n ", "history": "As late as 1870, there were fewer than ten families living west of Ridge Avenue in what is now the southwestern portion of Rogers Park. Among these were the Schreibers. Nicholas and Katherine Schreiber had arrived from Mainz, Germany in 1848, purchasing 40 acres of land near Devon Avenue and Green Bay Road (now Clark Street). Nicholas died suddenly just a few months before the birth of his twin sons, Dominick and Michael. Raised by their mother and an older brother, the twins eventually took control of the family farm. They expanded their holdings to 160 acres, and engaged in truck farming. Dominick built greenhouses on the land, and found success in the floral business. In 1877, he built a two-story frame house on Ridge Avenue, near his boyhood home. Twenty years later, the brothers subdivided their land; Schreiber Avenue runs through their former farmstead. Schreiber Park is among numerous playgrounds established by the City of Chicago in the years following World War II. Land acquisition began in 1948. By the time of the park's October, 1950 dedication, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had improved the site with a shelter house, a sand box, and a playing field that was flooded for ice skating in winter. The city transferred Schreiber Park to the Chicago Park District in 1959. In 1997, the park district expanded the site through an Illinois Department of Natural Resources development grant, bringing the park's size to just over an acre.\n "}, {"id": 508, "title": "Scottsdale Park", "address": "\n 4637 W. 83rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60652\n ", "description": "Located in the Scottsdale neighborhood, Scottsdale Park totals 2.46\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium, fitness center, boxing ring, and multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers two baseball diamonds, a playground & a small picnic area. Indoor & outdoor spaces are also available for rentals.\u00a0 \n\nPark-goers can participate in a variety of year-round programs including youth sports, tiny tot & preschool programs, tumbling, arts & crafts, teen club & boxing. Scottsdale Park also offers music lessons for all ages and a Senior Citizen Club. Adults can also take part in many varied fitness classes including Pilates, Circuit Training, Strength & Conditioning, Weight Training & Boxing.\u00a0 During the summer youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week Day Camp program.\n\nIn addition to programs, Scottsdale Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as our Park Showcase, Boxing Showcase, and other holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "During World War I, Ashburn Flying Field, a pilot training facility and Chicago's first airport, was established in the sparsely-settled Ashburn community. By the late 1940s, the area's population was beginning to surge, but residents had few recreational opportunities. In 1952, builder/developer Raymond Lutgert subdivided the old air field, creating the new community of Scottsdale, named for Lutgert's son, Scott. Among the significant institutions in the quickly-growing subdivision was St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Parish, which built a temporary church at West 83rd Street and South Scottsdale Avenue before the end of 1953. Only a year-and-a-half later, St. Bede Parish had outgrown its first home, and the Bishop of Chicago sold the church property to the Chicago Park District for park development. The park district soon remodelled the temporary church for use as a recreation building, and improved the site with playground equipment, a softball diamond, and a basketball and volleyball court. In 1979, the park district demolished the original church structure to make way for a new fieldhouse, dedicated in September, 1981. More recently, the park district added a combination football/soccer field and a new soft surface playground.\n "}, {"id": 509, "title": "Seneca Park", "address": "\n 220 E. Chicago Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60611\n ", "description": "Seneca Playground Park is located in the\u00a0Near North\u00a0Community. The park is 1.01 acres and it features\u00a0two playgrounds and is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Lake Shore Park for recreation.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Located just east of Chicago's historic Water Tower Pumping Station, tiny Seneca Park provides a quiet oasis from bustling Michigan Avenue. The Chicago Park District leases the park property from the City of Chicago Water Fund.\n\nAs early as 1907, the eastern portion of this park was considered part of nearby Lake Shore Playground, and developed as such by the Lincoln Park Commission. In 1915, the State of Illinois built an armory on Chicago Avenue, between Seneca and Lake Shore Parks, permanently separating the two park spaces. By 1950, the Department of Public Works was managing this property as Seneca Park. The Chicago Park District began to lease the parkland from the city in 1959. Seneca Park features both a lawn with shaded walkways and a playlot. \u00a0\n\nBen, a horse sculpture by Debra Butterfield \u00a0was installed in the park in 1990. Although the sculpture looks as though it is made of many pieces of wood, it is actually composed of bronze. The Eli Schulman Playground Committee donated the artwork as part of a major playground renovation effort.\u00a0\n\nThe playground is named for Eli M. Schulman (1910-1988), a well-known restaurateur who was active in promoting recreational activities for children. During his varied career, Schulman served as Deputy Coroner and on the board of McCormick Place, and participated in many charitable works. The park itself takes its name from adjacent Seneca Street, named for the Iroquois tribe of upstate New York.\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 510, "title": "Senior Citizens Memorial Park", "address": "\n 2228 N. Oakley Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Senior Citizens Memorial Playlot Park is located in the Logan Square neighborhood (three blocks south of Fullerton Avenue, one long block east of Western Avenue). This 1.10-acre park contains both a shuffleboard court and a passive recreation area. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at Holstein Park.\n ", "history": "Created in the 1970s, Senior Citizens Memorial Park lies in the Logan Square neighborhood on land formerly occupied by the Logan Elementary School. After the Board of Education closed Logan School in July, 1972, the city moved quickly to develop the property as parkland. Despite initial discussion of constructing tennis courts there, by 1977 the city was developing plans for recreational facilities - including shuffle board courts and permanent game tables - tailored to the area's older residents. The city transferred the property, then known as Logan Elderly Park, to the Chicago Park District in 1979. The following year, the park was officially renamed Senior Citizens Memorial Park at the request of 32nd Ward alderman Terry Gabinski and the Senior Citizens of Holstein Park.\n "}, {"id": 511, "title": "Senka (Edward \"Duke\") Park", "address": "\n 5400 S. St. Louis Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60632\n ", "description": "Located in the Chicago Lawn community, Senka Park is 17.50 acres and it features a playground, spray pool, softball/baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and soccer fields.\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Edward \"Duke\" Senka, for whom this park is named, was a long-time park district employee. Senka rose from physical instructor to supervisor of recreation between 1941 and his death in 1983. The Chicago Park District created Senka Park in 1971 on an abandoned rail yard leased by the city from the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. When in 1990 the railroad announced plans to terminate the lease and sell the parkland for development, the community protested. Fortunately, the park district, with the help of the Trust for Public Land, successfully negotiated the purchase of the leased property, together with adjoining land, and tripled the park's size. The park district, the board of education, and the city have since pooled their resources to develop state-of-the-art recreational facilities at the site.\n "}, {"id": 512, "title": "Senn (Nicholas) Park", "address": "\n 5887 N. Ridge Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60660\n ", "description": "Did you know that we are now offering programs at Senn Park? \u00a0We are in the school! \u00a0Check out our class offerings and sign-up today.\n\nLocated in the heart of Chicago\u2019s Edgewater Community, Senn Park is 5.90 acres and it is fun place for people of all ages to spend a day playing in the park. Whether your hobby of choice is gardening, playing soccer, shooting hoops or stepping up to the plate for a game of baseball, you are bound to find the park bursting with activity. Young children and families enjoy the large ADA accessible playground and water spray feature.\n\nWith funding from Alderman Mary Ann Smith, the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Park District enabled $1.5 million in improvements to the \"triangle\". This is the south portion of the park and \"West Campus\" area of Senn High School & Rickover Naval Academy, the area bounded by Ridge/Clark, Thorndale, and Ridgeview Ave.\n ", "history": "Senn Park and the adjacent high school were named for Nicholas V. Senn, a prominent north side physician who conducted important medical research prior to his death in 1908. Although the park has existed only since 1947, its location has much earlier historic significance. It was originally the site of the Nicholas Kranz homestead and inn known as the Seven Mile House. According to the Kranz family, Abraham Lincoln attended a caucus of local farmers at the Seven Mile House during his 1860 campaign for the presidency. To honor this legacy, the city donated the Young Lincoln statue by sculptor Charles Keck to Senn Park in 1997.\n "}, {"id": 513, "title": "Seward (William) Park", "address": "\n 375 W. Elm St. \n Chicago, IL 60610\n ", "description": "Located in the Near North Community Area, Seward Park totals 8.79 acres and offers the right mix of athletic programming and family special events.\n\nIndividuals and teams frequently rent Seward Park\u2019s two gyms for sports leagues and games, fundraisers, parties, corporate outings and more. Seward Park features two gyms with balconies; men\u2019s & women\u2019s locker rooms; a dance studio; six club/meeting rooms; a boxing ring and room; a playground; two softball/soccer fields; and several outdoor basketball standards.\n\nSeward Park offers numerous programs for different age groups at various times throughout the year, including basketball, boxing, track and field, volleyball, arts & crafts, indoor and outdoor soccer, Cubs Care Rookie Baseball and Bitty Basketball. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp. Water enthusiast visit the indoor swimming pool at Stanton Park, just steps away.\n\nIn addition to programs, Seward Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as concerts, Movies in the Park and other Night Out in the Parks events.\n ", "history": "Completed in 1908, Seward Park was one of the Lincoln Park Commission's first three neighborhood parks. Although the park commission was established in 1869 to manage Lincoln Park and its connecting boulevards, by the turn of the century administrators were concerned about the living conditions in densely-populated neighborhoods within their jurisdiction. Approval of a 1907 bond issue allowed the acquisition of land for Seward and Stanton Parks, along with improvements to Lake Shore Playground, which was already part of the Lincoln Park System. Prairie School architect Dwight H. Perkins designed the Seward Park fieldhouse. An advocate for playgrounds in congested districts and a leader in saving the forest preserves, Perkins served as architect to the Chicago Board of Education during the period in which he also worked for the Lincoln Park Commission. Perkins' fieldhouse included gymnasiums, shower baths, a reading room, club rooms, and an assembly hall equipped with a movable stage and an electric lantern with an attachment for educational moving pictures. The Lincoln Park Commissioners decided to name new parks after President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet members. William H. Seward (1801-1872) was the Secretary of State during Lincoln's administration.\n "}, {"id": 514, "title": "Shabbona Park", "address": "\n 6935 W. Addison St. \n Chicago, IL 60634\n ", "description": "Located in the Dunning community(the eastern border is two blocks east of Oak Park Avenue, and the northern border abuts Addison Street), Shabbona Park sits on approximately 18.83\u00a0acres of land.\n\nThe fieldhouse is equipped with an indoor swimming pool, fitness center, gymnasium, gymnastics center, woodcraft room, and clubroom available for rental. Outside, there are four baseball fields, a softball field, a combination football-soccer field, five tennis courts, two horseshoe pits, a playground and spray pool, as well as a nearly one-mile walking trail available for cross-country skiing.\n\nFor recreation, patrons can enjoy working out at the fitness center, as well as such sports as badminton, basketball, dodgeball, floor hockey, seasonal sports, softball, and volleyball.In the summer, youth can attend the popular and affordable six-week day camp. Tots and preschoolers can increase their socialization skills in programs such as Fun & Games, Preschool, Moms Pops & Tots Interaction, Twinkle Star Gymnastics, and, of course, several aquatics programs.\n\nShabbona park is also noted for its special recreation programs & facilities for people with disabilities\u2014including training for Special Olympics.\n\nIn addition to seasonal programs, Shabbona Park hosts fun special events for the whole family, such as a Halloween Party, Build Your Own Chocolate Holiday House, and an outdoor Movie in the Park.\n ", "history": "Shabbona Park is among the four parks established by the Old Portage Park District, one of 22 independent park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Created in 1912, the Old Portage Park District aimed to improve property values and provide substantial recreational facilities for the middle class Portage Park community. Nearby Portage Park, begun in 1913, met with such success, that residents of the adjacent Dunning neighborhood sought to expand the district's borders into their community. This annexation was completed in 1925 and, early the following year, the Old Portage Park District began acquiring an 18.7-acre property identified by the Dunning Park Improvement Association. Before long, the new park had winding walkways, spacious lawns, flower beds, and a sunken garden, as well as baseball and football fields and a large playground. In 1928, the park district built a Georgian-style brick fieldhouse with a 300-seat assembly hall, a kitchen, and various club, game, and shower rooms. The structure is identical to the Chopin and Wilson Park fieldhouses. After Shabbona Park's 1934 transfer to the Chicago Park District, the unified agency installed softball fields and a new baseball diamond. By 1946, the park district had developed plans for gymnasium and swimming pool additions to the heavily-used fieldhouse. However, the gymnasium was not constructed until 1959, and a natatorium came slightly more than a decade after that. During the 1990s, the park district rehabilitated many of Shabbona Park's major features. Shabbona Park takes its name from the Potawatomi chief Shabbona (ca. 1775-1859). Shabbona and his people continued to live in northeastern Illinois well after the establishment of Chicago's Fort Dearborn in 1803. In the early 1830s, Shabbona warned white settlers of the Sac chief Black Hawk's intentions to take back his ancestral lands in western Illinois. Though Shabbona's warnings saved many lives, his people were nevertheless removed to a reservation west of the Mississippi in 1837. The people of Ottawa, Illinois warmly welcomed Shabbona when he returned in 1854. Shabbona died there five years later.\n "}, {"id": 515, "title": "Shedd (John G.) Park", "address": "\n 3660 W. 23rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60623\n ", "description": "Located in the South Lawndale community, Shedd Park totals 1.30\u00a0acres and features a field house with a gymnasium and upstairs auditorium with a stage. Outside, the park offers basketball courts, a playground and an interactive water spray feature. Shedd Park's playground was renovated in Fall 2015\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nPark-goers can play basketball and table games at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Shedd Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday events and Movies in the Park.\n ", "history": "Born on a farm in New Hampshire, John Graves Shedd (1850-1926) began working as a store clerk at the age of 17. He decided to go west and arrived in Chicago in 1872. Striving to work at the \"biggest store in town,\" Shedd took a $10-a-week job as stockboy in the Field, Leiter and Company Store. He quickly rose to higher positions. Promoted to partner in what was then Marshall Field and Company in 1893, Shedd became vice-president in 1901 and then president of the store after Marshall Field died in 1906. Among his numerous charitable efforts and contributions, Shedd donated $3 million to the South Park Commissioners to build the Shedd Aquarium in Grant Park.\n\nIn 1885, Shedd began developing part of South Lawndale's Millard and Decker subdivision. To enhance the area and its property values, he reserved 1.13 acres for what was initially called Shedd's Park. Although Shedd intended to improve the private park through a local assessment, his neighbors did not want to be taxed, and they suggested that it should be made a public park. In 1888, he sold the site to the city, reserving a small lot on the park's north side for the construction of a Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad station.\n\nTen years later, the city transferred the unimproved park to the West Park Commission. Shortly thereafter, the railroad delivered, free of charge, 196 carloads of soil for planted slopes to screen the train tracks. Shedd helped the commissioners gain title to the train station lot in 1914, and the building was demolished.\n\nTwo years later, probably based on the recommendation of landscape architect Jens Jensen, the commission hired Prairie School architect William Drummond to design the Shedd Park fieldhouse. In 1928, the firm of Michaelsen & Rognstad designed a gymnasium addition, well incorporated with the original Prairie-style building.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 516, "title": "Sheil (Bernard) Community Center Park", "address": "\n 3505 N. Southport Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "The inside of Sheil Park rivals the hustle and bustle of Southport Avenue where it\u2019s located. The park, featuring a fieldhouse building and an adjacent new playground, is 0.47 acres and it keeps Lakeview residents healthy and active with affordable, quality indoor programs, and fun family events.\n\nSheil Park is known among parents for its fun and imaginative early childhood programs. A variety of classes engage preschoolers as young as six months in active play that emphasizes motor skill development and socialization skills. Whether it\u2019s toddler camp, storytime, little tykes tumbling or kids in the kitchen, there is a class for every youngster, some requiring an accompanying parent, others not.\n\nMany residents are drawn to Sheil Park for its established theater program, which introduces youth, teens and adults to the world of acting, directing and producing. Classes range from basic acting, to more specialized areas of improvisation, set design and scriptwriting. Sheil Park prepares its students for real live productions held each season, where they can demonstrate their craft.\n\nResidents also choose Sheil Park for fitness, including aerobics, yoga and circuit classes, as well as open gym times. Others like to take it easy, joining a teen or senior club.\n ", "history": "Sheil Community Center honors the memory of Archbishop Bernard J. Sheil (1886-1969), pastor at Lake View's St. Andrew's Catholic Church for more than three decades. A supporter of ecumenical efforts and of the rights of racial minorities and laborers, Archbishop Sheil was often referred to as \"the friend of the little guy.\" His interest in young people led him to found the Catholic Youth Organization in 1930. Sheil Community Center is located in the heavily-populated Lake View neighborhood, on land once occupied by the Hanson Laundry Company. The Chicago Park District purchased the property in 1973, demolishing the laundry plant shortly thereafter. In 1975, the park district broke ground for a fieldhouse with a gymnasium, a craftshop, and clubrooms. The gymnasium is named for William E. Pollack (1909-1968), a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 13th District, in which the park lies. A native Chicagoan and a graduate of Lake View High School, Pollack served as the Republican leader for six of his nine terms in office.\n "}, {"id": 517, "title": "Sheridan (Philip Henry) Park", "address": "\n 910 S. Aberdeen St. \n Chicago, IL 60607\n ", "description": "Located in the Near West community, Sheridan Park totals 4.46\u00a0acres and features a three-story fieldhouse with an indoor swimming pool, combination gymnasium and assembly hall, a boxing center and six classrooms. Outside, the park offers baseball fields, athletic field for football or soccer, a playground, an interactive water spray feature, tennis courts and an artificial turf field.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play baseball, basketball or tennis at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Sheridan Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as swim meets, Movies in the Park screenings, egg hunts and game nights.\n ", "history": "The West Park Commission created Sheridan Park between 1912 and 1914 to provide breathing space and social services to the congested near west side. The commission's first three neighborhood parks, Dvorak, Eckhart, and Stanford, were so successful that the State passed a bill permitting additional parks in 1909. (Stanford Park no longer exists.) Focusing particularly on programming for children, the West Park Commission often referred to these as \"playground parks.\"\n\nThe Special Park Commission identified several potential sites for new \"playground parks\" including a small 3.5-acre area adjacent to the existing Jackson School. Jens Jensen, then serving as West Park System consulting landscape architect, created the park's original plan which included swimming and wading pools, and a natatorium, playgrounds, a running track, and an athletic field.\n\nThe commissioners decided that due to the proximity of the school, which had both an assembly hall and gymnasium, no fieldhouse was necessary in Sheridan Park. Over the years, the school facilities proved to be inadequate, and in 1977 the Chicago Park District constructed a large fieldhouse in Sheridan Park. The three-story building, similar to the Gill Park fieldhouse on the north side, includes an indoor swimming pool, combination gymnasium and assembly hall, and six classrooms.\n\nBecause of the building's size and scale, community residents often refer to this as a \"high-rise\" park. The park honors Civil War hero Philip Henry Sheridan (1831-1888). One of the Union Army's most successful cavalry leaders, Sheridan gained widespread fame through Thomas Buchanan Read's poem \"Sheridan's Ride.\"\n\nAfter achieving the rank of Brigadier General in the regular Army in 1864, Sheridan became a 4 star general in 1888. Nineteeth century Chicagoans had special reverence for him because he served as commander of army headquarters here in 1871, and played a significant role in limiting the spread of the Great Fire on the city's south side.\n "}, {"id": 518, "title": "Sherman (John) Park", "address": "\n 1301 W. 52nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Located in the New City community, Sherman Park totals 57.70 acres and features two gymnasiums, an auditorium, fitness center, and multi-purpose rooms. Outside, the park offers a swimming pool,three playgrounds, basketball/tennis courts, baseball/softball diamonds, soccer/football fields. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our auditorium, gymnasiums, multi-purpose rooms, and fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, aerobics, Teen Club. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Sherman Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as Senior Sock Hop Dance, jazz concerts, and holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Sherman Park was one of ten revolutionary Chicago parks which opened to the public in 1905. The city's population had grown from 300,000 in 1870 to 2 million by 1905, but less than 200 acres of new parkland had been created during that period. The noisy, overcrowded immigrant neighborhoods in the center of the city were far away from the existing parks. South Park Commission superintendent J. Frank Foster envisioned a new type of park that would provide social services as well as breathing spaces to these areas. Nationally renowned landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers and architects Daniel H. Burnham and Co. designed the whole system of new parks. In addition to Sherman Park, these were Ogden, Palmer, Bessemer, and Hamilton Parks, and Russell, Davis, Armour, Cornell and Mark White Squares. (Mark White Square is now known as McGuane Park.) At 60 acres, Sherman Park was one of the largest of the parks. The Olmsted Brothers transformed its low and wet site into a beautiful landscape with a meandering waterway surrounding an island of ballfields. The classically-designed architecture, located at the north end of the park, includes the fieldhouse and gym and locker buildings united by trellis-like structures known as pergolas. This architectural commission was especially meaningful to Burnham because the park was named for his father-in-law, John B. Sherman (1825- 1902). The founder of Chicago's Union Stock Yards, Sherman served as a member of the South Park Commission for 25 years.\n "}, {"id": 519, "title": "Sherwood (Jesse) Park", "address": "\n 5701 S. Shields Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60621\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Sherwood Park totals 6.41\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium, fitness center, Youth Wellness Center, and multi-purpose clubrooms. Outside, the park offers an interactive spray pool, playground, basketball court, baseball field. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, multi-purpose clubrooms, and fields.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, a nutrition program, gymnastics, Teen Club. On the cultural side, Sherwood Park offers dance and violin. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Sherwood Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Sherwood Park was one of seven neighborhood playgrounds created by Chicago's Special Park Commission in 1914. Located across the street from Sherwood School in the densely-populated Englewood community, the playground initially included only an athletic field that was flooded in winter for ice skating. Between 1923 and 1935, the city acquired adjacent property, more than tripling the park's size. By 1935, the enlarged park included a playing field, a baseball diamond, a sand box, and a shelter house. The city transferred Sherwood Park to the Chicago Park District in 1959. Having constructed an above-ground swimming pool and a fieldhouse around 1970, the park district expanded the park slightly in 1976 and again in 1997. Both the park and the adjacent school honor early Englewood resident Jesse Sherwood. A native of Delaware, Sherwood moved west to Missouri at 15, and joined the U.S. Navy at 18. After fighting in the Civil War, he relocated to Edina, Minnesota, where he served on the Board of Education. In 1870, Sherwood settled in Englewood, ran a business in the Union Stock Yards, and served three years on the Chicago Board of Education. He was also a one-time president of the National Live Stock Commission.\n "}, {"id": 520, "title": "Simons (Almira) Park", "address": "\n 1640 N. Drake Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "Located in the Humboldt Park\u00a0community (mid-way between Kedzie and Pulaski Avenues, just one-half block north of North Avenue), Simons Park sits on 1.18 acres.The fieldhouse is equipped with a gymnasium, an assembly hall (with stage), a kitchen, and clubrooms for rental.Outside, the park has a basketball court, a volleyball court, boxing gym, plus a playground with a spray feature.