Jefferson Park is a park in the eponymous community area of

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

on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Park features

The park is equipped with two baseball fields, one combination football/soccer field, three tennis courts, one playground and a spray pool and a full outdoor swimming pool with dressing facility. Each summer, hundreds of residents stroll the park grounds for "Jeff Fest," a Jefferson Park Chamber of Commerce-sponsored outdoor community festival featuring local food, vendors and bands. The all-volunteer Citywide Orchestra practices at Jefferson Park and performs seasonal concerts for the community.

History

Thomas Jefferson Memorial Park is named in honor of the drafter of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

. The park was long referred to as simply Jefferson Park until 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 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 ...

in 1934. The Jefferson Park District was established in 1920 to provide neighborhood parks for the rapidly developing northwest side of Chicago. Located on the site of the former Esdohr farm, land acquisition for the park began in 1921 and continued through 1929 when most of the park had been landscaped. In 1930, the park district constructed an athletic field and a fieldhouse designed by Clarence Hatzfeld whose architectural firm of Hatzfeld and Knox would later design many of the

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

and

Craftsman-style American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. Its ...

bungalows A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a bu ...

in the nearby

Villa District The Villa District, also known as Villa Historic District, ( pl, Polskie Wille) is a historic district in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located on Chicago's Northwest Side within the community area of Irving Park. Its borders are al ...

by historic St. Wenceslaus Church. The brick fieldhouse is graced with several historic paintings, including an anonymous portrait of

, a depiction of a

Viking ship Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, used in Scandinavia from the Viking Age throughout the Middle Ages. The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as bein ...

replica by artist Emil Biorn, and ''

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Sighting Land'' by L. Caracciolo.

References

External links

Official Jefferson Park Historical Society websiteChicagoparkdistrict.com: Jefferson Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson Park (Chicago Park) Parks in Chicago North Side, Chicago Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago 1921 establishments in Illinois