Olson Park and Waterfall was a heavily visited

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

and waterfall complex that was located in the Avondale community area of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. It was built by Walter E. Olson, the owner of the Olson Rug Company, next to his factory and headquarters on the northwest corner of Diversey and Pulaski, and was a popular landmark for Chicago families. Built during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

the park was open to the public until it was closed in 1971 after

Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer ...

bought the complex in 1965. The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' named Olson Park as the first of "Chicago's Seven Lost Wonders". The park's opening was famous for the fact that during its opening, the park was symbolically "deeded" back to Native Americans, observing the hundred year anniversary of the expulsion of Indians across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

after the

Blackhawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crossed ...

. Today the site is occupied by a parking lot for the former Olson Rug factory and headquarters which is now occupied by the retailer

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

. The area is near of one of Chicago's "

Polish Patches Both immigrant Poles and Americans of Polish heritage live in Chicago, Illinois. They are a part of worldwide '' Polonia'', the Polish term for the Polish Diaspora outside of Poland. Poles in Chicago have contributed to the economic, social an ...

", Jackowo, and the complex was a few blocks from St. Hyacinth Basilica as well as Kosciuszko Park. Olson-rug-rock-garden-chicago-1935-scan300

References

External links

Olson Memorial Park, Waterfall and Rock Garden
in ''Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal™''
Olson Waterfall
in ''Forgotten Chicago''
Web page featuring the Olson Waterfall in ''Forgotten Chicago''Article on Chicago's Seven Lost Wonders from August 2005, Chicago Tribune