\n\nFor recreation, Simons Park offers badminton, basketball, boxing, NERF football, seasonal sports, and soccer\u2014as well as our popular six-week summer camp. On the cultural side, the park offers (oil) painting and arts & crafts. To increase socialization skills and make new friendships, there\u2019s Teen Leadership Club, Go Girl Go, plus Table Fun & Games. The park is filled with awards banners trophies for winning citywide events in boys\u2019 soccer, floor hockey, volleyball, and wrestling.\n\nSimons Park is also host to the Seed of Abraham Children\u2019s Outreach Program, which offers self-esteem and confidence building activities. This partner also provides the park with annual health fairs, which provide kids with school supplies and a school health exam, as well as Say No to Violence back-to-school rallies. In addition to programs, Simons Park hosts the annual citywide boxing show, and the monthly neighborhood CAPS meeting.\n ", "history": "Simons Park honors local resident Almira Simons Winkleman, daughter of early settlers Edward Simons and Laura Sprague Simons. Beginning in 1836, Edward, a northeasterner, and Laura, a former Joliet school teacher, farmed the land now bordered by Armitage, North, Central Park, and Kedzie Avenues. The Simons Park name was suggested by Almira Simons Winkleman's two daughters during the park's development just after World War I. The Fullerton Avenue Business Men's Association had proposed creation of a neighborhood park in 1916, but no action was taken until after the war. The area's Northwest Park District, one of 22 park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934, made its first purchase of land for the park in 1920. Eight years later, the Northwest Park District constructed a red-brick, Second Empire-style fieldhouse designed by nationally-known architect W.W. Alschlager. The fieldhouse, similar to Alschlager's fieldhouses at nearby Kelvyn and Riis Parks, was remodelled in 1990.\n "}, {"id": 521, "title": "Sintic (Gregory) Park", "address": "\n 2835 S. Wallace St. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "This playground is 0.20 acres and it is located in the Bridgeport community.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby McGuane Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "Sintic Park is one of many small parks created by the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation to meet increasing recreational demands in post-World War II Chicago. The bureau developed plans for this Bridgeport neighborhood playlot in 1951, and soon improved the site with playground equipment, benches, a sand box, and a drinking fountain. In 1959, the city transferred the property to the Chicago Park District, which rehabilitated the site with a new soft surface playground in 1992.\n\nOriginally known as 28th Place Playlot for an adjacent street, the park was officially renamed Sintic Park in 1993. The park honors Sergeant Gregory J. Sintic (1947-1968), a U.S. Army enlistee killed by a land mine explosion in Vietnam on January 28, 1968. Sintic was awarded the Bronze Star of Valor and the Purple Heart for his sacrifice. Born and raised in Bridgeport, Sintic attended the Catholic grammar school across the street from the park.\n "}, {"id": 522, "title": "Skinner (Mark) Park", "address": "\n 1331 W. Adams St. \n Chicago, IL 60606\n ", "description": "Located in the Near West community, Skinner Park totals 7.01\u00a0acres and features a small fieldhouse. The park also shares use of the adjacent Whitney Young High School, which allows for access to a gymnasium and an indoor swimming pool.\n\nOutside, the park offers a children\u2019s playground, a popular community garden, baseball fields, basketball courts, and an athletic field for football or soccer.\n\nPark-goers enjoy visiting Skinner Park to play seasonal sports and table games at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Skinner Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Family Nights, a fall Pumpkin Patch, workdays and nature lessons in the Community Roots Demonstration Garden, Movies in the Park and other Night Out in the Parks events.\n ", "history": "In 1848, as the Illinois and Michigan Canal Trustees prepared sale maps for public land to generate revenue that would be used to build the canal, they set aside a 5 \u00bd acre parcel on what was then the West Side of Chicago to create a small park. Originally named Jefferson Park, the City\u2019s Bureau of Public Works soon improved the small square with lawn trees and a small lake as its centerpiece.\n\nTheodore Dreiser described the park in his famous novel, Sister Carrie. In this influential work (which was considered immoral at the time) G.W. Hurstwood, a married man, waited for his mistress Carrie Meeber, while she \"... found a rustic bench beneath the green leaves of a lilac bush.... \u00a0At a little pond nearby some cleanly dressed children were sailing white canvas boats. \u00a0In the shade of a green pagoda a bebuttoned officer of the law was resting, his arms folded.\"\n\nDuring Chicago\u2019s earliest history, the neighborhood surrounding Jefferson Park was one of Chicago\u2019s most fashionable areas. After the Great Fire of 1871, however, the residential area began to decline, and the park also slowly deteriorated. \u00a0\n\nThe City transferred the site to the West Park Commission in 1885, and the commission substantially improved the small park a few years later. \u00a0By the 1910s, many other west side parks had facilities specifically for children, and in 1915 a group of local residents petitioned for a children's playground, wading pool, natatorium, and outdoor gymnasium. \u00a0As this project would have required filling in the park's lake, the commissioners decided not pursue it at that time.\n\nIn 1934, when the West Park Commission was consolidated into the Chicago Park District, the park became known as the \u201cthe first Jefferson Park\u201d because the park district also took possession of another site named Jefferson Park on the city\u2019s Northwest side.\n\nThe first Jefferson Park remained unchanged until 1955, when it was renamed in honor of the adjacent Mark Skinner School. One of Chicago\u2019s earliest school inspectors, Mark Skinner (1836-1887) went on to serve as a U.S. attorney for Illinois, and a State Representative. \u00a0\n\nSoon after its renaming, the park\u2019s lake was filled to make way for ball fields and a playground, to better serve adjacent what is now known as Skinner West Classical Elementary School. In the mid 1970s, Whitney Young Magnet High School opened just southwest of the park.\n\nOver the years, adjacent streets were greened over, and Skinner Park was expanded to slightly more than 7 acres in size. Recent improvements include a new playground with a climbable created by Phil Schuster and Jennifer Gotowski and the Chicago Public Art Group.\n\n\u00a0\n "}, {"id": 523, "title": "Smith (Joseph Higgins) Park", "address": "\n 2526 W. Grand Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "Located in the West Town Community, Smith Park totals 10.20 acres and features a field house with a gymnasium, kitchen and meeting rooms. Outside, the park offers a children\u2019s soft surface a playground, a water spray feature, a swimming pool, baseball fields and an athletic field for football or soccer. Smith Park also has a ceramics studio.\u00a0\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play seasonal sports at the facility or bring the children for tots programming. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Smith Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as skating parties, Movies in the Park and other Night Out in the Parks special events. Smith Park is the host site of the annual Ukrainian Festival.\n ", "history": "In 1929, when a large city dump in the West Town neighborhood had been completely filled, the Bureau of Sanitation transferred part of the site to the Bureau of Parks and Recreation. The city soon named it the Smith Athletic Field for Joseph Higgins Smith, alderman of the surrounding 32nd ward from 1914 to 1933. (At the time, the city regularly named parks for standing aldermen of the wards in which the sites were located.)\n\nAlthough it had been named, the park had few improvements until the late 1930s, when the city installed playground equipment, constructed a small brick recreation building, and created an athletic field that was flooded in winter for ice skating. By the late 1950s, a World War II tank and artillery piece had been placed in the park.\n\nIn 1959, the city transferred Smith Park to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties. After making initial improvements, the park district added a spraypool, swimming pool and bath house in the late 1960s. In 1979, a large modern fieldhouse was constructed in Smith Park. Nine years later, the park district dedicated its gymnasium to Tommy Positano, a high school student who had been active at the park, and who received a Junior Citizenship Award posthumously.\n "}, {"id": 524, "title": "Smith (Wendell) Park", "address": "\n 9912 S. Princeton Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the Roseland community, Smith (Wendell) Park totals 4.62 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers a playground, two basketball courts, and a baseball diamond. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose room and baseball diamond.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, arts & crafts, and Cubs Care Baseball. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Wendell Smith Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "In 1961, the Chicago Park District purchased property to create a park in the increasingly-populated Roseland neighborhood. By 1970, the 3-acre site included a small recreation building. Twenty years later, the park district began to manage nearly an additional acre of city-owned land as part of Wendell Smith Park. In 1975, the park was officially named for Wendell Smith (1914-1972), for whom a nearby school is also named. A sports reporter for WGN-TV and The Sun-Times, Smith, an African-American, fought for equality for black sportsmen throughout his life. He encountered discrimination early, when he was dropped from a Detroit American Legion sandlot baseball team at 16. He was reinstated only through the intervention of Henry Ford, for whom his father worked as a chef. As a young man, Smith joined the sports staff of the Pittsburgh Courier, the nation's largest African-American weekly. While working at the Courier, Smith played a significant role in breaking the baseball color line by introducing Jackie Robinson to Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, by whom Robinson was recruited. In 1947, Smith came to Chicago, joining the staff of the Chicago American, and becoming the first full-time black sportswriter on a large daily paper. Smith later moved to WGN-TV, where he was the principal evening sports announcer. At the time of his death, Smith was president of the Chicago Press Club.\n "}, {"id": 525, "title": "Snapping Turtle Park", "address": "\n 534 N. Albany Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "Snapping Turtle\u00a0playground is 0.16 acres and it is located in the\u00a0West Garfield\u00a0Community. The playground was renovated in Summer 2014\u00a0as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Augusta Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased the property for this playlot in 1973 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1998, the park was officially named Snapping Turtle. Snapping turtles, which use their powerful hooked jaws to capture prey, can only survive living near permanent bodies of water. Snapping turtles were common in Chicago during the 19th century, but the growth of the city unfortunately destroyed much of their natural habitat.\n "}, {"id": 526, "title": "Snowberry Park", "address": "\n 1851 W. Huron St. \n Chicago, IL 60622\n ", "description": "This small park is located in the\u00a0West Town community.\u00a0The park is 0.22 acres and it\u00a0features a playground, swings,\u00a0and a community garden.\u00a0It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Commercial Club Park.\n ", "history": "In 1970, the Chicago Park District identified a .16-acre property for playground development in the heavily-industrialized West Town community. Using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds, the park district acquired the site in 1973 and soon replaced the vacant lot's single basketball standard with a shaded playground and a small spray pool. Recent improvements include a soft surface playground and ornamental iron fencing.\n\nFollowing its then-common practice of naming parks for plants and trees, the park district designated the site Snowberry Park in 1974. The snowberry is a handsome shrub bearing small, pinkish flowers and white berries.\n "}, {"id": 527, "title": "Soldier Field", "address": "\n 1410 S. Museum Campus Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60605\n ", "description": " Soldier Field and the surrounding parkland hosts exciting sporting and special events throughout the year. The design elements inside and outside the stadium will further the public awareness as to the significance and meaning behind the name \u2026 Soldier Field \u2013 A Stadium in the Park. CHILDREN\u2019S GARDEN\u00a0 The Children\u2019s Garden provides families with unique entertainment. This captivating area offers wonderful learning experiences with its various earth, space and science motifs. Imagination and interaction is all that\u2019s required to enjoy the Children\u2019s Garden. COLONNADES Soldier Field\u2019s colonnades are open and accessible to the public year-round. The colonnades are available on a daily basis on non-event days for the public to stroll, enjoy their lunch or simply take pleasure in the magnificent view of the city and Lake Michigan. During a walk along the south end of the upper promenade, visitors view the\u00a0Medal of Honor\u00a0display, featuring recipients of the highest award for valor in action. Public and private parties will also be held in this area offering a one-of-a kind special event venue. DOUGHBOY STATUE\u00a0 Upon entering Soldier Field at Gate O, visitors are greeted by a life-size bronze Doughboy statue. \u201cDoughboys\u201d a term used for the World War I infantryman is a tribute to the men and women of our armed services and one of the many memorials at Soldier Field. Located along the inside wall surrounding the Doughboy are panels with falling leaves paying homage to the soldiers who have lost their lives in battle. Along the wall are benches to provide seating and moments of reflection. The benches contain notable quotations regarding the efforts of those who serve our country. Actual Military Medals of Honor representing the various branches of the armed forces are cast into the backrests. MEMORIAL WATER WALL\u00a0 The Memorial Water Wall is a 250-foot long granite wall. A continuous stream of water flows over eight medallions and seals honoring the different branches of the armed services. The water wall frames the north side of the stadium providing a dramatic entrance to Soldier Field as well as a magnificent backdrop to the museum campus and city skyline. PARKLANDS\u00a0 The Parkland surrounding Soldier Field has been created for the public\u2019s pleasure. The 17-acre park is home to beautifully landscaped grounds and family areas such as the Children\u2019s Garden and Veteran\u2019s Memorial. To capture and enjoy the four seasons at Soldier Field, the Parkland will host seasonal family events; such as Fall Harvest Festivals, Spring Flower Shows and Farmer Markets. Many of the city\u2019s walk, run and bike-a-thons will now take place in this area providing participants with a wonderful way to exercise along the north and south bike path. A variety of public and private events will also be held in the Parkland including corporate dinners, casual receptions, weddings and birthday parties. Adjacent to the Parkland is the South Festival Lot. The 400,000 square foot space will host public festivals, small concerts, sporting events, corporate ride-n-drives and more. ", "history": "Originally opened in 1924, Soldier Field was known as one of the great venues during the \u201cGolden Age of Sports\u201d and one of Chicago\u2019s most famous landmarks. Crowds in excess of 100,000 were commonplace, marked by several memorable events including the 1926 Army-Navy game and the epic 1927 Jack Dempsey/Gene Tunney heavyweight rematch featuring the controversial long count. In 1944, 150,000 spectators attended a wartime visit by President Franklin Roosevelt and thousands turned out to hear evangelist Billy Graham in 1962. Soldier Field is also the birthplace of the first Special Olympics Game in 1968. Rock concerts, festivals, rodeos, circuses and even a skiing/toboggan event have called Soldier Field home. The Chicago Bears began using the facility in 1971 and played their first game on the renovated Soldier Field on September 29, 2003. "}, {"id": 528, "title": "South Lakeview Park", "address": "\n 1300 W. Wolfram St. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "This 0.78-acre park is located in the Lakeview neighborhood (one block north of Diversey Parkway, three blocks east of Ashland Avenue). It contains a play lab with four basketball standards, a volleyball court, and a playground. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Hamlin Park.\n ", "history": "In the mid-1960s, the South Lakeview Neighbors Association began to push for a playground in their crowded community. In 1966, the Chicago Park District agreed to create a new park at the corner of North Lakewood Avenue and West Wolfram Street. Using both city Park Improvement Bond funds and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funds, the park district purchased the property two years later. Before long, the new park was equipped with basketball and volleyball courts, playground apparatus, a sand box, and a spray pool. In 1969, the park district recognized residents' efforts by naming the site South Lakeview Park. Subsequent improvements include a 1993 playground rehabilitation.\n "}, {"id": 529, "title": "South Shore Beach Park", "address": "\n 7059 S. South Shore Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60649\n ", "description": "Located in the South Shore community, South Shore Cultural Center (formerly the South Shore Country Club) is a cultural facility that has been recognized as a Chicago Landmark (2004) and is also listed on the National Register (1975). This cultural haven was founded in 1905 and later rebuilt in 1916. Bought by the Chicago Park District in 1975, this historic building was restored as a historic landmark after a massive community campaign led by the Chicago Park District and historic preservationists. South Shore Cultural Center totals 64.50 acres. With its magnificent country club-like interior,this facility features a solarium, formal dining hall, Paul Robeson Theater, Washburne Culinary Institute, and the Parrot Cage Restaurant. Green features of the park include a nature sanctuary and a butterfly garden. Outside, the park offers a nine-hole golf course, beach, and open spaces for picnics and walks. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our solarium, dining room, theater, and fields. Park-goers can participate in variety of cultural programs and classes for all ages in dance, music, art, health, culinary arts, fitness, and more. South Shore has recently added new adult art classes including textile art, drawing & painting, mixed media art, and ceramics.\u00a0\n\nAfter school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, South Shore Cultural Center hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n\nSouth Shore Cultural Center Arts Partners: As the gem of the South Lakefront, South Shore Cultural Center is proud to offer a variety of culturally rich programs to the surrounding community. These programs would not be possible without the successful partnerships with various organizations including After School Matters, Chicago Music Association, Chicago Modern Orchestra Project, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Court Theatre, Hatha Yoga, Pagoda Martial Arts, South Shore Advisory Council, South Shore Opera Company, Steppin', Washburne Culinary Institute. For more information about these partnerships and programs, please contact the South Shore Cultural Center.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The South Shore Cultural Center, a 65-acre park with a golf course, tennis courts, a bathing beach, and an impressive building, originated as the South Shore Country Club. In 1905, Lawrence Heyworth, president of the downtown Chicago Athletic Club, envisioned an exclusive club with a \"country setting.\" Heyworth selected unimproved south lakefront property, often used for fishing and duck hunting, for the new country club.\n\nThe club's directors hired architects Marshall and Fox, later known for designing many of Chicago's most luxurious hotel and apartment buildings, including the Drake Hotel. For inspiration, Heyworth provided a photograph of an old private club in Mexico City, but asked the architects to exclude expensive embellishments. As the club could not yet collect dues, work had to proceed quickly and inexpensively. To this end, members Marshall Field and A. Montgomery Ward lent their store delivery wagons to transport turf, sod, and trees. Mr. Worcester, Vice-President of the Peoples Gas Company, put in lighting for the grounds and clubhouse.\n\nEnjoying immediate success and social importance, South Shore Country Club quickly outgrew its facilities. Marshall and Fox were hired to build a new clubhouse, incorporating the original ballroom. Constructed in 1916, the larger and more substantial reinforced concrete building, like the original, was designed in the Mediterranean Revival style. The country club's membership peaked in the late 1950s. Simultaneously, many African-Americans began settling in South Shore. Because the private club excluded black members, it went out of business in the 1970s.\n\nIn 1974, the Chicago Park District purchased the property to expand its lakefront facilities. The park district planned to demolish the severely-deteriorated clubhouse. However, community members rallied together to save the historic building. Rehabilitating the clubhouse as a cultural center in the late 1970s, the park district has since restored other historic features including the front colonnade, entry gate and stables.\n "}, {"id": 530, "title": "South Shore Cultural Center Park", "address": "\n 7059 S. South Shore Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60649\n ", "description": "Located in the South Shore community, South Shore Cultural Center (formerly the South Shore Country Club) is a cultural facility that has been recognized as a Chicago Landmark (2004) and is also listed on the National Register (1975). This cultural haven was founded in 1905 and later rebuilt in 1916. Bought by the Chicago Park District in 1975, this historic building was restored as a historic landmark after a massive community campaign led by the Chicago Park District and historic preservationists. South Shore Cultural Center totals 70.84 acres. With its magnificent country club-like interior,this facility features a solarium, formal dining hall and the\u00a0Paul Robeson Theater.\u00a0Green features of the park include a nature sanctuary and a butterfly garden. Outside, the park offers a nine-hole golf course,\u00a0beach, and open spaces for picnics and walks. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our solarium, dining room and\u00a0theater. Park-goers can participate in variety of cultural programs and classes for all ages in dance, music, art, health, culinary arts, fitness, and more. South Shore has recently added new adult art classes including textile art, drawing & painting, mixed media art, and ceramics.\u00a0\n\nAfter school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, South Shore Cultural Center hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n\nSouth Shore Cultural Center Arts Partners: As the gem of the South Lakefront, South Shore Cultural Center is proud to offer a variety of culturally rich programs to the surrounding community. These programs would not be possible without the successful partnerships with various organizations including After School Matters, Chicago Music Association, Chicago Modern Orchestra Project, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Court Theatre, Hatha Yoga, South Chicago Dance Theatre,\u00a0\u00a0South Shore Advisory Council, South Shore Opera Company. For more information about these partnerships and programs, please contact the South Shore Cultural Center.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The South Shore Cultural Center, a 65-acre park with a golf course, tennis courts, a bathing beach, and an impressive building, originated as the South Shore Country Club. In 1905, Lawrence Heyworth, president of the downtown Chicago Athletic Club, envisioned an exclusive club with a \"country setting.\" Heyworth selected unimproved south lakefront property, often used for fishing and duck hunting, for the new country club.\n\nThe club's directors hired architects Marshall and Fox, later known for designing many of Chicago's most luxurious hotel and apartment buildings, including the Drake Hotel. For inspiration, Heyworth provided a photograph of an old private club in Mexico City, but asked the architects to exclude expensive embellishments. As the club could not yet collect dues, work had to proceed quickly and inexpensively. To this end, members Marshall Field and A. Montgomery Ward lent their store delivery wagons to transport turf, sod, and trees. Mr. Worcester, Vice-President of the Peoples Gas Company, put in lighting for the grounds and clubhouse.\n\nEnjoying immediate success and social importance, South Shore Country Club quickly outgrew its facilities. Marshall and Fox were hired to build a new clubhouse, incorporating the original ballroom. Constructed in 1916, the larger and more substantial reinforced concrete building, like the original, was designed in the Mediterranean Revival style. The country club's membership peaked in the late 1950s. Simultaneously, many African-Americans began settling in South Shore. Because the private club excluded black members, it went out of business in the 1970s.\n\nIn 1974, the Chicago Park District purchased the property to expand its lakefront facilities. The park district planned to demolish the severely-deteriorated clubhouse. However, community members rallied together to save the historic building. Rehabilitating the clubhouse as a cultural center in the late 1970s, the park district has since restored other historic features including the front colonnade, entry gate and stables.\n "}, {"id": 531, "title": "Spikings Farm Park", "address": "\n 4706 North Pulaski Road \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "This tiny playground is 0.15 acres and it is located in the Albany Park neighborhood (on Pulaski Road, \u00bd block south of Lawrence Avenue).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at\u00a0Mayfair Park.\n ", "history": "In the years before the Great Chicago Fire, William H. Spikings, using bricks he made himself, built a substantial farmhouse at what would become the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Pulaski Road. The site of the area's original farmstead eventually became a street-car crossing and an important business location. In 1974, the Chicago Park District acquired the northwest corner of the intersection for park development. Called Louis Goldberg park for a brief period in 1975, it was renamed for Spikings Farm in 1998.\n "}, {"id": 532, "title": "Spruce Park", "address": "\n 5337 S. Blackstone Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located in the Hyde Park community, Spruce Playlot is a 1.22-acre recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains a playground with swings, slides and climbing equipment.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District developed this park in 1963, as part of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Urban Renewal Project. The park district officially named the site Spruce Park in 1973. The park was one of a number of properties named for trees and plants at this time. Spruce trees are sharp-needled evergreens that can grow to heights of 20 to 100 feet. Seven of 40 species worldwide are native to North America. In the U.S. and Canada, spruces are planted in large numbers for reforestation projects and as Christmas trees. The blue spruce, native to the central Rocky Mountains and cultivated widely elsewhere, can live to be 600 to 800 years old.\n "}, {"id": 533, "title": "St. Louis Playground Park", "address": "\n 339 N. St. Louis Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.45 acres and it is located in the East Garfield Park community.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Garfield Park.\n ", "history": "St. Louis Park is one of many small parks created by the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation to meet increasing recreational demands in post-World War II Chicago. The bureau began planning this East Garfield Park playlot in 1956, and soon improved the site with playground equipment and a basketball court.