Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Committee Recommends Independence Park to National Register
Release Date: 09/26/08
The Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Committee has officially recommended that IndependenceParkbe designated to the National Register of Historic Places, the official federal list of historic places worthy of preservation.
“Chicago’s historic parks are an important part of the story of each neighborhood,” said Julia Bachrach, Chicago Park District Historian. “It is exciting to discover how much historic fabric properties such as IndependenceParkretain, and to have them federally recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.”
IndependenceParkis significant because of an early 20th century movement to create breathing spaces with recreational facilities on Chicago’s northwest side. During the early 1900s, members of the Irving Park community began holding large and festive Independence Day celebrations in an open area near Irving Park Blvd. (later renamed Irving Park Rd.) and N. Springfield Ave. These early residents soon began efforts to establish a permanent public park for their growing middle-class neighborhood.
In 1910, local residents formed the Irving Park District, one of the first independent park commissions on Chicago’s northwest side. After acquiring the Fourth of July grounds, the Irving Park District hired architects Hatzfeld and Knox to design a handsome brick field house for the park.
In 1929, the park commissioners enlarged the park through land acquisition, and an existing brick bungalow designed by architect Benedict Bruns was retained as the park’s Women’s ClubBuilding, which was utilized by weavers and loomers at the time. Today the brick bungalow still provides a haven for many park programs, community organizations and groups meetings. Even the weavers and loomers are still utilizing the historic building today. The Park District will be renovating the bungalow with dedicated community support from the Independence Park Bungalow Renovation Project, formed by the Independence Park Advisory Council. While keeping the historic integrity of the building, environmentally conscious improvements will be incorporated into the renovation process.
Overall, improvements to the entire park and significant events in the property’s social history continued after the consolidation of the Irving Park District into the Chicago Park District in 1934.
Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties listed in the Register include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
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