De George Playlot Park (c/o Blackhawk Park)
History
DeGeorge Park is one of many small parks created to meet increasing recreational demands in post-World War II Chicago. The city selected the Austin neighborhood park site in 1954. Improving the property with playground equipment and a basketball court, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation dedicated the new park in August of 1956. The following month, the city named the site for Bernice C. DeGeorge (--1956), a local activist who led the fight to transform the property into parkland. Unfortunately, DeGeorge died on April 27, 1956, before seeing her dream of a neighborhood park just a few steps from her home fully realized.
In 1959, the city transferred DeGeorge Park and more than 250 other properties to the Chicago Park District. Over the years, the park district further improved the site, planting trees in 1964, and adding a new soft surface play area in 1992.