\n\nFollowing its general practice, the bureau named the new park for adjacent St. Louis Avenue, in turned named for the Mississippi River town. The park, the street, and the Missouri city all bear the name of King Louis IX of France (1214-1270), who led the Seventh Crusade to the Holy Land, and died on another twenty years later. In 1959, the city transferred the property to the Chicago Park District, which added a spray pool in 1970, and constructed a new soft surface playground in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 534, "title": "Stanton (Edwin) Park", "address": "\n 618 W. Scott St. \n Chicago, IL 60610\n ", "description": "Located in the Near North Community, Stanton Park totals 6.51\u00a0acres and features an indoor pool, gymnasium and two club meeting rooms. Outside, the park offers baseball fields, basketball courts, an athletic field for football or soccer and a playground.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play seasonal sports at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Stanton Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as community picnics and concerts.\n ", "history": "Named for Edwin M. Stanton (1814-1869) Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln, Stanton Park opened to the public in 1910. Since its 1869 creation, the Lincoln Park Commission's primary responsibility was to improve and manage Lincoln Park and its connecting boulevards. By the turn of the century, however, administrators were concerned about living conditions in congested neighborhoods within their jurisdiction. In an effort to create new playground parks, the commission put forth a successful bond issue in 1907. This allowed the acquisition of land for Stanton and Seward Parks and improvements to Lake Shore Playground, which was already part of the Lincoln Park System. In 1962, the Chicago Park District entered into an agreement with the Board of Education to operate Stanton Park jointly with the adjacent Friederich von Schiller Elemetary School. Two years later, the original Stanton Park fieldhouse was demolished and replaced with a natatorium and swimming facility. The construction of a gymnasium addition in 1971 allowed for additional recreational programming.\n "}, {"id": 535, "title": "Starr (Ellen Gates) Park", "address": "\n 2306 W. Maypole Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "Ellen Gates Starr Park is located in the\u00a0Near West\u00a0community. The 2.15-acre park features an athletic field and a playground that was renovated in Fall 2016 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program. It is an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Skinner Park.\n ", "history": "In 1996, the Chicago Park District began creating Ellen Gates Starr Park as part of an innovative partnership with the Board of Education. The park district acquired several parcels of land adjacent to Dett Elementary School including closing and greening over part of Maypole Avenue, to create a lovely 1.25-acre site with a playground, gardens, and recreational landscape. The project included a $75,000 donation from Blue Cross/ Blue Shield for the community garden planted by elementary school students.\n\nThis park was one of the first successes of the Campus Park Program. This innovative cooperative effort between the Chicago Park District, Board of Education, and City of Chicago, eventually resulted the replacement of asphalt with green space and recreational facilities at sites adjacent to more than 100 schools.\n\nThe Chicago Park District named the park in honor of Ellen Gates Starr in 2004, as part of a system-wide initiative to recognize the achievements of significant Chicago women. Ellen Gates Starr (1859- 1940), an associate and close friend of Jane Addams, was one of the nation\u2019s most important social reformers.\n\nStarr and Addams met at the Rockford Female Seminary. After one year, however, Starr did not have the financial means to remain at the Seminary and she left college to become a teacher in 1878. The two women continued their friendship, and in 1888, they traveled to Europe together.\n\nIn England, Addams visited Thornbee Hall, one of the world\u2019s first settlements, providing social services to people who lived in the slums of East London. After the trip, Starr agreed to help Addams found America\u2019s first settlement, Hull House, which opened on W. Polk Avenue and S. Halsted Street in September\u00a0of 1889.\n\nStarr\u2019s interest in the arts resulted in progressive programs at Hull House such as art classes and an art gallery available to the residents of the settlement house, other poor immigrants who lived in the area, as well as Chicago\u2019s cultural elite. Starr\u2019s interest in art also inspired her to found the Chicago Public School Art Society in 1894, and the Chicago Society of Arts and Crafts in 1897.\n\nStarr also fought tirelessly for women\u2019s and workers rights, and became particularly involved in helping workers form unions and strike for better pay and improved working conditions. Dett School is approximately 3 miles away from Hull House, where Ellen Gates Starr lived until 1929, when she moved to New York after becoming paralyzed due to a surgical procedure.\n "}, {"id": 536, "title": "Stars & Stripes Park", "address": "\n 5100 S. Nordica Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60638\n ", "description": "Located in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood, Stars and Stripes Park is a great 1.89-acre recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains a playground, sprinkler, ball field, and a sand volleyball court.\n\nLittle League Baseball is a popular activity that is played at Stars and Stripes Park.\n ", "history": "In 1970, the Chicago Park District began creating a 1.7-acre park in the Garfield Ridge community, then experiencing tremendous population growth and a shortage of recreational facilities. Purchasing the property using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funds, the park district improved the site in 1973, constructing a playground, a spray pool, a basketball court, and a baseball field. Since 1984, a mobile trailer/fieldhouse has provided space for indoor activities. Several years later, a soft surface playground replaced the original one. In 1976, the park district officially designated the site Stars & Stripes Park. The patriotic name was selected through a Bicentennial Committee contest conducted in the surrounding 23rd Ward. The name makes reference to the American flag, with its red and white stripes and white stars on a field of blue. Each of the stripes represents one of the original thirteen colonies, while the stars signify the nation's fifty states.\n "}, {"id": 537, "title": "Stateway Park", "address": "\n 3658 S. State St. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Stateway Park is a 4.56 acre park located in the Douglas community area.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 538, "title": "Steelworkers Park", "address": "\n 87th at S. Lake Shore Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Steelsworkers Park is 16.56 acres and it\u00a0is located in the South Chicago community. This is a great nature area with trees, walking paths and an ideal location for families to enjoy nature in the city. This park features a community rock climbing wall built on the historic ore wall of the Steelworks industry.\u00a0 For information on booking a private group climb or for school groups please call (312) 590-5993.\n ", "history": "In 2002, the Chicago Park District acquired a 16.5-acre site in the South Chicago community to develop a new park. Previously part of the US Steel Complex known as South Works, the site was recently transformed into an attractive landscape with natural areas, trees, walking paths and exquisite views of Lake Michigan. The property is edged by remnant elements of the steel industry, most notably a series of enormous concrete ore walls. Located at the juncture between the Calumet River and Lake Michigan, the South Works first opened in the early 1880s. By this time, the surrounding area had already attracted industrial development because of its location near the river, lake, and substantial railroad service that provided excellent opportunities to transport materials and goods. Swedish, Scottish, and German immigrants had settled in the area, and the growing steel industry attracted even larger numbers of residents to the South Chicago area. In 1901, the US Steel Corporation acquired South Works. At the time, well-paying jobs at the industrial complex attracted Italians, Poles, Mexicans, and African-Americans to make the area their home. At its peak, South Works had more than 20,000 employees. It covered an area of 600 acres, much of which was composed of landfill made of molten slag. After South Works began downsizing in the 1970s, the mill closed down in 1992. The City of Chicago and community organizations are championing ambitious redevelopment plans for the area. Officially named as Steelworkers Park by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners in 2014, the park provides a first step towards realizing these plans.\n "}, {"id": 539, "title": "Stone (Bernard) Park", "address": "\n 3150 West Peterson Avenue \n Chicago, IL 60659\n ", "description": "Located in the North Park community, this park is 10.60 acres and it is one of the several passive areas the Park District owns. Formerly known as Park No. 526 the park was renamed in honor of longtime Alderman Bernie Stone in Fall 2017.\n\nWe have increased recreational and fitness options in the North Park and West Ridge communities. The park design includes hills and asphalt walking paths, fitness equipment geared towards seniors, a new drinking fountain, a small multi-purpose field and additional landscaping.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 540, "title": "Stout (Florence) Park", "address": "\n 5446 S. Greenwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located in the Hyde Park community, Stout Park is a 2.82-acre recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park contains two playgrounds with swings, slides, climbing equipment, and a baseball diamond. Activities played at this site include baseball, while many people enjoy leisurely walks in the park.\n ", "history": "During the late 1940s and 1950s, as the historic Hyde Park neighborhood began deteriorating, local civic groups organized to promote racial integration, halt urban decay, and preserve the character of the community. In 1956, the Community Conservation Board approved the creation of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Conservation Area. Two years later, the City Council adopted an ambitious urban renewal plan for the area. The city's plan identified seven sites to be cleared and redeveloped as new parks. A two-and-a-half acre property on South Greenwood Avenue was among these. The Chicago Park District acquired the site in 1967, and began developing it as a playlot. Florence Stout (1912-1996), who lived across the street at 5417 South Greenwood Avenue, was a leading force behind the park's creation. Having settled in Hyde Park in 1950, Stout became active in community affairs. She served on the planning committee and the Board of Directors of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference and was a leader of the local block club. Stout diligently monitored the community to prevent litter and crime problems. \u00a0Upon the request of hundreds of local residents, the park district officially named this playlot in honor of Florence Stout in 1998.\n "}, {"id": 541, "title": "Strohacker (Howard) Park", "address": "\n 4347 W. 54th St. \n Chicago, IL 60632\n ", "description": "Strohacker Park is a 4.32-acre park located in the West Elsdon community area. This neighborhood park offers programs for\u00a0youth and teens including seasonal sports and Teen Club.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "Strohacker Park is one of three Chicago parks named in honor of a group of firemen who perished in a disastrous fire on March 1, 1957. Battalion Chief Howard J. Strohacker (1909-1957), along with fellow firefighters George L. Donovan (1916-1957) and Sylvester L. Pietrowski (1920-1957), died when the factory of the Lawrence Corporation, a shortening manufacturer, exploded, burying the three in debris. At the time of his death, Strohacker was serving as Acting Marshall of the Chicago Fire Department's 4th Division. Strohacker Park lies a mile north and 1.5 miles west of the battalion chief's former home at 6129 South Artesian. Originally known as 55th Street Playfield and Kostner Park for two boundary streets, the park was established on Board of Education property around 1945. The City of Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation managed the park, with its outdoor athletic facilities and small fieldhouse, until 1959, when it was transferred to the Chicago Park District. The park district assumed ownership of the site in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 542, "title": "Sumac Park", "address": "\n 4201 S. Champlain Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.83 acres and it is located in the Grand Boulevard community. It is an active community park that features a renovated and accessible playground with benches for seating.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming offered at this location, after school programs, sports and other\u00a0recreational opportunities can be found at nearby /parks-facilities/kennicott-fieldhouse\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago acquired this park property in 1958 and transferred it to the Chicago Park District the following year.\n\nOfficially designated Sumac Park in 1973, the property was one of several parks named for trees and plants at this time. Fast-growing sumacs appear in the form of small trees, shrubs, and vines. Most of the more than 100 species of sumacs are found in southern Africa. At least two sumacs, the staghorn sumac and the poison sumac, may be found in the Chicagoland area.\n\nThe staghorn sumac takes its name from its thick, wooly twigs, which in winter give the appearance of deer antlers in velvet. The oils of the poison sumac can cause serious rashes. Poison sumacs can be identified using the \"black spot\" test. The oil from a fresh leaf crushed on white paper will gradually turn the paper brown and then black within 24 hours.\n "}, {"id": 543, "title": "Summerdale Park", "address": "\n 7262 W. Summerdale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60656\n ", "description": "This smalltalk with a soft-surface playground and sandbox is 0.22 acres and it is\u00a0located in the Norwood Park\u00a0community (1 \u00bd blocks east of Harlem Avenue, at the intersection of Summerdale and Berwyn avenues). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered\u00a0nearby at Oriole Park.\n ", "history": "Residential construction surged in the northwest side Norwood Park community after World War II. In 1948, the Thomas Burkley Building Corporation, a local developer, donated a quarter-acre property to the City of Chicago for park development. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation began making improvements in 1950, and the park soon had a gravel-surfaced playground and a sandbox. Following its general practice, the bureau named the park for adjacent Summerdale Avenue. Summerdale was a 19th-century village in what later became the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. Early real estate developer Louis E. Henry gave the name to a street in his subdivision. In 1959, the city transferred Summerdale Park to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties. After rebuilding the playground and repaving it with asphalt in the late 1960s, the park district removed the hard surfaces and installed a new soft surface playground in 1991.\n "}, {"id": 544, "title": "Sumner Park", "address": "\n 4320 W. 5th Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "Located in the North Lawndale community, Sumner Park includes a gymnasium and meeting room\u00a0inside Sumner Elementary School.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 545, "title": "Sun Yat-Sen Park", "address": "\n 251 W. 24th Pl. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Armour Square\u00a0Community. The park is 0.43 acres and it\u00a0includes a covered sitting area, a playground and\u00a0xaingqi (Chinese Chess) tables. The playground was renovated in 2015 as part of the Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nWhile no structured programs are offered at this location, we invite you to visit nearby Haines Park\u00a0and enjoy the gymnasium, fitness center and scheduled activities.\n ", "history": "Around 1912, when rents began to climb in Chicago's original Chinese settlement on South Clark Street, the Armour Square neighborhood quickly became the second home to the city's Chinese population. The On Leong tong (\"benevolent association\") helped to relocate community residents by arranging long-term leases for its members around 22nd Street (Cermak Road) and Wentworth Avenue.\n\nThe new China Town has provided a gateway for Chinese immigrants to the midwest ever since. Construction of the Dan Ryan and Stevenson Expressways in the 1950s left scars on China Town and other parts of the Armour Square neighborhood. To compensate for razing two small parks to make room for the highways, the city began developing a strip of vacant land alongside the Stevenson as a new park for China Town.\n\nAfter Neighborhood Redevelopment Assistance, Inc., purchased and donated the property to the city in the mid-1970s, the site was improved with trees, a small pool, a playground, a sandbox, and permanent game tables. The Chicago Park District began leasing the park in 1975, and took full ownership in 1977. Recent improvements include a soft surface playground.\n\nIn 1977, the park was officially named the Sun Yat Sen Children's Park in honor of Sun Yat Sen (1866-1925), a Chinese revolutionary and statesman. Known as the father of modern China, Sun was born in southern China's Kwangtung province and educated in Western schools in Hawaii and Hong Kong.\n\nAs a young man, Sun became disillusioned with the ruling Ch'ing dynasty, and began plotting a Chinese revolution in the late 1800s. Sun played a pivotal role in overthrowing the Manchus in 1911, and served as China's first provisional president in 1911-1912.\n\nAs the leader of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), he also acted as the nation's de facto ruler from 1923 to 1925. In 1977, the District 300 of Lions International and the Republic of China donated a bust of Sun Yat Sen that further underscores his efforts to bring freedom and democracy to China.\n "}, {"id": 546, "title": "Sunken Gardens Park", "address": "\n 4500 N. Virginia Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "Sunken Gardens Park is 0.31 acres and it\u00a0is one of our park properties used only for passive recreation, is located in the Lincoln Square neighborhood (two blocks north of Montrose Avenue, and five blocks west of Western Avenue).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Horner Park.\n ", "history": "By an overwhelming majority, residents of the Ravenswood Manor and Ravenswood Gardens neighborhoods voted to create their own independent park district in 1914. Although these were comfortable, middle-class neighborhoods, the Ravenswood Manor Gardens Park District had limited resources because it could collect no more than 3% of the assessed property valuation within its 1/4-mile territory. The new park district could only afford to create very small parks which emphasized landscape improvements, rather than recreational facilities. In 1917, the Ravenswood Manor Gardens Park District began acquiring .16-acres of land, just east of the North Branch of the Chicago River on Sunnyside Avenue. The following year, the site was transformed into a lovely garden with a central sunken lawn edged by a walk, three trellis-like pergolas, an ornamental fountain, urns, and lush shrubbery and floral plantings. This soon became known as Sunken Gardens Park. In 1934, Sunken Gardens Park became part of the Chicago Park District, which formed through the consolidation of the city's 22 independent park agencies. Although the park district planted more than 300 new shrubs in the late 1930s, Sunken Gardens Park soon suffered from deterioration and vandalism. Unfortunately, by the early 1950s, all of the original garden features had been removed. Today, Sunken Gardens Park is one of 46 park properties used only for passive recreation.\n "}, {"id": 547, "title": "Supera (Louis) Park", "address": "\n 2522 N. Racine Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "This small playground with sandbox is 0.42 acres and it is located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood (on Racine Avenue, one block south of Wrightwood Avenue). The new ADA soft-surface playground is a favorite of community children and their parents! While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered\u00a0nearby at Wrightwood Park.\n ", "history": "Supera Park was one of 42 playgrounds and playlots developed by the city in 1950 to meet the recreational needs of post-World War II Chicago. After purchasing a small property in the Lincoln Park community, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation improved the site with a gravel-surfaced playground. In 1959, the city transferred the site to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties. In 1982, the park was enlarged slightly by extending it into an adjacent alley. The park district has rehabilitated the property at least three times, most recently adding a soft surface playground with a pirate ship-themed climbing structure. Originally known as Racine-Draper Park for the adjacent streets, the site was renamed Supera Park in 1990 at the request of the Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association. The new name honors local resident Louis Supera, who made significant contributions to the community. Supera was known for his support of the Better Boys Club, the Menominee Club for boys and girls, and the Lincoln Park Conservation Association, among other groups.\n "}, {"id": 548, "title": "Superior Park", "address": "\n 2101 W. Superior St. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0West Town\u00a0community. The park is 0.34 acres and it\u00a0features a playground that was renovated in 2014 as part of the Chicago Plays! program. Superior Playground\u00a0Park is\u00a0an active community park.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Commercial Club Park for recreation.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Superior Park was one of 42 playgrounds and playlots developed by the city in 1950 to meet the recreational needs of post-World War II Chicago. Having purchased a quarter-acre of land in the West Town community, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation began preliminary work later that year. The park was soon equipped with a gravel-surfaced playground.\n\nFollowing its general practice, the bureau named the site for the adjacent street. Both the park and the street take their names from the largest of the five Great Lakes. The French called the lake \"Lac Superior,\" meaning the \"upper lake.\"\n\nIn 1959, the city transferred the park, along with 250 other properties, to the Chicago Park District. After replanting the park's green borders and rehabilitating the playground in 1981, the park district added a new soft surface playground and an ornamental iron fence during the 1990s.\n "}, {"id": 549, "title": "Sweet Clover Park", "address": "\n 650 W. Leamington Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60644\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the\u00a0Austin Community. The park is 0.23 acres and it\u00a0features a playground that was renovated in Summer 2014 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby La Follette Park for recreation.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this playlot site in 1974 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The park was officially named Sweet Clover in 1998. In the 1870s, the park's Austin neighborhood was a small, beautiful suburb that stood in sharp contrast to the grime and tumult of Chicago.\n\nMany Austin residents made daily rail commutes into the city to earn their livings. On summer evenings, the fragrance of sweet clover growing near the Austin train station welcomed them home to the placid village. By 1899, when Chicago annexed Austin against the wishes of village residents, the town's rural character was beginning to fade.\n "}, {"id": 550, "title": "Sycamore Park", "address": "\n 5109 S. Greenwood Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located in the Hyde Park community, Sycamore Park is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families.This park is 0.65 acres and it contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing equipment, and a sandbox.\n ", "history": "In 1958, the City of Chicago purchased property for a park in the Hyde Park neighborhood, transferring it to the Chicago Park District the following year. The park district expanded the park in 1963, as part of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Urban Renewal Project. Officially designated Sycamore Park in 1973, the site was one of a number of properties named for trees and plants at this time. Sometimes known as the eastern sycamore, American plane tree, or American buttonwood, the massive sycamore is among the largest broadleaf trees in eastern North America. Sycamores often grow to 75 to 100 feet tall. Prized as shade trees, sycamores are often found in large yards and parks, where their stout trunks and spreading branches have ample room to grow. The wood of the sycamore tree, light brown, coarse-grained, hard, and heavy, was once used in the manufacture of Chicago's magnificent Pullman sleeping cars.\n "}, {"id": 551, "title": "Tarkington Park", "address": "\n 3344 West 71st St \n Chicago, IL 60629\n ", "description": "Located in the Chicago Lawn community, Tarkington Park features a multi-purpose room and gymnasium. Tarkington Park is located in Tarkington School of Excellence, a CPS green school.\n\nPark-goers can participate in various after-school programs that are offered throughout the year. During the summer, youth can participate in the Park District's popular six -week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Tarkington Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday\u2013themed events.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 552, "title": "Taylor (Robert Rochon) Park", "address": "\n 39 W. 47th St. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Located in the Grand Boulevard community, Taylor Park in Bronzeville totals 9.68\u00a0acres and features a fieldhouse, various meeting rooms, a combination gymnasium and assembly hall, fitness center and a boxing center. Outside, the park offers baseball fields, an athletic field for football or soccer, a tennis court, a swimming pool and a playground.\u00a0\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play seasonal sports at the facility. On the cultural side, Taylor Park offers music and dance classes as well. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Taylor Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Fitness Fun Days, Movies in the Park and other Night Out in the Parks events.\u00a0\n\n\nEnjoy this Black History Month video featuring basketball great Bobby Simmons, who talks about what Taylor Park means to him.\n ", "history": "Taylor Park in Bronzeville sits on West 47th Street, at the heart of the former Robert Taylor Homes, once the nation's largest public housing project. The Chicago Housing Authority developed the Taylor Homes in the early 1960s, cutting a wide swath along the western edge of Bronzeville, Chicago's historic \"Black Metropolis.\"\n\nThe housing complex, designed by Shaw, Metz, and Associates, included a substantial community building with various meeting rooms and a combination gymnasium and assembly hall. In 1962, the CHA began to lease this community building, along with 7.5 acres surrounding it, to the Chicago Park District. The following year, the park district installed tennis courts, a playground, and extensive plantings on the property. In 1967, CHA sold a small portion of the land to the park district, which in turn constructed a new swimming pool there.\n\nThe park and the surrounding housing complex honor Robert Rochon Taylor (1890--1959), the first African-American to head the CHA. Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Taylor obtained a graduate degree in architecture from Howard University. Relocating to Chicago, he began building small, affordable homes for blacks. His work soon drew the attention of Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears and Roebuck and one of Chicago's foremost philanthropists.\n\nIn 1929, Taylor helped Rosenwald and Rosenwald's nephew, fellow architect Ernest A. Grunsfeld, Jr., plan the Michigan Boulevard Garden Apartments, the city's first low-income housing complex for African-Americans. Taylor managed the Michigan Boulevard development until his death in 1959.