![S6300683](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/S6300683.JPG)
Wicker Park is a 4.03 acre public
urban park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...
in the
Wicker Park neighborhood of the
West Town community and
West Side
West Side or Westside may refer to:
Places Canada
* West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario
* West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia
United Kingdom
* West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Westside, Birmingham E ...
district, in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. It is named after Charles G. Wicker and Joel H. Wicker.
History
In late 1868, the Chicago Board of Public Works announced the desire to build a park "lying west of Milwaukee Avenue and south of North Avenue. The grounds are of considerable capacity and are laid out in a tasteful and attractive manner as a park." Present at the meeting was alderman Charles G. Wicker, who, with his brother Joel H. Wicker, purchased a parcel of land to the City of Chicago in 1870.
[Chicago Park District. (2021)]
Wicker Park
The City of Chicago installed a small
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
inside the triangular park.
At the end of the 19th century the neighborhood around the park was subsumed into the surrounding
Polish Downtown
Polish Downtown was Chicago's oldest and most prominent Polish settlement. Polish Downtown was the political, cultural and social capital of not only Poles in Chicago but Polish Americans throughout North America as well. Centered on Polonia Tria ...
, and the area immediately surrounding the park became known as "the Polish Gold Coast".
In 1890 the West Park Commission filled in the reservoir and replaced it with lawn.
Several years later a cut-granite fountain was installed.
In 1908 the fountain was replaced with a wading pool and additional trees were planted in the park.
In 1934 the West Park Commission was consolidated 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 conservatories ...
.
The Chicago Park District installed a fieldhouse on the site in 1985.
Facilities
The dog-friendly park includes areas for baseball, gyms, a spraypool, a water playground, and a walking path.
See also
*
West Town, Chicago
West Town, northwest of the Loop on Chicago's West Side, is one of the city's officially designated community areas. Much of this area was historically part of Polish Downtown, along Western Avenue, which was then the city's western boundary ...
*
Parks of Chicago
Parks in Chicago include open spaces and facilities, developed and managed by the Chicago Park District. The City of Chicago devotes 8.5% of its total land acreage to parkland, which ranked it 13th among high-density population cities in the Unit ...
References
External links
Official Wicker Park website
Parks in Chicago
West Side, Chicago
1870 establishments in Illinois
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