Gale Park
Park Description
Located in the Rogers Park communitythe staff at Gale Park is excited to offer a wide variety of programming options.
Young park-goers can playbasketball, football and floor hockey at the facility. On the cultural side,Gale Park offers Urban Moves a hip dance program for teensplus the park offers Tap and Ballet and Fun with Food for the little ones. In the summer, youth attend day camp.
Adults participate in a range of activities, including the new and affordable fitness center and aerobic classes. Parents gather at Gale Park with their preschoolers for moms, pops and tots gymnastics and tumbling.
In addition to programs, Gale Park hosts fun special events for the whole family. Check in with the park staff on a regular basis to see what's going on at the park.
For a complete listing of programs offered at Gale Park go to the program page of our website.
We invite you to take a tour of the facility and check out the new fitness center, gymnasium and club room!
History Just after World War II, the Rogers Park Kiwanis Club urged the City of Chicago to establish a playground in their neighborhood. In 1949, the city used Playground Bond funds to purchase land along Ashland Avenue for park development. Initially known as Ashland Playground, the site soon had playground equipment, a sand box, and a brick shelter house. In winter, park patrons could ice skate on the flooded lawn. In 1951, the City Council officially named the site Kiwanis Park, in recognition of the service club's efforts. In 1959, the city transferred the park, along with more than 250 other properties, to the Chicago Park District. The park lies across Ashland Avenue from the Stephen F. Gale Elementary School. Since 1998, the park and the neighboring school yard have been jointly operated by the park district and the Chicago Board of Education. The park district officially renamed the site Gale School Park the following year. During 2000, the adjacent park and school properties is being extensively improved, and the a portion of Ashland Avenue closed, creating a single, unified campus park. Early settler Stephen Francis Gale (1812-1905) came to Chicago in 1835, and soon opened a book and stationery store on South Water Street, near Clark. Gale succeeded as both an entrepreneur and a real estate investor. In 1839, he published "Gale's Statutes," the first law book published in Illinois. Affiliated with the "Red Jackets," one of the city's early fire fighting brigades, Gale also served as head of the entire fire department between 1844 and 1847.