\n\nTaylor's work on the Michigan Boulevard development led to his appointment to the CHA board of directors, on which he served from 1938 to 1950. He became CHA chairman in 1943.\n "}, {"id": 553, "title": "Taylor-Lauridsen (John, Emil) Park", "address": "\n 704 W. 42nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Located in the New City Community Area, Taylor-Lauridsen Park totals 4.90\u00a0acres and features a new state-of-the-art field house, completed in 2010 which houses a gymnasium, fitness center and meeting rooms.\n\nOutside, the park offers a soft surface playground, an athletic field for football or soccer and a baseball field. Many of these spaces are available for rental.\n\nPark-goers can play seasonal sports at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Taylor-Lauridsen Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday events and Night Out in the Parks movies and concerts.\n ", "history": "The New City community grew up around Chicago's world-renowned Union Stock Yards, founded in 1865. By the first decades of the 20th century, the stock yards and related industries had brought successive waves of immigrant laborers into the neighborhood. New City's population reached 92,659 in 1920.\n\nIn 1922, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation decided to establish a much-needed park in the northeast corner of the neighborhood. However, condemnation proceedings delayed development for more than five years.\n\nFinally, in 1928, the bureau improved the site with a gravel-surfaced playground and ball diamond, an oval wading pool with a pergola shelter, and a small office building with open sand court wings. In the years following World War II, the building wings were enclosed to create a year-round recreational building, and the wading pool was converted to a spray pool.\n\nIn 1959, the city transferred the park to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties. After paving the playground in 1964, the park district made more extensive improvements in the late 1980s and 1990s, constructing a soft surface playground and enclosing the park with ornamental fencing.\n\nThe park and adjacent Graham Elementary School are jointly operated by the park district and the Board of Education. The park was long known as Boyce Field. In September, 1976, the park district renamed the site Taylor-Lauridsen Park at the request of numerous community groups and organizations.\n\nThe park's new name honors highly-regarded neighborhood residents John Taylor and Emil Lauridsen, who were murdered on March 13, 1976 after stepping in to help a 15-year-old who was being attacked by four assailants.\n "}, {"id": 554, "title": "The Grove Park", "address": "\n 8421 S. Morgan St. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Gresham community, The Grove Park is 0.31 acres and it is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, along with benches to enjoy a picnic.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased the site of this playlot in 1973 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The park was officially named The Grove Park in 1998. \"The Grove\" was a pre-Civil War settlement in what is now the western part of Auburn Gresham, the community area in which the park lies. The Grove became the subdivision of South Englewood, platted in the early 1870s. Chicago annexed the area in 1890.\n "}, {"id": 555, "title": "The Park at NTA", "address": "\n 55 W Cermak Rd. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Located in the Armour Square community, the Park at NTA offers recreational programs in partnership with Chicago Public Schools. Programs are conducted on CPS properties during after school hours and select times during the summer.\u00a0\n\nThe Park at NTA\u00a0is a popular destination for\u00a0aquatics programs for all ages. Children and adults participate in the Learn to Swim classes, lap swim, and family and open swim.\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 556, "title": "Throop (Amos Gager) Park", "address": "\n 1811 S. Throop St. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Throop Park is located in the South Lawndale community. This small park is 0.72 acres and it features a playground and water feature that were renovated in Fall 2014.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Dvorak Park.\n ", "history": "Throop Park is one of many small city parks created to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation developed this Lower West Side park on Board of Education-owned property in the late 1940s, improving it with a gravel-surfaced playground and a spray pool. Within a few years, a basketball court was added.\n\nThe Chicago Park District began managing Throop Park in 1959. In 1976, the park district thoroughly rehabilitated the site, building a shelter, enhancing the plantings, and constructing bleachers around the resurfaced basketball court. The Board of Education formally transferred the property to the park district in 1990. Subsequent improvements included a soft surface playground and ornamental fencing. In 1998, the park district enlarged the park by expanding into an adjacent vacant.\n\nBoth the park and adjacent Throop Street bear the name of Amos Gager Throop, one of Chicago's most prominent early citizens. Born in New York, he came west to Michigan in 1832, where he worked in the forests and saw mills. By 1845, he owned enough land to begin shipping lumber to Chicago and the frontier beyond. He and his brother John Eaton Throop opened their first lumber yard at Wells and South Water (now West Wacker) Street.\n\nThe brothers soon became Chicago's leading lumber merchants. During the Civil War years, Amos Throop was instrumental in developing an extensive system of docking slips along the South Branch of the Chicago River for the city's rapidly-expanding lumber industry.\n\nThroop served as a Chicago alderman from 1849 to 1853, and again from 1876 to 1880. Between the two terms, he was city treasurer in 1860-1861, moving on to the state legislature, where he worked to keep southern Illinois loyal to the Union cause.\n "}, {"id": 557, "title": "Thuis (Grace Zwiefka) Park", "address": "\n 4759 N. Lavergne Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "This 1/3-acre playground with a\u00a0new Chicago Plays\u00a0playground\u00a0and sandbox is located in the Portage Park community (abutting Lawrence Avenue, two blocks east of the Kennedy Expressway). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby\u00a0at Jefferson Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Grace Zwiefka Thuis was an exemplary Chicago Park District employee for more than 60 years. Born and raised in Chicago, she began her long tenure with the Chicago Park District in 1933 as a Physical Instructor at Holstein Park. In 1970, she became General Supervisor of Physical Activities, placing her in charge of women\u2019s recreation for the entire city. In 1990, she was inducted into the City of Chicago Senior Citizen\u2019s Hall of Fame, and in 1994 she was named the Chicago Park District Senior Citizen of the Year. First planned by the City of Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreationin 1951, the site was originally named for its adjacent street, North Lavergne. In 1959, the city transferred the site to the Chicago Park District, which rehabilitated the park with a soft surface playground in 1990. In 2005,the Chicago Park District renamedthe sitein memory of Grace Zwiefka Thuis as part of an initiative to recognizesignificant women.\n "}, {"id": 558, "title": "Tilton (George) Park", "address": "\n 230 N. Kolmar \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "Located in the West Garfield Park community, Tilton Park is 1.14 acres and it\u00a0includes a fieldhouse, clubroom, playground, grass field, and outdoor basketball courts.\u00a0 Program offerings for Tilton, 2-Point 0\u00a0 take place at the former Marconi\u00a0School, 230 N. Kolmar.\u00a0\u00a0 At the school, the park has use of a\u00a0clubroom, and a gymnasium for activities.\u00a0\n ", "history": "After 1900, the West Garfield Park community became a magnet for upwardly-mobile first- and second-generation immigrants, primarily Irish, but also, increasingly, of Russian-Jewish descent. West Garfield Park's population topped 40,000 in 1920. To serve the needs of the growing community, the City of Chicago established a new park on Board of Education-owned property along North Kostner Avenue in 1926. By 1928, the site had playground equipment and plantings, and a small, tile-roofed recreational building, which sat at the back of the site. The structure faced a gravel-surfaced playing field that could be flooded for ice skating in winter. The Chicago Park District began leasing the park from the Board of Education in 1959, gaining full ownership in 1991. Several years before, in 1987, the park district had thoroughly rehabilitated the park with new plantings, playground equipment, a jogging path, and resurfaced basketball courts. The park honors George W. Tilton (1830-1890), for whom a nearby school is also named. Born in Manchester, New Hampshire, Tilton came to west Aurora, Illinois in 1858 to work for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He eventually moved on to Chicago and the Northwestern Railroad, rising through the ranks to become superintendent of the motive power and machine repair division of the entire Northwestern line. In that position, he designed a locomotive that bears his name. Ironically, Tilton died as the result of a train accident in 1890.\n "}, {"id": 559, "title": "Tom (Ping) Memorial Park", "address": "\n 1700 S. Wentworth Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Ping Tom Memorial Park's 17.44-acre site was originally a Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad yard located along the edge of the South Branch of the Chicago River in the Armour Square Community. In 1998, the Chicago Park District began transforming the old railyard into a beautiful rolling green space, taking full advantage of the impressive river views. Today, Ping Tom Memorial Park holds a children's playground, community gathering areas and Chinese landscape design elements.\n\nThe park's fieldhouse, named in honor of\u00a0the late\u00a0Advisory Council President Leonard Louie, was completed in October 2013. The facility offers a multi-purpose gymnasium, a 9 feet-deep, zero-depth entry indoor swimming pool, two meeting rooms, a state-of-the-art fitness center, men's, women and family locker rooms, a second story outdoor patio with skyline views, a green rooftop,\u00a0and a full service kitchen.\u00a0\n\nOutside, the park offers an athletic field, walking paths by the river,\u00a0and a\u00a0boat house, which is open for\u00a0kayak rentals during the summer season. The boathouse includes a public dock that is available for use by non-motorized boats during park hours. Restrooms are also available to the public when the boathouse vendor is operating. Outside facilities also include a children's playground and a pagoda-style pavilion.\u00a0\n\nPatrons enjoy visiting Ping Tom for fitness classes, indoor swimming and seasonal sports. The park is a popular destination for special events and many of its spaces are available for rental. Park goers also come to Ping Tom Park to enjoy Night Out in the Parks special events such as concerts and dance performances\u00a0on the lawn, Shakespeare in the Park, Movies in the Park screenings, and much more.\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District acquired the site for Ping Tom Memorial Park in 1991. For years, its surrounding Chinatown community had suffered a total lack of open space and recreational facilities. The only nearby parks, Hardin Square and Stanford Park, had been demolished 30 years earlier to make way for the Dan Ryan Expressway. Two full generations of children in Chinatown grew up without access to a neighborhood park or any recreational area.\n\nPing Tom Memorial Park's 12-acre site was originally a Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad yard located along the edge of the South Branch of the Chicago River. In 1998, the Chicago Park District began transforming the old rail-yard into a beautiful rolling green space, taking full advantage of impressive river views. The park has a children's playground, community gathering areas, and Chinese landscape design elements.\n\nThe park was named in honor of the leading force behind its creation, Chinatown's most noted civic leader, Ping Tom (1935-1995). A lifelong resident of Chinatown, Ping Tom formed the Chinese American Development Corporation in 1984. The private real estate firm transformed a 32-acre rail yard site into Chinatown Square, a $100 million dollar residential and commercial expansion of Chinatown.\n\nActive in numerous prominent civic and cultural institutions, Ping Tom was also an advisor to U.S. senators, Illinois governors, and Chicago mayors. In 2002, the Chicago Park District acquired 5 additional acres on the northeast side of the park. Landscape improvements to the expanded area of Ping Tom Memorial Park will soon follow.\n "}, {"id": 560, "title": "Touhy (Patrick) Park", "address": "\n 7348 N. Paulina St. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Located in the Rogers Park\u00a0community between Clark and Paulina Streets, Touhy Park covers 6.63\u00a0acres, with two softball fields, two tennis courts, and two playgrounds.\n\nA small fieldhouse allows children to participate in a number of activities. Weekly programming focuses on early childhood recreation (18 months-5 years) during the morning hours. Nature based programs such as the children's harvest garden are popular at the park. For those of you with a green thumb we invite you come out to the park and get involved in the community garden.\n\nThe park advisory council, made up of local neighborhood residents, meets regularly to discuss maintenance, programming and events at the park.\n ", "history": "Soon after World War II, the Chicago Park District began a major initiative to create new parks for the first time in many years. This Ten Year Plan identified 43 sites in undeveloped areas which were starting to boom and neighborhoods with few existing parks. In 1948, the district acquired 6.35 acres in Rogers Park, which was among the city's neighborhoods most in need of open space and recreational facilities. Due to the flurry of new construction at the time, Touhy Park was not completed until 1954. In the 1960s, the park district built an addition converting the original comfort station into a fieldhouse. In 1990, separate soft surface playgrounds for older children and tots were added. The park and nearby Touhy Avenue pay tribute to Captain Patrick L. Touhy (1839-1911) one of the founders of the Village of Rogers Park. An Irish immigrant who ran a grocery store in Chicago, Touhy married Catherine Rogers, daughter of the area's first white settler, Philip Rogers, in 1865. Several years later, when Catherine inherited hundreds of acres of land, Touhy began developing Rogers Park. Along with a group of other early settlers, he soon established the Rogers Park Building and Land Company. Formally incorporated as a village in 1878, Rogers Park was annexed to Chicago in 1893, and is now among the city's most diverse neighborhoods.\n "}, {"id": 561, "title": "Touhy-Herbert (John, Victor) Park", "address": "\n 2106 W. Adams St. \n Chicago, IL 60612\n ", "description": "Located in the Near West community area, Touhy-Herbert Park totals 3.91 acres and features baseball fields, basketball courts, an interactive water spray feature and a playground that was renovated in 2016 as part of Mayor Emanuel's Chicago Plays! Program. The park's small fieldhouse is currently closed.\u00a0\n\nPark programs are conducted seasonally\u00a0out of the neighboring\u00a0James Jordan Boys & Girls Club & Family Center, 2102 W. Monroe St.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1917, the Chicago City Council authorized the purchase of land at the corner of West Adams and South Hoyne Streets. By 1928, the city had acquired enough additional property to create Touhy-Herbert Park, constructing a playing field, a skating pond and an office building/shelter house. Twenty years later, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation built a fieldhouse there.\n\nIn 1959, the city transferred the park to the Chicago Park District, which purchased additional land to expand the park to its current 8 acres. Since 1961, the park district and the Board of Education have jointly operated the park and the adjacent Herbert Elementary School.\n\nAs early as 1930, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation referred to this site as Touhy Park, a name that recognized the public service of local resident John J. Touhy (1888-1974). Touhy served as a city alderman from 1917 until 1926, when he was elected a trustee of the Sanitary District of Chicago. In 1950, he left the Sanitary District to become a Cook County Commissioner. Touhy retired from office in 1970.\n\nIn 1999, the Chicago Park District officially designated the site Touhy-Herbert Park, a name commonly used by neighbors. The new name, of course, mirrors that of the nearby school, which honors American musician, composer, and conductor Victor Herbert (1859-1924). The New York Times eulogized Herbert as \"America's Leading Composer of Light Opera.\"\n "}, {"id": 562, "title": "Trebes (Robert) Park", "address": "\n 2250 N. Clifton Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Located in Lincoln Park, Trebes Park is 1.85 acres and it welcomes neighborhood residents of all ages to enjoy their community playground year-round. With a colorful array of flower beds at the park entrance, the visitors feel right at home.\n\nConsidered a neighborhood park, it's not unusual to see families gathering at the school playground enjoying a warm day in the park. Or, a special event in the summer.\n\nThe Sheffield Neighborhood Association continues to maintain the park and the \"award-winning gardens\" as the pride of the community.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In the early 1940s, the City of Chicago purchased land in the near north side Lincoln Park neighborhood for creation of a 44th Ward Recreation Center. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation transformed a two-story brick rowhouse into a community center, naming it the Robert Trebes Recreation Center on March 18, 1943. Within a few years, the bureau had constructed a spray pool, a sand box, and two playing fields on adjacent property to the south. In the late 1950s, the Trebes Recreation Center was demolished, along with the other structures on the block. In 1958, the Board of Education began constructing the new Oscar Mayer Elementary School on the northern half of the block. The Trebes Park property also passed into the hands of the Board of Education; however the Chicago Park District began maintaining the park the following year. The Park District and the Board of Education soon began joint operations at the school and park, an arrangement that continues today. In 1991, the Board of Education transferred full ownership of Trebes Park to the Park District. The Sheffield Neighborhood Association, in conjunction with the Park District, led the community effort to renovate the park. In the early 1990's, funded projects include tree planting around the perimeter parkways, installing an iron ornamental \"prairie style\" fence, the ornamental metal park benches, garbage containers, walkway lights and installing the ornamental iron gazebo in the park plaza entrance. At that time, the Park District constructed a soft surface playground. The new playground was funded through a generous bequest of Dorothy Melamerson, a retired local school teacher whose savings have paid for a number of park improvements in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, the Sheffield Neighborhood Association and community neighbors. In addition, the Sheffield Neighborhood Association has raised funds for the numerous improvements to the park. Taking personal pride in their local park volunteers have spent thousand of hours in gardening and other greening initiatives. The Sheffield Neighborhood Association continues to maintain the park and the \"award winning gardens\" as the pride of the community.\n "}, {"id": 563, "title": "Triangle Park", "address": "\n 1750 W. Juneway Ter. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "(#518) Triangle Playlot Park is 2.16 acres and it is\u00a0located in the Rogers Park community (one block south of Evanston\u2019s Calvary Cemetery, approximately 3 \u00bd blocks east of Clark Street / Evanston\u2019s Chicago Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Willye White Park.\n ", "history": "\u00a0\n\nTriangle Park was created in the late 1940s, after the demolition of a group of buildings along N. Juneway Terrace. The park was owned by the City of Chicago, but its early improvements and management were largely directed by local residents.\u00a0 In 1946, area families came together and formed an association.\u00a0 Each family donated a minimum of $10 for playground equipment.\u00a0 Parents and older children supplied the labor to build the park, which was originally called \u201cJuneway Terrace Baby Park.\u201d\u00a0 The park was even supervised by local mothers who signed up for shifts to help insure that children were being closely watched.\u00a0 Over the year, the City of Chicago updated the playground several times.\u00a0 By the mid-1980s, it also became a site for community gardening.\u00a0 By this time, it was known as Triangle Park, because of the site\u2019s configuration, and the gardens were called Triangle Park Gardens.\u00a0 The park was transferred to the Chicago Park District in 2001, and enlarged by 1.7 acres.\u00a0 Today there is still a Triangle Park Community Garden and the site has had a sign with the name \u201cTriangle Park\u201d for many years.\n "}, {"id": 564, "title": "Trumbull (Lyman) Park", "address": "\n 2400 E. 105th St. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the South Deering neighborhood, Trumbull Park totals 18.04\u00a0acres and features two gymnasiums, a fitness center, and a boxing center. Outside, the park offers a basketball court, four baseball diamonds, tennis court, and a multi-purpose court. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our two gymnasiums, fields, and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, boxing and cooking club. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Trumbull Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "The South Park Commission began creating Trumbull Park in 1907, two years after its revolutionary system of neighborhood parks opened to the public. Initially including Russell, Mark White, Davis, Armour, and Cornell Squares, and Bessemer, Ogden, Sherman, Palmer, and Hamilton Parks, the system was an immediate success. By 1907, the commissioners were attempting to complete eight new parks: four that had been delayed when the first ten opened and four additional parks. One of the areas targeted for a new neighborhood park was South Deering, then known as Irondale for its proximity to a large steel mill complex. The South Park Commission acquired 18.5 acres there adjacent to densely- populated tenements. (These were replaced in 1936 by a Chicago Housing Authority project known as Trumbull Park Homes.) The South Park Commission hired the Olmsted Brothers, landscape designers of the previous neighborhood parks, to lay out the four new parks in 1910. They chose not to implement these plans, however. Rather, they had in-house designers create a single plan for both Trumbull and Grand Crossing Parks. The plans differed only in that their orientation was reversed. Today, the two landscapes look somewhat different because only Trumbull Park retains a magnificent stand of gingko trees in its central plaza. The two parks do have identical classically-designed fieldhouses that were constructed in 1914. Although residents of Irondale petitioned to have Trumbull Park named South Deering Park, the request was denied. In 1917, the commissioners named the park for Lyman Trumbull (1813-1896), a lawyer, Illinois Supreme Court chief justice, U.S. senator, and active supporter of the emancipation of slaves.\n "}, {"id": 565, "title": "Tuley (Murray) Park", "address": "\n 501 E. 90th Pl. \n Chicago, IL 60619\n ", "description": "Located in the Chesterfield community, Tuley Park totals 18.54 acres and features a gymnasium, auditorium, and multi-purpose clubrooms. A green feature of the park includes a garden. Outside, the park offers a new playground with an interactive pool, baseball/softball diamonds, pool, gazebo, and 10 lighted tennis courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium, auditorium, gazebo, fields, and multi-purpose rooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, cheerleading, yoga, and fitness classes. During the summer, the Chicago Park District offers its popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Tuley Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "In 1907, Senator Clark of the 13th District presented petitions to the South Park Commission requesting the creation of a park in Dauphin Park, now part of the Chatham neighborhood. Annexed to Chicago in 1889 as part of the Town of Lake and Village of Hyde Park, the neighborhood had much open land used for truck farming, trap shooting, and duck hunting, and some frame homes built by railroad workers. The South Park Commission was pleased with the recent success of ten revolutionary neighborhood parks which included year-round recreational facilities, educational programs, and social services. The Commissioners agreed to the request, and began efforts to create Tuley, along with Trumbull, Grand Crossing, and Mann Parks. While acquiring 20 acres of land between 1909 and 1911, the South Park Commission hired the Olmsted Brothers, landscape designers of the previous neighborhood parks, to lay out the four new parks. Development was slow, however, and Tuley Park's original plan was never executed. Although the commission fenced the park, constructed walks, and installed ball fields that were flooded in winter for ice skating, Tuley Park was left unfinished until the 1920s. At that time, the surrounding neighborhood became more populated, and tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a Spanish Revival-style fieldhouse were constructed in the park. The South Park Commission was consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Originally known as Burnside Park for the adjacent Burnside community area, Tuley Park was officially named in honor of Murray F. Tuley (1827-1905) in 1922. Tuley was a circuit court judge who was instrumental in framing the Chicago City Charter adopted after the Great Fire of 1871.\n "}, {"id": 566, "title": "Union Park", "address": "\n 1501 W. Randolph St. \n Chicago, IL 60607\n ", "description": "Located in the Near West Community Area, Union Park totals 13.77\u00a0acres and features a fieldhouse and separate building that houses the gymnasium, fitness center and locker rooms. The field house holds a theater room with a stage and meeting rooms. Outside, the park offers tennis courts, baseball fields, a swimming pool, a playground, an athletic field for football or soccer, and basketball courts.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play seasonal sports at the facility, and the park also offers a community partnership with \u201cGirls in the Game,\" a mentoring program for girls ages 9-14 years. Afterschool programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Union Park hosts fun special events throughout the year, including Night Out in the Parks concerts, movie screenings, the Pitchfork Music Festival and other festival events.\n ", "history": "The city created Union Park in 1853, after residents convinced developers to sell 13 acres of their subdivision at a reduced price. Named in honor of the Federal Union, it was one of the city's most fashionable places.\n\nIn 1885, the city transferred Union Park to the West Park Commission, which made the park its headquarters. Three years later, Jens Jensen, then working as gardener, planted an experimental wildflower garden called the American Garden, marking the beginnings of his venerable naturalistic style.\n\nIn the 1910s, African-Americans began moving into the neighborhood. While many other parks were inaccessible to black residents, Union Park became racially integrated.\n\nBetween the 1920s and the 1950s, the park became well-known for cultural and social events, and a number of notable musicians performed there. Among them were the noted pioneer of gospel music Thomas A. Dorsey; trumpeter Sunny Cohn; and jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis.\n "}, {"id": 567, "title": "Unity Park", "address": "\n 2636 N. Kimball Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60647\n ", "description": "This 1.42-acre park is located in the Logan Square\u00a0community (2 \u00bd blocks south of Diversey Parkway and three blocks west of Kedzie Boulevard).