Marquette Park (Chicago)
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Marquette Park, the largest park on the southwest side of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, at , is located at in the city's Chicago Lawn neighborhood. The park is named for Father Jacques Marquette


History


Planning and development

Marquette Park is part of a system of 14 parks designed in 1903 by the
Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape architect Frederick Law O ...
. At in size, it is the largest of the revolutionary neighborhood parks created by the South Park Commission in the early 20th century. The Superintendent at the time, J. Frank Foster, envisioned the "new parks as beautifully landscaped 'breathing spaces' that would provide educational and social services to the city's congested immigrant neighborhoods." "Social reformers launched a playground movement for the creation of additional parks." In 1899 and 1903, the state legislature authorized the three park commissions: Lincoln Park Commission, West Park Commission, and the South Park Commission, to acquire property for new parks. "The South Park Commission opened a system of 10 innovative neighborhood parks in 1905, which soon inspired similar parks in the West and Lincoln Park systems and in other cities across the United States." The original plans for Marquette Park called for "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." Due to its size, construction of the park went more slowly than most of the others in the system, and several features of the original plan were dropped due to difficulties with the landscape. Still, in 1913, the 18-hole golf course opened and "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." In the early 1930s, the Great Depression caused the bankruptcy of the individual park districts. In 1934, the 22 independent agencies were consolidated into the Chicago Park District. After the consolidation of Chicago's park commissions into the
Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, several boat harbors, two botanic conservatorie ...
in 1934, park workers redesigned the golf shelter, built comfort stations, and expanded the walking paths in the park to include the islands.


Monuments in the park

In 1935, public support helped secure a statue, located at the northeast corner of the park near West Marquette Road (West 67th Street) and South California Avenue, honoring
Lithuanian-American Lithuanian Americans refers to American citizens and residents who are Lithuanian and were born in Lithuania, or are of Lithuanian descent. New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the largest percentage of Lithuanian Americans (20.8%) in the United ...
aviators
Steponas Darius Steponas Darius (known as Stephen Darius in the US; born Steponas Jucevičius-Darašius; January 8, 1896 – July 17, 1933) was a Lithuanian American pilot, who died in a non-stop flight attempt in the ''Lituanica'' from New York City to Kaunas, ...
and
Stasys Girėnas Stasys Girėnas (known as Stanley T. Girenas in the US; born Stasys Girskis; October 4, 1893 in Vytogala, Kovno Governorate – July 17, 1933 near Soldin, Germany) was a Lithuanian-American pilot, who died in a non-stop flight attempt with th ...
who perished during the transatlantic flight of the
Lituanica ''Lituanica'' was a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker airplane flown from the United States across the Atlantic Ocean by Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas in 1933. After successfully flying 6,411 km (4,043 miles), it crashed, ...
. A large granite boulder monument that commemorates those who served from the area during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
can be found in the northwest corner of the park near West Marquette Road and South Homan Avenue. Mounted to this boulder is a bronze plaque that reads: "This tablet and adjacent elm tree stand here as a memorial to those from this community who served in the World War 1914 - 1918."


Protests

Marquette Park and the neighborhood surrounding it became infamous for being the scene many violent, racially charged rallies between the 1960s and 1980s.


Civil rights protests

The
Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civ ...
, chaired by Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
, decided to take its protest north in 1966. During the
Chicago Freedom Movement The Chicago Freedom Movement, also known as the Chicago open housing movement, was led by Martin Luther King Jr., James Bevel and Al Raby. It was supported by the Chicago-based Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO) and the Sou ...
, King led a group of marchers (protesters) into the all-white housing areas near Marquette Park in Chicago. A crowd of 4,000 Marquette Park residents gathered to watch the march, some waving Confederate flags or throwing bottles, bricks and rocks at the protesters. One of the rocks hit King in the head above his right ear, but he was not severely hurt and continued with the march. The Marquette Park residents also stoned cars and buses carrying black people and, after the march, clashed with police. It is a common misconception that the incident in which Dr. King was struck with a rock happened in the Chicago suburb of
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
rather than Marquette Park, but the
Chicago Freedom Movement The Chicago Freedom Movement, also known as the Chicago open housing movement, was led by Martin Luther King Jr., James Bevel and Al Raby. It was supported by the Chicago-based Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO) and the Sou ...
never marched in Cicero. The incident at Marquette Park was part of the protests led by the Chicago Freedom Movement, of which King was co-chairman. It was a year-long campaign for open housing, started in January 1966 when King and his wife Coretta moved into a North Lawndale slum on the west side of Chicago. King, the SCLC, and the movement wanted to make Chicago a racially open city. They wanted it to be a place where everyone could buy homes or rent apartments without fear of racial attacks. The march was not as successful as King and the SCLC had hoped. A rather vague agreement was created with Chicago Mayor
Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been cal ...
, containing promises (not kept) of open housing legislation and improving living conditions. This march was part of a series of marches coordinated by the Chicago Freedom Movement—the marriage of King's SCLC and the CCCO (Coordinating Council of Chicago Organizations), led by King's co-leader in Chicago, Al Raby. In 2016, a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. was erected in the park.


