Harrison Park
Park Description
History
The West Park Commission created Harrison Park in 1912 to provide breathing space and social services to the overcrowded and industrialized lower west side. The commission's first three neighborhood parks, Dvorak, Eckhart, and Stanford Parks, were so successful that the State passed a bill permitting additional neighborhood parks in 1909. (Stanford Park no longer exists.) The Special Park Commission identified several potential park sites, including an eight-acre parcel previously used for lime production. The West Park Commission acquired the lime kiln site and renowned landscape designer Jens Jensen created the park's original plan. Swimming and wading pools and a natatorium building were constructed in 1914. Within the next several years, other recreational features including children's gardens were added, however, the park did not have a fieldhouse until 1928.
In 1950, the Chicago Park District expanded the intensively-used small park by acquiring a stone quarry at its western boundary. During the following years, the neighborhood's Latino population grew, and in 1987, the natatorium was converted to the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum. In 1993, a new state-of-the-art fieldhouse replaced the original facility.
The park honors one of Chicago's most popular mayors, Carter H. Harrison, Sr. (1825-1893). A native Kentuckian who settled near Union Park, Harrison served as mayor for five terms between 1879 and 1893. He was assassinated by a disappointed office seeker late on the day of October 28, 1893. Ironically, the day had been designated Mayor's Day in Harrison's honor because it marked the closing of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago's first world's fair. There is a monument to Harrison in Union Park.