\n\nAs part of ChicagoPlays! Unity Park has a newly remodeled playground. During the warmer Chicago weather children can enjoy the water spray feature. Park users can also utilize a comfort station [open seasonally] and a newly furnished gazebo for community functions, which can accommodate about 15 people.\n\nThe park space is also home to a 10-foot by 20-foot ornamental garden featuring perennials like hostas and day lilies, as well as lilac and sumac shrubs. While there is no year-round structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs at nearby Avondale or Kosciuszko Parks.\n ", "history": "In the late 1960s, residents of the Logan Square community asked the City of Chicago convert its under-used Kimball Avenue parking facility into a much-needed playlot. In 1968, the city agreed to turn over an L-shaped, quarter-acre section of the parking lot to the Chicago Park District, which installed playground equipment at the site. By 1987, neighborhood residents had again banded together, this time to form \"Citizens for a Decent Playlot.\" The park district began working with the community group to develop a plan for upgrading the park with additional playground equipment and plantings. Improvements were completed in part through the \"sweat equity\" contributions of residents, who also pledged to keep the park clean and crime-free. The rehabilitation was a great success, and the park became a haven for neighborhood children. Unfortunately, some urban problems persisted in an adjacent city parking lot. In the late 1990s, further cooperation between the city, the park district, and Logan Square residents led to the transformation of that parking lot into an attractive three-quarter-acre expansion for Unity Park. The Chicago Park District installed a new playground in the park.\u00a0 Unity Park's name recognizes the persistent efforts of the diverse Logan Square community in making the park a reality.\n "}, {"id": 568, "title": "Valley Forge Park", "address": "\n 7001 W. 59th St. \n Chicago, IL 60638\n ", "description": "Located in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood, Valley Forge Park totals 8.32 acres. This fieldhouse is a green building that has a 25% vegetated roof and features a Rainwater Harvesting System.\n\nIndoor, there are two multi-purpose rooms, a gymnasium, and fitness center. A green feature of the park includes a Harvest Garden. Outside, the park offers\u00a0 basketball/ soccer courts, softball fields, and horseshoe pits. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium and multi-purpose rooms.\n\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, Moms, Pops, & Tots, gymnastics, preschool & playschool activities, yoga, aerobics. On the cultural side, Valley Forge offers tap & ballet. Nature programming that is offered includes Garden Buddies. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\n\nIn addition to programs, Valley Forge Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1970, the Chicago Park District identified the under-served southwest side Clearing neighborhood for park development. That year, Clearing's population had peaked at 24,560, a 77% increase over a decade before. In 1972, the park district acquired a 6.46-acre property between West 59th Street and the Indiana Belt Railroad, using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funds. Preliminary park plans, developed in 1973, called for volleyball, tennis, basketball, horseshoe, and shuffleboard courts, an athletic field, a sandbox, and playground equipment. In 1976, the site was officially designated Valley Forge Park in recognition of the nation's Bi-Centennial. On the west bank of Pennsylvania's Schuylkill River, Valley Forge was the Revolutionary War encampment site of General George Washington and 11,000 troops beginning in December 1777. Having been defeated at nearby Brandywine and Germantown, the Continental Army endured an unusually harsh winter at Valley Forge, suffering bitter cold and near-starvation. After weeks of drilling by Baron Frederick von Steuben and an influx of money for supplies in the late spring, the Army emerged in June 1778 as a well-disciplined fighting force ready to press the Revolution forward. Around 1980, the park district brought in a double-wide trailer to be used as a fieldhouse. For many years, the westernmost portion of the property remained unimproved. The park district considered selling that section of the park, but had given up the idea by the early 1990s. Finally, in 1996, the west end of the park was improved with a soccer field. In 1998, the park district expanded the park to 7.74 acres by purchasing land to the east. Future plans call for a new state-of-the-art fieldhouse.\n "}, {"id": 569, "title": "Veterans' Memorial Park", "address": "\n 2820 E. 98th St. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the South Chicago neighborhood, Veterans' Memorial Park totals 4.81 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers four multi-purpose fields, a playground, a spray pool, and a bocce court.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, arts & crafts, bocce, Cubs Care Baseball, and aerobics. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Veterans' Memorial Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as a Memorial Day ceremony, Bicycle Rodeo, and holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "On March 10, 1954, the Chicago City Council decided to honor veterans of the United States armed forces by naming a new southside park Veteran's Memorial Park. This tribute was a natural extension of the patriotic attitude that prevailed across the country during and after World War II. Developed by the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation the previous year, the four-acre park was intended to meet the increasing recreational needs of the South Deering community, whose population had nearly doubled between 1940 and 1950. Initial improvements included outdoor athletic facilities, a playground, and a small brick recreational building. In 1959, the city transferred Veterans' Memorial Park, along with more than 250 other properties, to the Chicago Park District. The park district installed a spray pool in 1966 and a new soft surface playground in 1989.\n "}, {"id": 570, "title": "Violet Park", "address": "\n 4120 W. Taylor St. \n Chicago, IL 60624\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.59 acres and it is located in the West Garfield Park community.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Sumner\u00a0Park.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this once-vacant lot in 1970, with the help of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Until the creation of this new park site, the nearest space for recreation was Garfield Park, some six blocks away, on the far side of the Eisenhower Expressway.\n\nOfficially designated Violet Park in 1974, this was one of a number of parks named for trees and plants at this time. Like its relative the pansy, the tiny violet grows in a variety of colors: reddish-purple, blue, white, yellow, and gold. Napoleon Bonaparte gained the nickname \"Corporal Violet\" as his reign as emperor came to an end. Banished to the Island of Elba in 1914, he predicted he would \"return with the violets.\"\n\nDuring his absence, Napoleon's followers identified one another by asking, \"Do you like violets?\" When Napoleon returned to France in late March, 1815, the violets were in fact in full bloom, and Napoleon laid violets on Empress Josephine's grave before being exiled to St. Helena.\n "}, {"id": 571, "title": "Vittum (Harriet Elizabeth) Park", "address": "\n 5010 W. 50th St. \n Chicago, IL 60638\n ", "description": "Located in the Garfield Ridge community, Vittum Park totals 13.31 acres and features a fieldhouse with a gymnasium, kitchen and meeting rooms. Outside, the park offers baseball fields, basketball courts, an athletic field for soccer or football and a playground. The playground was renovated in Fall 2015 as part of Mayor Emanuel\u2019s Chicago Plays! Program.\u00a0\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play seasonal sports and table games. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Vittum Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday special events.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District began creating Vittum Park in 1947 as part of the Ten Year Park Development Plan. During the post-World War II period, Chicago's booming population was severely underserved in terms of parkland and facilities. The plan identified areas in critical need of new parks as well as existing parks with inadequate recreational facilities. As part of the expansion effort, the park district acquired a 13-acre property in the Garfield Ridge area. In 1961, the park district transferred a small area of the park, less than one acre in size, to the Board of Education, allowing for the construction of Frank Baum Elementary School. Despite the adjacent school, Vittum Park did not have sufficient indoor facilities until the park district constructed its fieldhouse in 1981. The park honors Harriet Elizabeth Vittum (1872 -1953), an important social reformer heralded as the \"First Lady of the needy.\" In 1904, Vittum began volunteering at the Northwestern University Settlement House, one of Chicago's innovative community centers that provided housing and services to underprivileged neighborhoods. Three years later, Vittum became the facility's administrator. Remaining involved with the settlement house for forty years, she established nutrition clinics, educational programs, and children's summer camps. Vittum received a 1948 Distinguished Service Award from the Chicago Recreation Commission that cited her as \"an illustrious pioneer in the settlement... [and a] courageous practitioner of social welfare.\"\n "}, {"id": 572, "title": "Vogle (Henry Jr.) Park", "address": "\n 2100 W. Lawrence Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "This small park 0.29 acres and it is located in the Lincoln Square neighborhood (on Lawrence Avenue, 2 \u00bd blocks west of Damen Avenue). The soft surface playground is a favorite among community children. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at Gross or River Parks.\n ", "history": "Vogle Park is one of 16 neighborhood parks established by the Chicago Park District in 1970. Four years after identifying the Lincoln Square property for development, the park district purchased the site using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funds. The vacant lot was soon transformed into a well-equipped playlot. Fifteen years later, the park district updated the site, replacing the original playground equipment with a soft surface playground. Ornamental fencing has enclosed the property since 1997. Vogle Park honors neighborhood resident Henry Vogle, Jr. (1912-1973). Shortly after arriving in Chicago from Pennsylvania, Vogle became involved in various civic and community organizations, including the Kiwanis Club, the Ravenswood Conservation Commission, the Knights of Columbus, and the 47th Ward Democratic Organization. He also supported area youth programs, serving as a volunteer basketball and football referee at nearby Winnemac Park. Vogle died of multiple sclerosis in 1973, at the age of 61.\n "}, {"id": 573, "title": "Wagner (Clarence) Park", "address": "\n 948 W. 51st \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Wagner Park is located in the\u00a0New City\u00a0Community. The park is 1.05 acres and it features a playground and water feature. It is an active community park.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Fuller Park.\u00a0\n ", "history": "New City's Wagner Park pays tribute to 14th Ward Alderman Clarence P. Wagner (1904-1953), who died at the height of his career in 1953. Wagner, a 1925 graduate of DePaul University Law School, practiced law before entering the political arena. Wagner became an assistant Probate Court judge in 1935. He was elected to the City Council in 1943, and named Council Finance Committee Chairman in 1950. A powerful political force, he was sometimes called the city's \"unofficial mayor.\" Just days before his fatal car accident, Wagner had temporarily blocked then County Clerk Richard J. Daley from ascending to the office of Cook County Democratic Chairman. Wagner Park was established by the City of Chicago, which began to purchase land for the park in 1949. By 1953, the city had acquired two non-contiguous properties along 51st Street. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation planned a lawn with walkways and plantings on the eastern parcel, and a playground, volley ball courts, and a shelter house on the western parcel. The city transferred Wagner Park and more than 250 other properties to the Chicago Park District in 1959. In subsequent years, the park district removed the shelter house, installed a new spray pool, and rehabilitated the playground. Unusual among Chicago's parks, the two Wagner Park properties remain separated by private property.\n "}, {"id": 574, "title": "Wallace Park", "address": "\n 607 W. 92nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Auburn Gresham community, Wallace Playground is a great location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing, enjoying nature and the outdoors. This 1.07-acre park contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing apparatus.\n ", "history": "Wallace Park was one of 42 playgrounds and playlots developed by the city in 1950 to meet the recreational needs of post-World War II Chicago. Having used Playground Bond funds to purchase property in the Washington Heights neighborhood, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation improved the site with playground equipment, a volleyball court, a gravel-surfaced softball field, and a small recreation building. Following its general practice, the bureau named the park for adjacent Wallace Avenue. The street honors Chicago real estate developer John S. Wallace who subdivided property near what is now the intersection of Wallace and 43rd Streets in the 1860s. In 1959, the city transferred Wallace Park, along with more than 250 other properties, to the Chicago Park District. Having added a basketball court and a spray pool in the 1960s, the park district substantially rehabilitated the site in 1991, constructing two new soft surface playgrounds for tots and older children.\n "}, {"id": 575, "title": "Walsh (John) Park", "address": "\n 1722 N. Ashland Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "This park is located in the West Town neighborhood (west of the Kennedy Expressway, at Ashland Avenue, a little more than one block north of North Avenue). Situated on 2.18\u00a0acres, the park contains an athletic field, basketball hoops, a playground, and a dog-friendly area. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our programs offered at nearby Adams, Oz, or Holstein\u00a0Parks.\n\nThis park is directly adjacent to The 606\u00a0and serves as a major point of access for residents.\n\nWalsh Park is located at 1722 North Ashland Avenue and serves as the eastern end of the Bloomingdale Trail, the heart of The 606. In 2014, The Chicago Park District received the Open Space and Land Acquisition Grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to support improvements that will provide a family-friendly space that supports both the active recreation (athletic field, playground, etc.) and passive recreation (natural grass, trees, and community gardens). The design for Walsh Park includes a playground with a spray feature, outdoor fitness equipment, a gathering space, pathway, landscaping, and lighting improvements.\n\n\u00a0\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Walsh Park occupies the former site of a vacant building destroyed in a spectacular and deadly fire on July 7, 1970. Firefighter John P. Walsh, Jr. (1923-1970), for whom this West Town park is named, died five weeks after being critically injured while fighting the stubborn blaze. Walsh had served as a United States Marine before joining the Chicago Fire Department in 1951. He had been assigned to Hook & Ladder Company 44. Several months after Walsh's death, the Dana Civic Organization requested that the Chicago Park District develop the fire-scarred site as a neighborhood park. The park district had acquired the 2-acre property by the end of 1972, with the help of grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Improvements began the following year. The 2-acre park includes playground equipment, an athletic field, basketball hoops, and a sand box.\n "}, {"id": 576, "title": "Wang (Chi Che) Park", "address": "\n 1719 W. Wolfram St. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "Chi Che Wang Playlot Park\u00a0is 1.99 acres and it\u00a0is located in the Lakeview community (on Diversey Parkway, approximately 2 \u00bd blocks east of Damen Avenue). The new ADA soft-surface playground is a favorite place for community children to spend the day.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Hamlin Park.\n ", "history": "In 2000, the Chicago Plan Commission approved the creation of a residential planned development in the Paulina Ave. Corridor, an area that had previously been a manufacturing district. Two years later, the Chicago Park District began acquiring a 1.72 acre site in the development to create a park for the new community. By 2006, laborers \u201ccleaned and greened\u201d the site which included removing industrial debris, planting lawn and trees and fencing the new park. Chicago Park District planners are currently working with the local community to design and plan for future development of the site. Construction on this next phase is expected to take place in 2009.\n\nIn 2004, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners named the new park in honor of Chi Che Wang (1894 \u2013 1979), an important scientist and teacher who participated in many civic efforts in Chicago. Born in Soochow, China, Chi Che was sent to America by her parents to obtain a good education. She received a bachelor\u2019s degree from Wesley College in 1914, and came to Chicago to attend the University of Chicago, where she received a Master\u2019s degree in chemistry in 1916 and a Ph.D. in nutrition and chemistry in 1918. Soon after her arrival, Chi Che helped found the Chicago Chinese Women\u2019s Club, a group with which she remained active for a decade. After teaching for several years at the University of Chicago, she became a department head conducting medical research for Michael Reese Hospital. Due to the importance of her work, she was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1922.\n\nBetween 1931 and 1940, Chi Che Wang lived in Cincinatti where she continued her research on children\u2019s metabolism. She returned to Chicago to work as a research chemist for the Northwestern Yeast Company. In 1943, she accepted a position as assistant professor of physiology at the Northwestern University Medical School. In this position, she specialized in the study of nephrosis in children, and her research headquarters were at Children\u2019s Memorial Hospital. Several years later, she left Chicago again to work for the Mayo Clinic, but returned to the area several years later when she accepted a position with the Hines Veterans Administration Hospital. Among many civic efforts in which she participated, Chi Che Wang provided clinical laboratory demonstrations for the Woman\u2019s World\u2019s Fair in Chicago. Chi Che Wang conducted important work from her research headquarters at Children\u2019s Memorial Hospital, which is less than two miles from the new park.\n "}, {"id": 577, "title": "Ward (A. Montgomery) Park", "address": "\n 630 N. Kingsbury St. \n Chicago, IL 60606\n ", "description": "Located in the River North neighborhood in the Near North Side community area, Ward Park sits on a 3.10-acre parcel that stretches along the north branch of the Chicago River. The Chicago Park District first acquired the southern two-acres in 2000, and three years later, the developer of new high-rise condominiums Centrum Properties donated an acre on the north side of the park to satisfy the requirements of Chicago\u2019s Open Space Ordinance.\n\nThe Chicago Park District worked with two design firms, Wolff Landscape Architects and Peter Walker and Partners, to develop the site. The park\u2019s plan emphasizes the Chicago River as the site\u2019s main asset by incorporating a river walk promenade complete with benches and shade trees that offers spectacular views of the water and skyline. The park also has a large playground, adjacent dog-friendly area and two works of art \u2014 a lovely mosaic wall near the river\u00a0and a stainless steel sculpture entitled \"Commemorative Ground Ring\" near the intersection of W. Erie and N. Kingsbury streets.\n\nSculptor Sheila Klein first displayed the work in 1989 in a temporary exhibit known as Sculpture Chicago. Moved to Ward Park in 2005, the sculpture emulates an enormous engagement ring, and incorporates imagery from the city\u2019s architectural legacy. Elements include a skyscraper, the famous three-part Chicago window, and a form that looks like the famous Getty Tomb by revered architect Louis Sullivan.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Jesse White\u00a0Park and Community Center.\n ", "history": "In 2010, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners officially named Park 511 (previously nicknamed Erie Park) in honor of Aaron Montgomery Ward, Chicago\u2019s famous mail order entrepreneur who became known as the \u201cWatchdog of the Lakefront.\u201d Its site at 630 N. Kingsbury Street is only a few short blocks away from the Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House Building at 600 N. Chicago Avenue.\n\nBorn in New Jersey, Aaron Montgomery Ward (1843- 1913) grew up in Niles, Michigan where he attended public schools. As a teenager, he began as a factory worker earning 25 cents a day and then became a day laborer at a brickyard. Settling in Chicago in 1865, he worked for Field, Palmer & Leiter (later Marshall Field & Co.) and then for another Chicagodepartment store known as CW Partridge.\n\nIn 1872, A. Montgomery Ward founded the world\u2019s first large mail order house in the world, operating from a loft over a livery stable on Kinzie Street between Rush and State Streets. He went on to become one of the nation\u2019s most successful businessmen with the catalog house on N. Chicago Avenue and the company\u2019s headquarters located from two buildings on Michigan Avenue at Madison Street. Ward\u2019s Michigan Avenue office overlooked Lake Park (later renamed Grant Park).\n\nBy the 1880s the park had garbage heaps, livery shacks, an unsightly maintenance yard, and the City regularly leased out space there to Barnum and other circuses. A. Montgomery Ward filed an injunction to prohibit the city from dumping garbage, maintaining sheds and shacks, and holding circuses there. This proved to be the first in a long series of legal measures he took to preserve the lakefront park.\n\nDaniel H. Burnham developed plans proposing several buildings in the center of Grant Park including a new Field Museum and Crerar Library. Aware that early restrictions that deemed the site as a \u201cPublic Ground\u2026 forever open, clear and free of any buildings or obstructions whatever,\u201d Ward continued his battle to protect the lakefront open space.\n\nVilified by the media and government officials, public opinion regarding Ward\u2019s efforts was generally negative. He once said, \u201cI have nothing at stake in this fight but the good of the people now for future generations. Perhaps I may see the public appreciate efforts, but I doubt it.\u201d\n\nWard won his final court challenge in 1910 and is revered today for his battle to protect Chicago's lakefront.\n "}, {"id": 578, "title": "Warner Garden Park", "address": "\n 1446 W. Warner Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60613\n ", "description": "Park No. 521 is 0.16 acres and it is\u00a0located in the Lakeview community.\n ", "history": "In the late 1990s, NeighborSpace, a non-profit organization devoted to creating community open spaces in Chicago, established a passive park with a perennial garden in an underserved area of the Lake View community. The organization named the .14-acre site the Warner Garden because it is located on Warner Avenue. The Chicago Park District has a long term lease with NeighborSpace for this property. The organization and neighborhood want to retain the long-used Warner Garden Park name.\n "}, {"id": 579, "title": "Warren (Laurence) Park", "address": "\n 6601 N. Western Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60645\n ", "description": "With 88.93 acres of parkland, Warren Park is the North Region\u2019s largest park featuring a number of special attractions for every season of the year. For youth and teens, the park has baseball, basketball and soccer programs. For the little ones the park offers preschool programs and tumbling classes. \u00a0\n\nFitness enthusiasts can hop onto a paved path that winds throughout the park for walking, jogging or biking. Golf-lovers head to the Robert A. Black nine-hole golf course and golf putting practice area located on the northeast end of the park.\n\nIn the winter months, Warren Park boasts\u00a0the\u00a0Chicago\u00a0Blackhawks Ice Rink for skating. This winter, the ice rink will operate (weather permitting) from Thanksgiving weekend (Friday) until February. Call (773) 761-8663 for skate fees, times, and rental information. If it gets a little chilly...no worries we have a toasty warming house. Restrooms are also available at the rink.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Warren Park was created in the 1970s, born of both conflict and cooperation. The controversy began in 1965 when real estate developers offered to purchase the 94-acre private Edgewater Golf Club for $7.6 million from its members. Soon after the community learned that the buyers wanted to build high-rise apartments and a large shopping center on the site, a coalition of local groups known as the Allied North Side Community Organizations launched a major campaign to save the land as open space. Despite the strong community objection, however, the City re-zoned the site in 1968 to allow development to move forward. When the city failed to support the park scheme, the commuity groups solicited the support of the State Government. In 1969, Governor Ogilvie signed a bill to make the private golf course into a state park. The governor announced that this would be \"the first major state park in Illinois created in an urban area. By bringing a park to the people, instead of requiring them to go to a distant park, we shall mark an historic turning point in the battle to preserve open lands.\" The State of Illinois acquired approximately one-third of the property for $8 million the following year. In 1971, the state officially named the park in honor of Laurence C. Warren (1923-1970), a key figure in the fight to save the golf course as open space. The son of German Jewish immigrants, Warren was a succesful attorney and community leader. He was a past president of the North Town Community Council, and chairman of the Allied North Side Community Orgnizations. Governor Ogilvie said \"while the new name of this great urban park memorializes a single community leader, it symbolizes the remarkable partnership that saved most of the former club for the public.\" Despite the progress in creating a state park, plans to develop the remaining golf course acreage continued, and community opposition stayed strong. To save the rest of the golf course land as open space, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners agreed to condemn the remaining 32-acre site in 1972. The state transferred its property to the park district in 1975. In the late 1970s, the Chicago Park District began a major construction project for the park which included a field house, playground, ball fields, and a nine-hole golf course. In 1980, Warren Park's golf course was officially dedicated in honor of Robert A. Black (1896-1978), Chief Engineer to the Chicago Park District for more than thirty years.\n "}, {"id": 580, "title": "Washington (Dinah) Park", "address": "\n 8213 S. Euclid Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the South Chicago community, Dinah Washington Park is 0.47 acres and it is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing apparatus.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased this once-vacant lot in 1972 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The new park was intended to provide additional recreational space for an underserved area of the South Chicago neighborhood. The park district officially designated the playlot Redbud Park in 1974, when a number of parks were named for trees and plants. In recent years, the site was renamed Dinah Washington Park as part of a Chicago Park District initiative to recognize significant Chicago women.