Neo-Nazi protests

In the 1970s, National Socialist Party of America leader Frank Collin regularly held demonstrations in the park. After the Chicago Park District banned Collin, he instead proposed a march in the largely
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
suburb of Skokie. A Supreme Court decision,
National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie ''National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie'', 432 U.S. 43 (1977), arising out of what is sometimes referred to as the Skokie Affair, was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court dealing with freedom of speech and freedom of ass ...
, ordered the march to be allowed on
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
grounds. To avoid a violent confrontation with the
Jewish Defense League The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a Jewish far-right religious-political organization in the United States and Canada, whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary". It has been classified as "a right wi ...
, the ACLU negotiated a compromise where the NSPA would not march in Skokie but instead Chicago would allow the group to return to the park.


Plane crash

On the afternoon of Friday, December 8, 1972, United Airlines Flight 553 crashed two blocks west of the park into a residential area, killing 43 on board and two on the ground. The
Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...
-222 was on approach to Midway Airport and the crash was attributed to
pilot error Pilot error generally refers to an accident in which an action or decision made by the pilot was the cause or a contributing factor that led to the accident, but also includes the pilot's failure to make a correct decision or take proper a ...
; there were eighteen survivors, including all three flight attendants. Among the fatalities were congressman George W. Collins and CBS News correspondent
Michele Clark Michele E. Clark (June 2, 1943 — December 8, 1972) was an American journalist. She was the first African-American woman to be a television correspondent for CBS News. As a correspondent at WBBM-TV she covered the 1972 Democratic Party president ...
.


Description and surroundings


Ashburn Prairie

Marquette Park's three and a half acre Ashburn prairie remnant has a very special history. The story begins during the pre-settlement era at 87th Street and Kedzie Avenue on a lot near the Evergreen Cemetery. It was at this location that the original Ashburn prairie thrived, untouched by farming, housing and commercial development. The mesic prairie contained nearly 100 species of native plants.
Forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...
s such as Mountain Mint (''Pycanthemum verticillatum''), Nodding Wild Onion ('' Allium cernuum''), Nodding Ladies’ Tresses ('' Spiranthes cernua''), Purple Coneflower (''
Echinacea purpurea ''Echinacea purpurea'', the eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or echinacea, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to parts of eastern North America and present to s ...
''), Black-eyed Susan (''
Rudbeckia hirta ''Rudbeckia hirta'', commonly called black-eyed Susan, is a North American flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Eastern and Central North America and naturalized in the Western part of the continent as well as in China. It has now b ...
''), Prairie Dock ('' Silphium perfoliatum''), Compass Plant (''Silphium lacinatum''), and Obedient-plant ('' Physostegia virginiana'') were found at the prairie. Grasses such as Big Bluestem ('' Andropogon gerardi'') and Indian grass (''
Sorghastrum nutans ''Sorghastrum nutans'', commonly known as either Indiangrass or yellow Indiangrass, is a North American prairie grass found in the central and eastern United States and Canada, especially in the Great Plains and tallgrass prairies. Descriptio ...
'') were also present. Looming land development threatened the rare patch of prairie, but a heroic effort by the Park District and members of the public resulted in the prairie being moved to Marquette Park. In the spring in 1993, the Park District dug up several plugs of prairie using a tree spade. Each plug measured four to five feet across. With the important roots of these prairie plant plugs intact, crews carefully transported these huge plugs to Marquette Park. There, the rescue team drilled holes and installed the huge plugs near the edge of the lagoon. Fortunately, the soil profile at the old site was similar to the soil profile at the new site, and overall the prairie rescue was a success. Most of the flowers bloomed the very first year in their new home. As the prairie began to settle into its new home, prairie reconstruction activities continued. Volunteers seeded, planted and weeded between the tree-spaded remnants, and in the areas north of the remnants. To this day, Ashburn Prairie thrives on the commitment of dedicated volunteer stewards. The prairie is located along the edge of the lagoon, south of Mann St., east of Kedzie Avenue.


Golf Course

The Marquette Park Golf Course is a nine-hole par-36 course featuring elevated tees and greens as well as spacious fairways. Water comes into play on seven of the nine golf holes. The golf course practice facilities include a driving range, a putting green, and chipping green and sand bunkers. Billy Casper Golf serves as manager of the Marquette Park Golf Course as it does for all Chicago Park District golf facilities.


Tarkington Elementary School

The Tarkington Elementary School, located at 3330 W. 71st Street on the south side of the park and serving pre-K through the 8th grade, was completed in 2005 and classes began on Tuesday, October 4 of that year. Tarkington is the first in the Chicago Public Schools system to have the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification. With a building area approximately , the school sits on a site. The school was built to relieve overcrowding on the Southwest Side and will serve up to 1,000 elementary school students. The two-story elementary school include art, music and science classrooms, a full-serving kitchen and dining facilities, a multipurpose room and a field house that will be shared by the Chicago Park District. The project also involved improvements to Marquette Park, including a new soccer field.


Facilities

*Competitive Cheerleading *Basketball team *Auditoriums *Baseball *Basketball Courts *Community Garden *Golf Course *Gyms *Meeting Rooms/Assembly Halls *Men's and/or Women's Locker Rooms/Showers *Parking Lots *Paths (Jogging/Walking/Bicycling) *Soccer Fields Marquette F.C. *Tennis Courts


References

{{Chicago Parks in Chicago West Side, Chicago History of Chicago Martin Luther King Jr. Skokie Controversy Golf clubs and courses in Chicago History of African-American civil rights