\n\nDinah Washington (1924- 1963) was one of the most versatile and talented vocalists in America\u2019s popular music history. Named Ruth Lee Jones, she was born in Tuscaloosa Alabama, and moved to Chicago with her family as a young child. She became deeply involved with music at a young age.Her mother played piano at St. Lukes Baptist Church and young Ruth soon learned to play piano as well. She began winning amateur music contests and began performing with gospel singer Sallie Martin in 1940. In 1942, she joined Lionel Hampton\u2019s big band, began using the stage name Dinah Washington, and began a steady rise to stardom.She soon began cutting records albums with several different record companies. She recorded with jazz greats such as trumpeters Clifford Brown and Clark Terry and saxophonist Lockjaw Davis. By the late 1950s she was one of the nation\u2019s great pop stars after recording songs such as \u201cWhat a Diff\u2019rence a Day Makes,\u201d and \u201cUnforgettable.\u201d Widely known as the nation\u2019s \u201cQueen of Blues,\u201d Dinah Washington won a Grammy Award in 1959 for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance. She died in 1963.Thirty years later, the US Postal Service issued a Dinah Washington stamp. Redbud Park is approximately two miles away from the home she purchased in the 1950s at 82nd and Vernon Ave.\n "}, {"id": 581, "title": "Washington (George) Park", "address": "\n 5531 S. King Dr. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located in the Washington Park/Woodlawn neighborhood, Washington Park totals 345.67 acres and features two gymnasiums, a photography lab, dance studio, racquetball court, fitness center,game room, and multi-purpose rooms. Green features of the park include a nature area, a Harvest Garden and an arboretum. Outside, the park offers a lagoon, aquatic center, three playgrounds, basketball/ tennis courts, baseball, football, soccer, cricket, and softball fields. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasiums, fields, and multi-purpose rooms. Additionally, Washington Park features the renowed Fountain of Time sculpture by Lorado Taft.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, fitness, Teen Club, Junior Bears Football. On the cultural side, the park offers music and movement and dance. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Washington Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as Ashaki Black History Month Celebration and other holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted & Calvert Vaux, Washington Park is one of Chicago\u2019s most significant historic landscapes. Originally considered the \u201cwestern division\u201d\u2014a 367-acre portion of the enormous 1055-acre South Park\u2014it was connected to the park\u2019s \u201ceastern division\u201d via a grand boulevard called the Midway Plaisance. In 1881, the South Park Commissioners named the western division in honor of George Wash\u00adington (1732\u20131799) first president of the United States. At the same time, they named the eastern division Jackson Park.\n\nOlmsted and Vaux completed an ambitious plan for South Park in 1871. The plan included a magnificent South Open Green- an open meadow on which cows and sheep would roam to enhance the pastoral experience and keep the lawn trim. The meadow was not only enjoyed by flocks of Southdown sheep, but also park patrons who gathered for baseball, drills, and other athletics.\u00a0 Renowned architects Burnham & Root designed two late nineteenth century buildings in the park\u2014the stables and round house and the refectory which originally housed the offices for the South park Commissioners.\u00a0 In 1910 Burnham\u2019s firm designed a larger administrative headquarters which houses the Du Sable Museum of African American History.\n\nIn 1922 Lorado Taft (1860\u20131936), Chicago\u2019s pre-eminent sculptor, created the Fountain of Time on the southeastern edge of Washington Park. Inspired by \u201dThe Paradox of Time,\u201d a poem by Henry Austin Dobson, Taft\u2019s fountain is composed of an ominous cloaked Father-Time figure gazing at a wave-like procession of one hundred human figures across the water.\n\nBy the mid-1930s, the growing African-American community around Washington Park was in dire need of additional recreational facilities. The park district responded by building two competition-size swimming pools near the refectory. In the early 1990s, the park district rehabilitated the refectory and transformed the swimming area into a major aquatic center. Recent projects include lagoon improvements, the construction of a $700 thousand playground, the creation of an arboretum, and a $2 million restoration of the Fountain of Time.\u00a0 Lagoon improvements were made in the early 2000s.\n "}, {"id": 582, "title": "Washington (Harold) Memorial Park", "address": "\n 7710 N. Paulina St. \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "This small playground is located in the Rogers Park neighborhood (1 \u00bd block north of Howard Street, 2 \u00bd blocks east of Clark Street/Evanston\u2019s Chicago Avenue). This 0.21-acre park is a great location for families with children to spend an afternoon. The park has ADA accessible soft-surface play area \u2013 filled with swings, a slide, picnic tables, drinking fountains, and benches. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Willye White Park.\n ", "history": "In 2004, Peoples\u2019 Housing, a non-profit organization deeded a .19-acre playlot in the Rogers Park community to the Chicago Park District. The site became #506 on the park district\u2019s facility listing.\n\nThe playlot was created in 1983, and has been known since then as Harold Washington Tot Lot. Mayor Harold Washington attended the park\u2019s ribbon-cutting 22 years ago. Many area residents still have fond memories of shaking the late Mayor\u2019s hand at the dedication ceremonies.\n\nNumerous community members and organizations provided strong support for the proposed name change to Harold Washington Memorial Park. In February 2006, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners approved the name change request.\n\nHarold Lee Washington (1922- 1987) was Chicago\u2019s first African-American Mayor, serving from 1983 until his death in 1987.Born and raised on Chicago\u2019s south side, Washington graduated from DuSable High School. After serving in the military, he studied at Roosevelt College, one of the academic institutions in the region that then accepted African-Americans. He served as class president and received his Bachelor\u2019s Degree in 1948. He went on to attend Northwestern University School of Law, receiving a law degree in 1952. Washington worked as an assistant city prosecutor and as an arbitrator for the Illinois Industrial Commission. He was active in the Third Ward Democratic Organization and Third Ward Young Democrats. Elected as member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1965, he served through 1976. He served as Illinois State Senator from 1976 to 1980; and a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1980 until 1983. On April 22, 1983, he was elected as Mayor of Chicago, and was re-elected for a second term in 1987. Although his second term was cut short by his untimely death, he accomplished much in City Hall during his tenure. Many of his Executive Orders Ordinances became models for other cities including advisorycommissions on the affairs of Latinos, Women, and Asians; Ordinances on Affirmative Action in employment and procurement, tenants\u2019 rights, campaign finance reform, Freedom of Information and South African divestiture.He served as Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and put forth an agenda for the re-development of the inner cities, and initiated a national dialogue on race relations. Mayor Harold Washington instituted a public policy and practice of fairness and equality for all of the citizens and communities. This attitude was made clear in his first inaugural address on April 29, 1983, he said, \"I hope to be remembered by history as the Mayor who cared about the people and who was, above all, fair.\u201d\n "}, {"id": 583, "title": "Washington (Harold) Park", "address": "\n 5200 S. Hyde Park Blvd. \n Chicago, IL 60615\n ", "description": "Located in the\u00a0Hyde Park\u00a0neighborhood,\u00a0Harold Washington Park is 25.21 acres and it is a great recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families. This park contains tennis courts, picnic areas, a motorboat pond, chess tables and volleyball poles.\n\nPopular activities at this park include\u00a0chess, volleyball and soccer.\n ", "history": "In 1906, the City of Chicago acquired a stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline in the Hyde Park community. Noted landscape architect and Special Park Commission member Jens Jensen described the ten-acre site as \"the most valuable\" property within the agency's holdings. Due to severe lakeshore erosion, however, he also pronounced it \"an eyesore...of no value to the public as a place of recreation.\" The following year, the commission implemented Jensen's plans for the new East End Park, installing trees, lawns, walks, and benches. City funds for the desperately-needed shoreline protection were not forthcoming, however, and in late November, 1912, a severe storm destroyed the dilapidated breakwater. Seven years later, the City Council transferred East End Park to the South Park Commission as part of a far-reaching program to develop the south lakeshore and improve passenger service on the Illinois Central Railroad. It was the South Park Commission that finally installed permanent lakeshore protection, and in 1927, East End Park formally became part of the South Park system's Burnham Park. By 1930, the South Park Commission had constructed a wading pool, model yacht harbor, and tennis courts on the former East End property. In 1934, the South Park Commission and 21 other independent park boards were consolidated into the Chicago Park District. For years, the park district made only minor improvements in the former East End Park, concentrating its efforts elsewhere in Burnham Park. In the early 1990s, however, the park district replaced the wading pool with a new spray pool and constructed an elaborate soft surface playground. Officially severing the former East End property from Burnham Park, the park district renamed the site Harold Washington Park in 1992. A lawyer, state legislator, U.S. congressman, and Hyde Park resident, Harold Washington (1922-1987) was also Chicago's first mayor of African-American descent.\n "}, {"id": 584, "title": "Washington Park Refectory", "address": "\n 5531 S. Russell Drive \n Chicago, IL 60637\n ", "description": "Located in the Washington Park/Woodlawn neighborhood, the Washington Park Refectory sits adjacent to the Aquatic Center, which houses a 36-foot water slide\u00a0plus a swimming pool with a patio and fountains.\u00a0The Refectory has a rich history that is interwoven with Chicago\u2019s architectural\u00a0design legends. Daniel H. Burnham & Company designed and built the pool and\u00a0Russell Drive in 1891, two years before the Columbia Exposition.\u00a0The Refectory features ground level colonnades and four open-roof towers. The\u00a0classically designed Refectory building and grounds offer two distinguished floors: \"The Park Level\" and \"The Tower Level.\"\n\nThe Park Level: This level gives you a \u201cbird\u2019s eye\u201d view of the 36-foot\u00a0water slide and pool. This space also contains a fireplace (which features a\u00a0remnant of the building\u2019s original mosaic flooring), mid-room\u00a0elevators and side stairwells that lead to the Tower Level.\n\n\nThe Tower Level: This level provides a bright and airy panoramic view\u00a0overlooking the park to the north and the Aquatic Center on the south. The\u00a0amenities include a full-service kitchen and a dazzling fireplace mantle\u00a0reminiscent of the turn of the century.\n\nThis facility is available for rent for such occasions as: Weddings, Receptions, Baby Showers, Repasts, etc.\n\u00a0\n ", "history": ""}, {"id": 585, "title": "Washington Square Park", "address": "\n 901 N. Clark St. \n Chicago, IL 60610\n ", "description": "This small park is tucked across the street from the Newberry Library in the Near North Community. The park is 2.85 acres and it features a floral garden and fountain.\u00a0Washington Square Park is an active community park and a popular wedding ceremony location.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this park, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby\u00a0Seward Park for recreation or\u00a0Stanton Park\u00a0for swimming in the indoor pool.\n ", "history": "In 1842, James Fitch, Orasmua Bushnell, and Charles Butler of the American Land Company donated a three-acre parcel to the city for use as a public park. The donors named the site Washington Square, possibly after a similar park located in an elegant New York City neighborhood. As the developers had hoped, Chicago's Washington Square was soon surrounded by many fine residences and churches. In 1869, the city began improving Washington Square with lawn, trees, bisecting diagonal walks, limestone coping, and picket fencing. By the 1890s, an attractive Victorian fountain adorned the square. Within a decade or so, however, it had been razed and the park had deteriorated. In 1906, when Alderman McCormick became President of Drainage Board, he decided to devote his aldermanic salary to improving the park. McCormick donated a $600 fountain, and the city allocated an additional $10,000 to rehabilitate the park. Landscape improvements were planned by the renowned designer, Jens Jensen, then a member of the board of the city's Special Park Commission. By the 1910s, the neighborhood surrounding Washington Square had become more diverse. Because many old mansions were converted into flophouses, the park earned the nickname, \"Bughouse Square.\" Like Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park, Washington Square became a popular spot for soap box orators. Artists, writers, political radicals, and hobos pontificated, lectured, recited poetry, ranted and raved. A group of regulars formed \"The Dill Pickle Club,\" devoted to free expression. For years Washington Square orators appointed their own honorary \"king.\" In 1959, the city transferred Washington Square to the Chicago Park District. Although Alderman McCormick's fountain was removed in the 1970s, in the late 1990s, the park district, the city, and neighborhood organizations agreed on a restoration plan for Washington Square. Improvements include a reconstructed historic fountain, period lighting, fencing, and new plantings.\n "}, {"id": 586, "title": "Washtenaw Park", "address": "\n 2521 S. Washtenaw Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Located in the South Lawndale Community Area, Washtenaw Park totals 1\u00a0acre\u00a0and features a small field house with a game room. Outside, the park offers a softball field and playground.\n\nAfter school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Washtenaw Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday events.\n ", "history": "The City of Chicago created Washtenaw Park in 1947, constructing a playingfield, skating pond, shelter house, and spray pool shortly thereafter. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation, which operated Washtenaw Park for the city, erected a fieldhouse in 1948. In 1959, the city transferred Washtenaw Park to the Chicago Park District. Although there is no record of this park's naming, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation often used adjacent street names for purposes of identification. Washtenaw Street may take its name from one of several sources. A Michigan county bears the name. The Algonquin Indian term Washtenaw - literally, \"the place of the round or curved channel\" - was used to refer to the settlement at Detroit. Washtenaw is also an Ojibway word meaning \"far-off,\" and first applied to a Michigan stream.\n "}, {"id": 587, "title": "Webster (Daniel) Park", "address": "\n 1357 S. Indiana Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60605\n ", "description": "This small park is 1.20 acres and it is located in the\u00a0Near South Side\u00a0Community. It features passive green space and benches to provide quiet respite for the community.\u00a0\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Chicago Women's Park and Gardens.\n ", "history": "In the late 1990s, the Chicago Park District participated in a unique partnership with the City of Chicago, Cook County, suburban communities, State of Illinois, and CorLands, the real estate affiliate of the Open Lands Project of Chicago, to transform abandoned railroad property into a greenway and trail. The Chicago Park District acquired a one-mile portion a new 10-mile trail system that stretches from Calumet Park to forest preserves and parks in the south suburbs.\n\nThe long term goal for the 10-mile Burnham Greenway is to have it serve as a link in the 475-mile Grand Illinois Trail. The Burnham Greenway is an attractive linear green space with a multi-use trail edged by native plantings and shade trees. The partnering organizations entitled the new greenway to pay tribute to Daniel H. Burnham ( 1846-1912), who envisioned greenways to connect parks and forest preserves in his seminal Plan of Chicago (co-authored by Edward H. Bennett). The Chicago Park District\u2019s property lies within a larger system known as the Burnham Greenway.\n "}, {"id": 588, "title": "Weisman (Albert) Park", "address": "\n 901 W. Oakdale Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "Check out our new playground! Weisman Park is 0.40 acres and it is located on the corner of Oakdale and Mildred in Lakeview.\n\nThis park is an ideal location for families with children to spend the day. Recently renovated the park has new ADA accessible soft-surface play area \u2013 filled with swings, a slide, picnic tables, drinking fountains, benches, and water spray feature. The landscaping offers patrons shady areas and colorful flowers in the spring time. To add a little whimsy to the landscape - a beautiful interactive fish tank mosaic was installed. It was designed by artist Martha Crandall and the Chicago Mosaic School.\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Sheil Park.\n ", "history": "Weisman Park is one of many playgrounds developed by the City of Chicago just after World War II. In 1949, the city purchased its site on Oakdale Avenue in the Lakeview neighborhood using Playground Bond funds. By 1950, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation had installed a spray pool, a sand box, and playground equipment. The city transferred the park to the Chicago Park District in 1959, along with more than 250 other properties. The playground was updated in the early 1990s. Known for several decades as Oakdale Park for the adjacent street, the park was renamed for local resident Albert Weisman (1915-1974) in 1983. A native of St. Louis and a journalist by trade, Weisman spent 18 years as head of public relations for Chicago advertising firm Foote, Cone, and Belding before becoming the University of Chicago's Director of Public Affairs. He was a member of the Lincoln Park Zoological Society Board of Directors and a Trustee of Columbia College, where he taught urban politics. Patriotically-inclined, Weisman may have been best known as the founder of the Wellington-Oakdale Old Glory Marching Society Memorial Day Parades, where \"everyone marches, nobody watches.\" A public drinking fountain in Lincoln Park is also dedicated in his honor.\n "}, {"id": 589, "title": "Welles (Gideon) Park", "address": "\n 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "Located in the heart of Lincoln Square at Lincoln and Montrose Avenues sits the 15.84-acre Welles Park, a gathering place for musicians and sports and fitness enthusiasts of all kinds. Many residents enjoy the park\u2019s indoor pool\u2014using it year-round for lap swims, instruction, and aqua exercise. Others visit Welles Park\u2019s fitness center for a workout, while some prefer a leisurely game of horseshoes at the park\u2019s outdoor pits.\n\nThe Chicago Park District installed and unveiled a green, wrought-iron, European-style gazebo on the west side of the park as a centerpiece for the Lincoln Square community. Equipped with electricity for lights and sound, the gazebo is used for outdoor concerts, storytelling and other performances.\n\nIn Spring 2010 the park district unveiled a new action packed ADA accessible/softsurface playground for community children. On the many fields\u00a0at Welles Park, one can find baseball, softball, track and field, and football. Preschoolers get involved in tot soccer, floor hockey, tumbling and various play groups, while older children can participate in tumbling, arts & crafts, swimming and many sports. Welles Park also provides activities for adults and children who are developmentally disabled through its therapeutic recreation programs.\n ", "history": "One of five parks created by the Lincoln Park Commission and named for a member of President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet, Welles Park honors Gideon Welles (1802-1878), Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. Since the Lincoln Park Commission's formation in 1869, its primary responsibility was to improve and manage Lincoln Park and its connecting boulevards. By 1908, the commissioners were impressed with new neighborhood parks on Chicago's south and west sides, and began efforts to create similar parks on the city's north side. In 1910, the Lincoln Park Commission transformed an initial 8-acre site into Welles Park. The commissioners began leasing a large property just east of the park in 1922, and several years later they purchased the additional acreage to permanently enlarge Welles Park. A small fieldhouse opened in Welles Park in 1915. This was replaced by a modern facility in 1970. In the 1920s, Abe Saperstein (1902-1966) began his career as a basketball coach in the Welles Park fieldhouse. Saperstein soon recruited south side African-American basketball players to play at a Jewish youth center in the Maxwell Street neighborhood. In 1927, he began coaching a semi-professional black basketball team. Known as the Savoy Big Five, because they played twice a week at the south side Savoy Ballroom. Saperstein soon took the team on the road, driving the players in his own Model T Ford. He renamed the team the Harlem Globetrotters to suggest an all-black travelling team. Saperstein encouraged the players to do trick moves with the basketball, and they became the one of the world's most entertaining and well-known basketball teams. In 1971, Abe Saperstein was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame.\n "}, {"id": 590, "title": "Wendt (Kenneth) Park", "address": "\n 667 W. Roscoe St. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.17 acres and it\u00a0is located in the Lakeview neighborhood (a little over one block east of Halsted, approximately five blocks south of Addison Street).\n\nWhile there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at Gill Park.\n ", "history": "Known for years as Roscoe Park for the street on which it is located, Wendt Park was among numerous neighborhood parks established by the City of Chicago in the years following World War II. The city purchased the Roscoe Street site in 1952 to serve the recreational needs of the densely-populated Lake View community. Shortly thereafter, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation developed the site as a playlot, transferring it to the Chicago Park District in 1959. The park was thoroughly rehabilitated thirty years later. In 1983, the park district renamed the park in honor of Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth R. Wendt (1910-1982). A resident of Chicago's north side for his entire life, Judge Wendt was educated at St. Vincent's School, DePaul Academy, and Marquette University. After a brief stint on the Chicago Cardinals professional football team, Wendt returned to school to obtain a law degree from John Marshall Law School. He served as a state representative from 1952 until 1962, when he was elected to the Cook County bench. He presided over the Narcotics Court, and later served on the Criminal Court. Nationally known for his expertise in narcotics law, he sometimes prompted controversy with his lenient sentences, often for first-time offenders.\n "}, {"id": 591, "title": "Wentworth (John) Gardens Park", "address": "\n 3770 S. Wentworth Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60609\n ", "description": "Located in the Armour Square Community Area, Wenworth Gardens\u00a0Park totals 2.53\u00a0acres and features a community center with a gymnasium and meeting rooms. In conjunction with the Chicago Housing Authority, the park offers a baseball field, basketball courts, a swimming pool and playground.\n\nAfter school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Wentworth Gardens Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday events.\n ", "history": "Around 1900, the Chicago White Sox, then the city's only professional baseball team built a ball field at Pershing Road and Wentworth Avenue in the Armour Square community. By 1913, the property had passed to the Chicago Baseball League's (later the Negro National League's) American Giants, who erected a 9,000-seat grandstand there. By 1946, the ball field was gone, and the Chicago Housing Authority began building the 422-unit Wentworth Gardens public housing development on the site of the former ball field. The complex included a centrally-located community center to provide a gathering place for residents of the Wentworth Gardens Homes. In 1964, the Chicago Park District began offering recreational programming at the community center on behalf of CHA. In 1968, the agencies formalized the relationship, with the park district signing a lease for use of the community building and more than an acre of surrounding property. The following year, the park district constructed a swimming pool behind the community center. In 1991, the park district provided new recreational opportunities to residents by adding volleyball and basketball courts, a soft surface playground, a jogging path, and a picnic area. Wentworth Gardens Park and the surrounding housing development take their names from adjacent Wentworth Avenue. The street honors John Wentworth (1815-1888), one of Chicago's best-known civic leaders. Born to a prominent family, Wentworth's paternal grandfather was a member of the Continental Congress and his maternal grandfather served as a colonel under George Washington. Almost immediately after arriving from the East in 1836, Wentworth became editor of the Chicago Democrat, and quickly involved himself in the fledgling city's politics. In 1857, and again in 1860, Wentworth was elected to a one-year term as mayor. He later became the city's police chief and also served five consecutive terms in Congress. Considered one of Chicago's most flamboyant politicians, Wentworth was known as \"Long John\" for his six-foot-six, three-hundred-pound physique.\n "}, {"id": 592, "title": "Wentworth (John) Park", "address": "\n 5625 S. Mobile Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60638\n ", "description": "Located in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood, Wentworth Park totals 15.081\u00a0acres and features a gymnasium, multi-purpose clubrooms, and an indoor pool (Wentworth Kennedy School). Outdoor, the park offers baseball/softball/football/soccer/ fields, tennis/ basketball courts, a playground and spray pool. Additionally,\u00a0a new ice rink has been\u00a0added for the entire family enjoyment.\u00a0Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose clubrooms and gymnasium.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, aquatics, preschool activities, gymnastics and arts & crafts. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Wentworth Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "Soon after World War II, the Chicago Park District began a major initiative to create new parks for the first time in many years. This Ten Year Plan identified 43 sites in neighborhoods with few recreational facilities and in undeveloped areas which were starting to boom. In 1947, the park district acquired property in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood, an area which doubled in population between 1940 and 1950. Before any improvements were made, the Board of Education requested that the northeastern corner of the park be devoted to a new elementary school. The park district sold the property to the board, and began improving the remaining parkland in 1956. By the time the Board of Education constructed John H. Kinzie Elementary School the following year, Wentworth Park included an athletic field; volleyball, basketball, horse shoe, and tennis courts; and a children's playground. The park district added a recreation building and sun deck in 1964. In 1965, the Board of Education built the new Kennedy High School on 56th Street across from Wentworth Park. For years, the park district has provided jointly-operated programs from both of the schools. John Wentworth (1815-1888), a well-known early settler and civic leader, originally owned much of the land located near what became the park. Raised in New Hampshire and a graduate of Dartmouth College, Wentworth decided to head west to seek his fortune at the age of 21. He was soon hired as editor of the Chicago Democrat, and also began studying the law. He went on to serve five terms in Congress, and two terms as Mayor of Chicago. Considered one of the city's most flamboyant politicians, he was known as \"Long John\" Wentworth because of his six-foot-six tall, three-hundred pound physique.\n "}, {"id": 593, "title": "Wesolek (Marlene) Park", "address": "\n 13401-11 S. Avenue M \n Chicago, IL 60633\n ", "description": "Located in the Hegewisch community, Wesolek Playlot is 0.45 acres and it is an ideal location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing apparatus. Activities that are played at this location include soccer and hockey.\n ", "history": "Marlene Wesolek Park is located on Avenue \"M,\" one of a number of southeast side alphabet streets laid out by real estate subdivider Frank J. Lewis (1867-1960) around 1918. When an anticipated public transit line failed to materialize, Lewis' development dreams were deferred for nearly 40 years. Residential growth occurred in the area only after World War II. In 1949, the City of Chicago purchased the small site for park development. By the following year, the city's Department of Public Works was operating the property as a playlot. The city transferred the park to the Chicago Park District in 1959. In 2005, the park district renamed the site in honor of Marlene Wesolek as part of an initiative to recognize the achievements of significant Chicago women. Marlene Wesolek (1937\u20132001) was a community activist devoted to the Hegewisch community. She was an actively involved in CAPS Beat #433, and frequently helped organize and participated in anti-crime marches. She also dedicated her time to the Hegewisch Community Committee, a non-profit organization devoted to eliminating juvenile delinquency and providing educational, recreational and civic opportunities to the citizens of Southeast Chicago. She was particularly involved with the Hegewisch Community Committee\u2019s efforts to involve children in after school programs. Marlene was a volunteer for Mann Park\u2019s annual haunted house. She also contributed many hours to surveying the neighborhood for graffiti, inoperable streetlights, problematic buildings and other negative activity and working with the Alderman and City of Chicago to remedy these conditions.\n "}, {"id": 594, "title": "West Chatham Park", "address": "\n 8223 S. Princeton Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60620\n ", "description": "Located in the Chatham community, West Chatham Park totals 14.30 acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers an interactive spray pool, baseball/softball diamonds, playground, and basketball/tennis courts. Many of the spaces, including the clubroom and fields, are available for rental.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, cheerleading, line dancing and Bid Whist. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, West Chatham Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "West Chatham Park lies in the western portion of Chicago's south side Chatham community. This swampy area remained sparsely populated until the 1920s, when residential construction and manufacturing boomed. Growth in the middle-class community slowed during the Great Depression, but rebounded in the 1940s. At the close of World War II, the Chicago Park District initiated a Ten Year Plan to create new parks in under-served and rapidly-growing areas of the city. The western section of Chatham was among the neighborhoods identified for park development. In spring 1948, a group of community residents and the local alderman, William Murphy, appeared before the park board, recommending the site's acquisition. The park district moved swiftly, condemning the property and taking possession by the fall of that year. Because the park district was simultaneously building 43 new parks, initial improvements moved slowly here, but within a few years West Chatham Park had an athletic field and playground equipment. By 1954, there was also a brick comfort station. Between 1967 and 1975, the park district and the Board of Education jointly offered recreational programming at West Chatham Park and adjacent Simeon Vocational High School. In 1989, the park district upgraded the park, installing a new soft surface playground, and constructing an attractive club room addition to the comfort station.\n "}, {"id": 595, "title": "West Lawn Park", "address": "\n 4233 W. 65th St. \n Chicago, IL 60629\n ", "description": "Located in the West Lawn neighborhood, West Lawn Park totals 15.90 acres and features a gymnasium, fitness center, a mini-pitch\u00a0soccer court and multi-purpose clubrooms. Outside, the park offers multi-purpose fields, a playground, sandbox, racquetball courts. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium and multi-purpose clubrooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, preschool activities, gymnastics, cheerleading, arts & crafts, aerobics, walking club, and senior club. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, West Lawn Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "West Lawn Park takes its name from the surrounding community on Chicago's west side. West Lawn dates to 1877, when real estate developers James Webb and John F. Eberhart established the village and its neighbor to the east, Chicago Lawn. Though West Lawn was annexed to Chicago in 1889, the marshy area drew few residents until well into the 20th century. Public improvements were made west of Pulaski Road in the 1930s, and construction of single-family brick residences in West Lawn increased as the Depression gave way to improved circumstances in the World War II years. At the close of the war, the Chicago Park District initiated a Ten Year Plan to increase recreational opportunities in under-served and rapidly-growing areas of the city. West Lawn was among the neighborhoods identified for park development. There was strong community support for creating a park at 65th Street and Keeler Avenue, but property acquisition was delayed until 1948 because the owners wanted to build homes there. Park improvements were also slow to materialize, due to the flurry of construction at other parks throughout the city. General plans were drawn in 1953, and playground equipment was installed the following year. In 1957, the park district constructed a small recreation building, as well as basketball, volley ball, and tether ball courts. Community demands for a wider variety of recreational facilities prompted construction of a substantial new fieldhouse in 1972. More recent improvements include installation of a refrigerated ice skating rink and the replanting of the park's landscape, plus a batting cage.\n "}, {"id": 596, "title": "West Pullman Park", "address": "\n 401 W. 123rd St. \n Chicago, IL 60628\n ", "description": "Located in the West Pullman neighborhood, West Pullman Park totals 16.33 acres and features an indoor swimming pool, two gymnasiums and multi-purpose clubrooms. A green feature of the park includes a natural savanna area. Outside, the park offers tennis/ basketball courts, baseball/softball fields, playground, and spray pool. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasiums and multi-purpose clubrooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, Therapeutic Recreation, arts & crafts, senior club, and Track E Break Camps. During the summer, youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, West Pullman Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "West Pullman Park was created by the West Pullman Park District, one of 22 independent park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. In 1891, the West Pullman Land Association began subdividing property southwest of the Pullman Palace Car factory. The West Pullman Park District formed in 1913 to create parks for the developing neighborhood. By that time, the community was filled with steel mills and other industries. Wealthy industrialists lived virtually side by side with eastern and southern European immigrant workers who kept their factories running. To best meet the needs of both populations, the park district concentrated its efforts on establishing a single park that could provide both recreational facilities and social welfare programs. The West Pullman Park District began to acquire property in 1914. By 1915, a one-story brick fieldhouse stood on the new park site. Landscape improvements, including playgrounds, tennis courts, and baseball diamonds, soon followed. Increasing recreational opportunities were accompanied by a range of social welfare programs. Area employers such as the International Harvester and Great Lakes Forge companies actively supported park district efforts to provide civic education and health information to the community's \"underprivileged.\" As early as 1918, the fieldhouse was the site of \"Americanization\" meetings intended to encourage immigrant to embrace the American way of life and become citizens. In 1923, with the cooperation of the Chicago Health Department, the park district opened a welfare station to dispense child care information to area mothers. Throughout the years, West Pullman Park has retained its beautiful natural setting. The site's mature stand of oaks, hickories, and cherries covers an ancient river bank. This wooded slope is one of Chicago's few remaining native landscapes.\n "}, {"id": 597, "title": "West Ridge Nature Park", "address": "\n 5801 N. Western Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60659\n ", "description": "West Ridge Nature Park\u00a0located along the northwestern edge of Rosehill Cemetery is a proud addition to the community.\n\nThe 21-acre park was developed into an amazing natural space filled with native plants, boardwalks, and a fishing area. Check out the restored woodland, 4.5-acre pond, multipurpose trail around the park with an elevated overlook, educational and interpretive signage, wildlife viewing opportunities, nature play space, and more!\n\nPlease note: There is no ice skating on the pond and no dogs are allowed within the park.\n\nVisit westridgenaturepreserve.org to learn more about the Park Advisory Council.\n ", "history": "In 2015, the Chicago Park District and City of Chicago dedicated Park #568 which is now known as West Ridge Nature Park. The 21-acre site lies at the northwest corner of Rosehill Cemetery. One of Chicago\u2019s oldest burial grounds, Rosehill Cemetery was dedicated in 1859. Landscape gardener William Saunders, a national leader in the Rural Cemetery Movement, created Rosehill Cemetery\u2019s original design which included curving drives, swaths of lawn, and several water features. Through the cemetery\u2019s history, the area at the northwest corner included a pond. Until its recent conversion to parkland, however, the 21-acre site remained an undeveloped part of the cemetery that had never been used for burials. That heavily wooded corner had been used as a dumping ground for excess dirt and debris. After acquiring the site in 2011, the Chicago Park District hired Hitchcock Design Group to create a plan that combines ecological restoration goals with park enhancements. The improvements include a multi-purpose trail that loops throughout the park, boardwalks that cross over environmentally sensitive areas, removal of invasive plants, the addition of more than 500 native trees and shrubs, overlooks and fishing access points. The multi-million dollar project was funded through a combination of federal grants, TIF funds, and Chicago Park District funding.\n "}, {"id": 598, "title": "Western Park", "address": "\n 907 N. Western Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60622\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.28 acres and it is located in the West Town community and was recently renovated as part of the Chicago Plays! program.\u00a0While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Smith Park for recreation.\u00a0\n ", "history": "Western Park is one of many city parks created to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. After purchasing a small parcel in the West Town neighborhood in 1952, the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation installed playground equipment on gravel surfacing. In 1959, the city transferred the quarter-acre site to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties. Having made some improvements to the playground equipment in the 1960s and 1980s, the park district thoroughly rehabilitated the park in 1992, constructing a new soft surface playground and installing border plantings. The park's name recognizes its location on Western Avenue. At 23.5 miles, Western Avenue is Chicago's longest street. This roadway marked formed the western border of the city from 1851 until 1869, when Chicago expanded beyond it.\n "}, {"id": 599, "title": "White (Edward H.) Park", "address": "\n 1120 W. 122nd St. \n Chicago, IL 60643\n ", "description": "Located in the Whither-Height neighborhood, Edward H. White Park totals 4.64 acres and features a gymnasium. Outside, the park offers three softball diamonds, two tennis courts, and a playground. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our gymnasium.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports, aerobics and arts & crafts. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Edward H. White Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family.\n ", "history": "In 1968, the Chicago Park District, the Board of Education, and the Public Building Commission began developing a jointly-operated school and park in the growing far south side West Pullman community. Plans provided for a new school building, as well as a separate fieldhouse that would serve as the high school's gymnasium during school hours and accommodate park programs during evenings and weekends. By 1972, playground equipment, baseball diamonds, basketball and tennis courts, and plantings surrounded the two structures.In 1990, the park district replanted the landscape and installed a new soft surface playground. Early the following year, the Board of Education formally acquired the property from the park district, which now leases White Park.\n\nBoth the park and the adjacent school honor American astronaut Edward H. White (1930-1967). Born in San Antonio, Texas, White graduated from the U.S. Military Academy before becoming a fighter pilot. In 1958, he entered the University of Michigan's Air Force Institute of Technology, and four years later became one of nine people chosen to enter NASA's astronaut training program. Several years later, White was chosen to fly the first long-duration space flight. During the June 1965 Gemini IV flight, White became the first American to walk in space. Not long thereafter, NASA officials selected White as senior pilot for the first Apollo mission. Tragically, White and fellow crewmen Virgil \"Gus\" Grissom and Roger Chaffee died in a launchpad fire at Cape Canaveral on January 27, 1967.\n "}, {"id": 600, "title": "White (Jesse) Park", "address": "\n 410 W. Chicago Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60654\n ", "description": "Located in the Near North community, the Jesse White Park and Community Center is 1.64 acres and it includes a fieldhouse with a gymnasium, a computer room, a fitness studio with wheelchair accessible\u00a0stationary rollers and a state of the art gymnastics\u00a0center.\u00a0The building was recognized by the American Institute of Architects with the 2015 Design Excellence Award.\u00a0\n\nThe Jesse White Community Center is also the\u00a0official home of the Jesse White Tumblers.\u00a0Outside, the park offers a multi-purpose field for soccer and football.\n\nAfter school activities are offered for\u00a0youth, and a full-scale gymnastics program is available for toddlers and youth.\u00a0In addition to programs, Jesse White Park also hosts family-friendly community gatherings\u00a0including holiday celebrations, egg hunts, fall festivals and other Night Out in the Parks special events.\u00a0\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 2014, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners dedicated the new Jesse White Park and Community Center. The facility was made possible by a partnership between the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District and the Jesse White Foundation.\n\nThe community center was designed by Ghafari Associates with site improvements by Wolff Landscape Architecture. The building received a 2015 Design Excellence Award from AIA Chicago. Contemporary in style, this 30,000-square foot structure appears as though it is made of a series of boxes, several of which have large expanses of glass, allowing for a feeling of warmth and openness.\n\nIt includes a gymnasium and gymnastic center, computer room, community and meeting rooms, game room, fitness center, locker and bathrooms and offices. In addition to providing a large array of recreational and cultural programs, the building serves as the official home of the Jesse White Tumblers.\n\nThe Chicago Park District Board of officially named the park and building in honor of Jesse White, an accomplished athlete, scholar, mentor and public official. As a boy, Jesse White loved participating in gymnastics, and later, he taught gymnastics in college and worked as a gymnastics coach and teacher for the Chicago Park District and YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago.\n\nWhite served as a paratrooper in the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division, Army Reserves and as a member of the Illinois National Guard. He went on to play professional baseball with the Chicago Cubs organization, and then had a 33-year career with the Chicago Public School system as a teacher and administrator.\n\nElected as Secretary of State for Illinois 1998, Jesse White was the first African-American to hold that position. He is now the longest serving person in this post. He previously served as the Recorder of Deeds of Cook County, and for 16 years as a member of the Illinois General Assembly.\n\nIn 1959, White founded the internationally known Jesse White Tumbling Team to serve as a positive alternative for children residing in Chicago's Cabrini-Green and Henry Horner public housing communities. The organization has guided thousands of youngsters to a path of athleticism and scholarship. Since the team's inception, over 13,000 young men and women have performed with the team.\n\nWhite has worked for over 52 years as a volunteer with the team to help kids stay away from gangs, drugs, alcohol and smoking, and to help set at-risk youth on the path to success. In 2007, White established the Jesse White Foundation as a vehicle to help the city\u2019s youth. Without question, Jesse White Park and Community Center contributes to this goal.\n "}, {"id": 601, "title": "White (Willye B.) Park", "address": "\n 1610 W. Howard \n Chicago, IL 60626\n ", "description": "Located in the Rogers Park community, Willye B. White Park offers a wide variety of programming options within a 3.31-acre site which includes the Chicago Park District's newest fieldhouse.\u00a0 Year round the park staff offers programs for patrons of all ages and skill levels.\n\nFor youth we have our Inner City Basketball & Baseball program, chess, arts & crafts, Might Fit Kidz fitness program, fencing, gymnastics and tumbling, and moms, pops and tots. For girls only we offer the Go Girls Go and Girls in the Game program. For those interested in music we offer guitar and drumming programs.\n\nAdults can participate in a range of activities, including the affordable state-of-art fitness center and aerobic classes, plus senior stretching! In addition to these programs, Willye B. White Park hosts fun special events for the whole family. Check in with the park staff on a regular basis to see what's going on at the park.\n\nFor a complete listing of programs offered at Willye B. White Park go to the program page of our website. We invite you to take a tour of the facility and check out the new fitness center, gymnasium and club room! It's a great space to hold your next special event.\n ", "history": "In 2008, the Chicago Park District constructed a new field house in Gale School Park and renamed the entire site in honor of five-time Olympian Willye B. White.\n\nBorn on Dec. 31, 1939 in Money, Mississippi, Willye B. White was raised by her grandparents in Greenwood, Mississippi. She picked cotton to help support her family but also found time to participate in sports. As a 16-year-old high school sophomore, Willye spent summers training with famed track and field coach Ed Temple at Tennessee State University and soon won a silver medal in the long jump at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. This marked the first time an American woman had won a medal in that event. She went on compete in the next four more consecutive Olympic Games.\n\nAfter moving to Chicago in 1960, she began a career as a practical nurse and went on to become a public health administrator. In 1991, she founded the Willye White Foundation to help children develop self-esteem and encourage them to become productive citizens. That same year, she began working for the Chicago Park District as Director of Recreation Services, developing important programs such as sports initiatives for young girls in housing projects, the Great American Workout at Buckingham Fountain, a football camp at Soldier Field for boys and girls, and a program to recognize outstanding female athletes in 66 City High Schools.\n\nThroughout her life, Willye B. White received much recognition and many honors. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, honored her humanitarian efforts\u2014selecting her as the first American winner of the Pierre de Coubertin International Fair Play Award. Her impressive list of awards includes the President\u2019s Council on Health and Physical Fitness National Honor Award and the Women\u2019s Sports Foundation Wilma Rudolph Courage Award. She was entered on numerous distinguished lists of athletes including the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, the Sports Illustrated for Women 100 Greatest Athletes of the Century, and Ebony Magazine named Willye B. White one of the nation\u2019s 10 Greatest Female Athletes.\n "}, {"id": 602, "title": "Wicker (Charles, Joel) Park", "address": "\n 1425 N. Damen Avenue \n Chicago, IL 60622\n ", "description": "Located in the West Town community area, Wicker Park totals 4.74 acres and features a fieldhouse with gymnasium and meeting rooms. Outside the park offers a large children\u2019s playground with an interactive water spray feature, ornamental community gardens, a historic fountain, a dog friendly area, a baseball field, basketball courts and an athletic field for soccer or football.\n\nMany of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers come to Wicker Park for seasonal sports and early childhood programs at the\u00a0facility. After-school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nThough small in size, Wicker Park is especially well known for its lush and well-tended gardens.\u00a0 These ornamental gardens, which comprise 10,000 square feet of space, were designed, funded, and are maintained by volunteers affiliated with the Wicker Park Garden Club.\u00a0 The club works in close collaboration with the Chicago Park District through the Community Gardens in the Parks program.\u00a0 Various sections of the gardens are designated in memory of individuals who worked to develop the gardens in the park: William Westfall, Marion Smith, Casey Wismont, Conrad Cwiertnia, and Allen Blaurock.\u00a0 All interested gardeners are invited to attend weekly garden tending days where they will learn how to design and maintain gardens for their homes. \u00a0\n\nIn addition to programs, Wicker Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, including Movies in the Park screenings, live music concerts during the seasonal farmers market, plant sales and other Night Out in the Parks events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1870, when businessmen and developers Charles G. and Joel H. Wicker began constructing drainage ditches and laying out streets in their subdivision, they donated a four-acre parcel of land to the city to be used as a public park.\n\nFencing the triangular site to keep cows out, the city created an artificial lake in the center of the park, surrounding it with lawn and trees. As the Wickers had hoped, the area developed into a fashionable middle- and upper-class neighborhood.\n\nIn 1885, the city transferred Wicker Park to the West Park Commission. Five years later, the West Park Commission filled the park's lake, replacing it with lawn. Between 1892 and 1895, a fanciful fountain was installed in the park. The cut-granite fountain had an outer basin which still exists, lovely ornamentation, and floral urns. In the center was a cast-iron fountain with foliage motifs and small gargoyle faces from which water was sprayed.\n\nIn 1908, Jens Jensen, then West Park System Superintendent, removed the cast-iron fountain and replaced it with a jet spray, converting the fountain into a children's wading pool. Jensen also built pergolas (trellis-like structures) and planted additional trees and shrubs in Wicker Park.\n\nThe West Park Commission was consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. To provide additional programs, the park district soon constructed a small fieldhouse in Wicker Park. The building proved inadequate, and the park district replaced it with an attractive post-modern fieldhouse in 1985.\n\nThroughout its history, the park has borne the Wicker family name. Having settled in Chicago in 1839, Charles G. and his brother Joel H. opened a wholesale grocery business. Charles went on to own two railroad lines, and to serve as Alderman, Cook County Supervisor, and Illinois State Legislator.\n "}, {"id": 603, "title": "Wieboldt (William) Park", "address": "\n 1747 W. Nelson St. \n Chicago, IL 60657\n ", "description": "This small playground is 0.33 acres and it is located in the North Center neighborhood (three blocks south of Belmont Avenue, 1 \u00bd blocks west of Ashland Avenue). While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered nearby at Hamlin Park.\n ", "history": "In 1973, the Chicago Park District began creating a small park in the North Center community, at the urging of the Lake View Citizen's Council. Using funds from the Illinois Department of Conservation's Open Space Lands Acquisition Program and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the park district purchased a vacant lot on West Nelson Street. Within a few years, the park district had improved the property with an asphalt-surfaced playground. Further upgrades came in 1989, with the installation of a tree-edged, soft-surface playground. In 2000, the Ravenswood/Lakeview Historical Society requested that this park be named in honor of William A. Wieboldt (1857-1954), founder of an extensive chain of neighborhood department stores. One of its flagship stores, located at the corner of Lincoln and Belmont Avenues, stood less than two blocks from the park site. It was in the Lincoln Belmont store that Wieboldt maintained his office for many years. Born near Cuxhaven, Germany, in 1857, Wieboldt came to Chicago at the age of 14. In 1883, Wieboldt and his wife, Anna Louisa Kruger, used $2,600 in savings to open a general store on Indiana Avenue (now Grand Avenue), near Ashland Avenue. This was the first establishment in what would become a 13-store chain covering the entire Chicago area. Using profits from his successful neighborhood stores, Wieboldt established a philanthropic foundation in 1921. His initial gift of $5 million was a considerable endowment at the time, and Chicago's charitable, civic, and educational organizations have reaped the benefits ever since.\n "}, {"id": 604, "title": "Wildwood Park", "address": "\n 6950 N. Hiawatha Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60646\n ", "description": "Wildwood Park, located just south of Touhy Avenue, west of Lehigh Avenue, and blocks away from the Billy Caldwell Forest Preserve, is 9.36 acres and it serves an active community with a rich history. The park fieldhouse is a hall of fame for many of the children who have grown up in this neighborhood park. Photos and news clippings cover the walls and ceilings, memorializing the community members who have made the park what it is over the years.\n\nThe gymnasium is shared with Wildwood School, where basketball, floor hockey, and volleyball programs take place. Outside of the fields the park staff offers soccer for youth. Adults looking to get in the game are invited to check out the 3 on 3 basketball league.\n\nFor those looking to get involved being a volunteer coach for the youth soccer league stop by the park and get a volunteer application.\n\nWildwood Park contains a senior and two junior baseball fields, a softball field, a football field, four basketball standards, two tennis courts, a nature play area, and a playground.\n\n\u00a0\n ", "history": "Wildwood Park was created as part of a ten-year initiative by the Chicago Park District to serve the city's booming post-World War II population. In 1949, the park district began purchasing vacant land in the rapidly-growing Forest Glen community, acquiring neighboring city streets and alleys late the following year. That winter, the park district flooded a section of open field to create a temporary ice skating rink. However, no further improvements were made until Wildwood Elementary School was constructed on adjacent property in 1953. Using the school gymnasium for recreational programs during evening hours and on weekends, the park district began joint operations with the Board of Education. Within a few years, Wildwood Park had an athletic field, playground equipment, tennis courts, and a comfort station. Additional improvements, including tree planting, playground rehabilitation, and a new sand volleyball court, came in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Wildwood Park and the adjacent school take their names from nearby Wildwood Avenue. All three recognize the heavily wooded nature of the surrounding territory, once a Potawatomi hunting ground. Only a few blocks from the park and school, the Billy Caldwell Forest Preserve cuts through the community. Caldwell, a half-Indian, half-English chief of the Potowatomis, also known as Sauganash, sold most of his land to farmers when his tribe was removed from the area in 1836. Some of Caldwell's former land has been developed into the residential areas of Forest Glen, while a large portion was set aside for the Cook County forest preserve.\n "}, {"id": 605, "title": "Williams (Daniel Hale) Park", "address": "\n 2820 S. State St. \n Chicago, IL 60616\n ", "description": "Located in the Douglas community area, Williams Park totals 6.67 acres.\u00a0 The original small fieldhouse was demolished in 2018 to make room for the new Williams Fieldhouse which opened in the summer of 2019.\u00a0 Previously Williams Park used the gymnasium facility and rooms in the adjacent John B. Drake Elementary School.\u00a0\u00a0The new facility located at 2820 S. State St.,\u00a0houses an\u00a011,200-square-foot fieldhouse that features a half-court gymnasium, a 1,600 square-foot multi-purpose room with an operable divider, and spaces for art, education, performances, meetings and exercise. There is built-in bleacher seating, natural light and exposed wood beamed ceilings.\u00a0 Outdoor improvements include a new 1,560 square-foot area with controls integrated into the landscape and containing multiple spray features, bike racks, landscaping, exterior lighting, concrete benches and new sidewalks.\u00a0 The project was a joint venture between the Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Park District and the Public Building Commission.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Outdoors also \u00a0offers an athletic field, tennis, and basketball courts.\n\nPark-goers can play baseball, basketball and table games at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Williams Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday events, skating parties, concerts in the park and other Night Out in the Parks special events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "During and after World War I, many African-Americans arrived in the Douglas neighborhood from the rural south, and the community soon became the heart of Black Chicago. By the early 1940s, government urban renewal projects led to the demolition of much of the neighborhood's aging housing stock, with large areas of public housing taking its place.\n\nAmong the new housing projects was the 800-unit Dearborn Homes, opened in 1950. As planning for this complex progressed, the Chicago Housing Authority began working with the Chicago Park District to provide parkland for the new development. The park district purchased more than 6 acres of property from CHA in 1950, awarding contracts for landscape improvements and utilities the following year. Construction of a neighborhood school on adjacent land moved forward simultaneously, and the park district soon began using the school's gymnasium as a fieldhouse in the evenings and on weekends.\n\nOver the years, the park district added an athletic field, playground equipment, a small recreation building, a spray pool, and horse shoe, tennis, and basketball courts. A recently-installed interactive waterplay area offers community children relief from Chicago's hot summers.\n\nBoth the park and the adjacent school bear the name of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931), the pre-eminent African-American surgeon of his time. Having arrived in Chicago in 1880, Williams entered the Chicago Medical College, graduating three years later. Unable to join the staff of any city hospital due to his race, in 1891 Williams founded the predominantly-black Provident Hospital in a three-story building at 29th and Dearborn Streets, just a few blocks from the site of Williams Park and School. Provident offered the country's first nursing school for African-Americans. Not long after founding Provident Hospital, Williams gained international fame for performing the world's first successful open heart surgery in 1893.\n "}, {"id": 606, "title": "Williams-Davis (Hattie Kay, Izora) Park", "address": "\n 4101 S. Lake Park Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60653\n ", "description": "Previously referred to as Park No. 532, Williams-Davis Park is a vibrant new park located in the Oakland neighborhood. The park was created in the late 1990s, as part of the Chicago Housing Authority's Plan for Transformation, which involved razing deteriorated public housing units known as the Lake Park Homes.\n\nThe site was redeveloped into a mixed income community known as Lake Park Crescent, which includes a 2.89-acre park. Landscape designers Bauer Latoza Studio worked with the Chicago Park District to create an exciting public space with a playground and passive areas. \n\nThe gateway to the park features Milton Mizenburg Jr.\u2019s first bronze sculpture, which he fittingly named Restoration. The Chicago Park District officially acquired the park in 2006.\u00a0\n\nThis is an unstaffed location. For organized programs and after school events, visit nearby Mandrake\u00a0Park.\n ", "history": "Williams \u2013 Davis Park. In 2006, the Chicago Park District acquired a 2.85 acre park from the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) in the Oakland community. The park was created as part of the CHA\u2019s Plan for Transformation which included razing the severely deteriorated public housing units known as Lake Park Homes and replacing them with a mixed income community. Designed by Bauer Latoza Studio, the park includes a playground, passive landscape areas, and a bronze sculpture entitled Restoration that symbolically represents the transformation of the Oakland neighborhood.\n\nIn 2012, community members suggested two significant women for whom the park should be named, Hattie Kay Williams and Izora Davis. Since both women lived near the park site and devoted their lives to improving the surrounding community, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners decided to name the site in honor of both of them.\n\nHattie Kay Williams\n\nHattie Kay Williams (1922 - 1990) was a social worker and community activist who had an important impact on the city and the nation. As a mother of six small children and married to a postal worker, in the 1950s, Williams heard about the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education case became committed to integrating and improving Oakenwald School in her own neighborhood. At the time, there were only twenty black families living in the area and the school was segregated, with white and minority students divided into morning and afternoon shifts. She became the first African American president of Oakenwald School\u2019s P.T.A., organized fundraisers and programs to better the lives of minority children and within a short time she became president of the Southeast Council PTA, which covered more than 40 schools.\n\nIn the late 1950s and early 1960s, Superintendent Benjamin Willis refused to integrate the Chicago Public Schools, installing sub-standard \u201cWillis Wagons,\u201d rather than renovating and enlarging rundown school buildings. Ms. Williams organized protest rallies and pickets at Willis Wagon locations. She befriended the nationally syndicated columnist Ann Landers who helped garner media attention for the cause of improved facilities and school integration. (This campaign led to Willis\u2019s resignation in 1966). Williams was also responsible for helping to establish a study center that became a Head Start pilot site, a food pantry, rape prevention programs, community services teen mothers, and programs to address domestic and gang violence.\n\nMs. Williams worked professionally for the Welfare Council of Metropolitan Chicago and wrote columns for the Sun-Times. She served on several boards and received many honors including the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation Award, the State of Illinois Governor\u2019s Citation, Alberta Hall Memorial and Humanitarian Award, Operation PUSH\u2019s Giant Parent of Excellence Award, Lambda Kappa Mu Sorority Community Award, and One of the Most Caring People in American Award presented by the Caring Institute in Washington D.C.\n\nIzora Davis\n\nIzora Davis (1952- 2006) began living in public housing in Chicago in 1983 with her two young children. She studied martial arts and began teaching karate to kids in the projects on Lake Park, often in her apartment or in the schoolyard of Jackie Robinson Elementary school.\n\nAfter living in one of the three horseshoe buildings on Lake Park for less than a year, CHA announced a major plan for closing the buildings, with promises to rehab and reoccupy them. Ms. Davis became a vocal public housing activist. She was instrumental in getting a Memorandum of Accord that gave displaced tenants the right to return to the community they called home should they desire to do so. Her fight became the blueprint for future agreements involving displaced and relocated public housing residents in Chicago.\n\nMs. Davis\u2019s efforts were featured in articles in many newspapers. She served on the board of the Fund for Community Redevelopment and Revitalization. Mary Patillo, author of Black on The Block: The Politics of Race and Class in the City included her story in the book. Such attention from key institutions and people as these indicate the notoriety of a woman who did not believe in the notion of giving up on what she held true to her heart. In August of 2006, three weeks prior to Ms. Davis\u2019 death there was a massive blackout that struck the Kenwood area, and the people who lived in Lake Park Place had to be relocated out of the buildings until the electricity could be restored. She fought to make sure people were not ignored and were given cool sanctuary until it was safe to return home, while she herself stayed behind to look out for those who chose not to leave.\n "}, {"id": 607, "title": "Wilson (Frank J.) Park", "address": "\n 4630 N. Milwaukee Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60630\n ", "description": "The Frank J. Wilson Park is located in the Portage Park\u00a0community (on Milwaukee Avenue, 2 \u00bd blocks south of Lawrence Avenue). The park sits on 8.65 acres and is equipped with a softball field, junior baseball field, playslab with four basketball standards, three tennis courts, two volleyball courts, a water play area, and a playground. The fieldhouse contains an assembly hall with stage, two kitchens, and several clubrooms.\n ", "history": "Wilson Park was created by the Old Portage Park District, one of 22 independent park commissions consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Established in 1912, the Old Portage District spent years developing its first property, Portage Park. By the mid-1920s, the surrounding Portage Park community had grown considerably, and its far northeastern corner was in need of its own recreational facilities. Residents suggested developing an 8.81-acre property along Milwaukee Avenue, but the Street Railway Company planned to build a car barn there instead. Frank J. Wilson, a former Cook County Commissioner and committeeman for the old 41st Ward, led a successful fight to secure the property as parkland. The park district recognized Wilson's efforts by naming the new park in his honor. The Old Portage Park District began improving Wilson Park with walkways, lawns, and planted areas in 1925. Three years later, a Georgian Revival-style fieldhouse was built along Milwaukee Avenue. The handsome brick building, with its limestone accents and columned portico, is identical to fieldhouses at nearby Shabbona and Chopin Parks. The Wilson Park fieldhouse was soon surrounded by a playground, a putting green, horseshoe and tennis courts, and a sunken lawn for baseball, football, and skating in winter. Soon after acquiring Wilson Park in 1934, the Chicago Park District laid new concrete sidewalks, rehabilitated the landscape, and remodelled the fieldhouse. The building accommodated a wide variety of community activities including lectures, movies, theater productions, club meetings, ping pong, tumbling, wrestling, and social dancing. Significant recent improvements to Wilson Park include a soft surface playground, a sand volleyball court, and an interactive waterplay area.\n "}, {"id": 608, "title": "Wilson (John P.) Park", "address": "\n 1122 W. 34th Pl. \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Located in the Bridgeport Community, Wilson Park totals 1.48\u00a0acres and features a small Fieldhouse for tot\u2019s activities and table games. Outside there is an interactive water spray feature and playground.\u00a0 Pre-school programs are offered throughout the year, and in the summer toddlers attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week play camp. In addition to programs, Wilson Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday activities like pictures with the Bunny.\n ", "history": "In 1930, the City of Chicago purchased 1.6 acres in the Bridgeport neighborhood using Playground Bond funds. Improvements began immediately, and the park soon had a large new fieldhouse. In 1933, the City Council named the new park Wilson Playground in honor of Bridgeport Alderman John P. Wilson (1893-1968). Nearby Wilson Community Center is also named for Alderman Wilson. Wilson served on the City Council from 1925 to 1929, acting as Chairman of council's Committee on Recreation from 1931 to 1933. In 1933, Wilson was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Public Works, a position he held until 1967. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation managed the playground until 1959, when it transferred the property to the Chicago Park District. In 1999, the park district officially designated the park John P. Wilson Park to differentiate it from a second Wilson Park on the city's northwest side.\n "}, {"id": 609, "title": "Wilson (John) Community Center Park", "address": "\n 3225 S. Racine Avenue \n Chicago, IL 60608\n ", "description": "Located in the Bridgeport Community, Wilson Community Center Park totals 0.18\u00a0acres and features a converted bathhouse now utilized as a fieldhouse with meeting rooms and a gymnasium.\n\nPark-goers can play basketball and volleyball at the facility. After school sports programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Wilson Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday activities and other Night Out in the Parks events.\u00a0\n ", "history": "In 1928, the City of Chicago decided to purchase property in the Bridgeport neighborhood on which to build a public bath house. This would be the last of the city's 18 municipal bath houses created after 1900 to provide much-needed bathing facilities in crowded working-class neighborhoods.\n\nCompleted in 1929, the new bath house/community center opened to the public in 1930. The City Council designated the facility the John P. Wilson Bath House. Bridgeport Alderman John P. Wilson (1893-1968), for whom nearby Wilson Park is also named, was instrumental in developing the bath house. Elected alderman in 1925 and again in 1929, Wilson served as chairman of the City Council's Committee on Recreation between 1931 and 1933. In 1933, Wilson became Deputy Commissioner of Public Works, a position he held until 1967. Wilson also participated in charitable organizations, acting as president of the Laborers' Annuity and Benefit Fund and chairman of the city employee's Community Fund Drive for many years.\n\nThe Chicago Park District acquired the bath house from the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation in 1959. By that time, indoor plumbing was widely available in the city, and the park district closed the underused bathing facilities the following year. The park district remodelled the building in the late 1960s, and the Wilson Community Center is now devoted entirely to recreational purposes.\n\nIn 1991, Bridgeport residents asked that the community center's gymnasium be named for Joseph Bertucci, who had worked to transform the bath house into a recreational center serving children of all ages. Community members welcomed Bertucci's efforts to foster self esteem in local children. The park district honored this citizen request in 1992.\n "}, {"id": 610, "title": "Winnemac Park", "address": "\n 5100 N. Leavitt St \n Chicago, IL 60625\n ", "description": "Winnemac Park, part of the school-park campus program, encompasses 22.38 acres, including land owned by both the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park District. Bounded by Damen, Foster, Leavitt and Argyle, Winnemac Park offers programming and program registration in Amundsen High School, Chappell Elementary School and Winnemac Stadium.\n\nIn 2008 the park officially opened a new accessible playground for the community. The park was renovated in 1999 with $2 million in improvements including the addition of 200 trees, a scenic prairie garden and nature trail, three softball fields, a soccer field and new walkways, decorative lights and fencing.\n\nWinnemac youth programs include basketball, bitty basketball, after-school drop-in, table fun and games, soccer, Cubs Care rookie baseball, and summer day camp.\n\nPlease note that swimming programs associated with Winnemac Park are held within Amundsen High School\u2019s pool, but remain listed under Winnemac Park in the schedule.\n\nTo enter Amundsen High School for swimming and gym activities use door #4 after 6pm.\n ", "history": "Lying adjacent to Chappell Elementary and Amundsen High School, Winnemac Park has served as both park and school land for many years. The City of Chicago's Special Parks Commission established the park in 1910, on land leased from the Board of Education. Shortly thereafter, the commission graded and landscaped the former truck farm, installing a number of athletic fields. In 1929, the board built Amundsen High School on the northeast corner of the site. Chappell Elementary was built west of the high school in 1937. The site also includes Hansen field, a football and soccer stadium erected in the 1930s. The Chicago Park District took responsibility for maintaining the park facilities in 1959. In 1991, the Board of Education transferred to the park district the portion of the park lying south of Winnemac Street; the park district is now acquiring the remaining land. Winnemac Park is named for the adjacent street. The roadway in turn takes its name from Winamac, an important chief of the Potowatamie Indians. Winamac, whose name meant \"catfish,\" was a signer of the 1795 Treaty of Grenville, in which Great Lakes tribes surrendered the site of Chicago to the U.S. government. Winamac and his people fought with the British in the War of 1812, and the warrior died during the fighting.\n "}, {"id": 611, "title": "Wolcott (Alexander) Park", "address": "\n 6551 S. Wolcott Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60636\n ", "description": "Located in the Englewood community, Wolcott Park is 0.24 acres and it is an idyllic location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors and nature. This park contains a playground with swings, slides, along with climbing apparatus.\n ", "history": "The Chicago Park District purchased the site of this playlot in 1973 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The park was officially named Wolcott in 1998. Dr. Alexander Wolcott (1790-1830), for whom the park and the adjacent street are named, came to Chicago from Windsor, Canada in 1820 to serve as an Indian agent. Three years later, Wolcott married Ellen Marion Kinzie, daughter of John Kinzie, another Chicago pioneer. The Wolcotts' wedding was Chicago's first.\n "}, {"id": 612, "title": "Wolfe (Richard) Park", "address": "\n 3325 E. 108th St. \n Chicago, IL 60617\n ", "description": "Located in the East Side neighborhood, Wolfe Park totals 4.35 acres and features two multi-purpose clubrooms. Outside, the park offers two baseball fields, a basketball court, soccer/football fields, two multi-purpose courts, and two horseshoe pits. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose clubrooms.\n\nPark-goers can participate in seasonal sports and preschool activities. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and during the summer, youth can participate in the Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Wolfe Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "In 1928, the City of Chicago purchased a full city block in an expanding residential section of the heavily industrial East Side neighborhood. A 1929 park plan called for a playground, a ball diamond, a wading pool, and a recreational building with an office, shelter, and sand court. Construction began in 1930. That same year, the city named the park for Richard W. Wolfe. Born in Limerick, Ireland, Wolfe found success in Chicago's real estate and loan business. Wolfe served as the city's Commissioner of Public Works from 1927 through 1931, overseeing the straightening of the Chicago River. The city transferred Wolfe Park to the Chicago Park District in 1959.\n "}, {"id": 613, "title": "Woodhull (Ross) Park", "address": "\n 7340 S. East End Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60649\n ", "description": "Located in the South Shore community area, Woodhull Park totals 2.47\u00a0acres and features a multi-purpose clubroom. Outside, the park offers a basketball court, running track, soft surface playground, spray pool, and multi-purpose court. Many of these spaces are available for rental including our multi-purpose clubroom.\n\nPark-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, Teen Club, Senior Club, Kraft Kids. Nature program includes Park Voyagers. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District\u2019s popular six-week day camp.\n\nIn addition to programs, Woodhull Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, including holiday-themed events.\n ", "history": "In 1916, the City of Chicago purchased land along East 73rd Street on which to construct a pumping station for the rapidly-growing South Shore community. The Water Department never built the pumping station, and, in 1927, the City Council authorized the Bureau of Parks and Recreation to use part of the property for park development. The park was improved with playing fields, a sand court, playground, wading pool and a frame building which housed the supervisor's office flanked by open shelters. The following year, the City Council named the new park for Ross A. Woodhull (1878-1944), who served South Shore as 7th Ward Alderman from 1917 through 1928. After 1924, Woodhull was chairman of the council's finance committee. In 1928, Woodhull was elected to the Chicago Sanitary District Board of Trustees, serving as board president from 1934 until his death in 1944. By 1930, The Chicago Park District began to managethe park which was officially transfered in 1959. It was later updated has since a running track and improved playground. The original oval-shaped wading pool was also later converted to a spray pool.\n "}, {"id": 614, "title": "Wrightwood Park", "address": "\n 2534 N. Greenview Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60614\n ", "description": "Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood (2-1/2 blocks north of Fullerton Avenue, and midway between Southport and Ashland Avenues),Wrightwood Park\u2019s is comprised of 4.64 acres.The park contains a small fieldhouse and, outside: a junior swimming pool, junior baseball field, combination football-soccer field, outdoor oval track, four-hoop basketball court, sand volleyball court, plus a soft-surface playground with sandbox and spray feature.\n\nWrightwood Park specializes in recreation for young people.Parents will appreciate the opportunity for their of tots / preschoolers to increase their socialization skills in programs such as: Moms Pops & Tots Interaction, Preschool, Fun & Games, Indoor Soccer, Play School Activities, Tiny Tot Tumbling, T-Ball Baseball and Saturday Hitters.Preschool arts & crafts classes are also available. Youth can take advantage of programs in baseball, bitty basketball, dodgeball, flag football, floor hockey, kids fitness, soccer.\n\nDuring the summer, Wrightwood Park offers aquatics courses for all ages--as well as camps for preschoolers, youth, and young teens. Adults can join one of the park\u2019s 16\u201d Softball leagues.\n ", "history": "In 1907, the city's Special Park Commission began creating a municipal playground in the then-congested working class Lincoln Park neighborhood. Formerly a rubbish-filled clay pit, the property needed excavation and cleaning before it could be transformed into parkland. After filling and grading the site, the city installed a running track and playing field that could be flooded in winter for ice skating. The following year, a small frame fieldhouse and two small shelters were constructed; playground equipment installed; and trees, shrubs, and flowers planted. The city named the park for adjacent Wrightwood Avenue, which recognizes the four Chicago Wright brothers who developed the area in the mid 19th century. By 1910, more than 300,000 people used Wrightwood Park annually. In the fieldhouse, classes were offered to age groups ranging from kindergartners to adults. Activities included gymnastics, calisthenics, wrestling, dancing, games, raffia weaving, and sewing. The city organized baseball leagues played there in the summer. Boys from Wrightwood Park also participated in athletic meets at other city parks. In 1953, the park's original buildings were replaced by a modern fieldhouse. Six years later, the city transferred Wrightwood Park to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 other properties. The district constructed a swimming pool in the park in 1968.\n "}, {"id": 615, "title": "Zatterberg (Helen) Park", "address": "\n 4246 N. Hermitage Ave. \n Chicago, IL 60613\n ", "description": "This small park is 0.22 acres and it is located in the North Center neighborhood (1 \u00bd blocks south of Montrose Avenue, two blocks west of Ashland Avenue). Tucked in a quaint residential area, community residents with small children enjoy the soft-surface playground during our crisp fall and warmer weather. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Chase Park.\n ", "history": "In 1938, the City of Chicago acquired this property in the North Center neighborhood through a settlement with the Policemens' and Firemens' Death Benefit Fund. By 1950, the city had transferred the site to the its Bureau of Parks and Recreation, which improved it with a spray pool, a sand box, and a gravel-surfaced playground. Following its general practice, the bureau named the site for adjacent Hermitage Avenue. In 1959, the city transferred the property to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties. The park has been rehabilitated over the years, most recently in the 1990s, when the park district installed a new soft surface playground and planted additional trees. In 2004, the park district renamed the site in honor of Helen Zatterberg as part of an initiative to recognize the achievements of significant Chicago women. Helen Zatterberg (1902 \u2013 2002) was a librarian devoted to educating the community about its history, preserving the area\u2019s historical sites and archives, and establishing historical collections relating to Chicago\u2019s north side. After graduating from Lake View High School, Helen began working in the Chicago Public Library system. She eventually rose to the position of North Side Regional Librarian, responsible for the management of libraries in the area north of North Avenue. At Hild Library she began in 1931 to collect archives, documents, and books related to the history of the north side. In 1935 Helen founded the Ravenswood-Lakeview Historical Association, a public-private partnership that continues to be active today. The public still actively uses the historical collections established by Zatterberg. In recognition of her contributions, the The Ravenswood-Lakeview Historical Association, which suggested renaming the park for Helen Zatterberg has an annual award in her honor. Helen Zatterberg lived near Leland and Wolcott avenues less than a mile from the park.\n "}] |