Murray Playground Park
History
On June 4, 1917, the City of Chicago purchased land in the West Englewood community to construct a section of the Southwest Water Tunnel. Nearly a decade later, the city gave the Bureau of Parks and Recreation permission to develop the property as parkland. Established in 1929, the new park was well-equipped with playground apparatus, boys' and girls' playfields and a separate baseball field, an oval wading pool bordered by a wooden pergola, and a small recreation building with open shelter and sand court wings. The open wings of the recreation structure were enclosed in 1947 to create a year-round facility. In 1959, the city began leasing property to the Chicago Park District, which installed new basketball courts and plantings in 1966 and rehabilitated the playground area twenty years later.
This site has been known as Murray Park since 1928. Until 1930, the park was officially, but incorrectly, designated Daniel L. Murray Park. The park was in fact meant to honor David L. Murray (1865-1955), a local educator. Born in Ontario, Canada, in 1865, Murray worked for the Chicago school board for 54 years. For many years, he taught at Raster Elementary School, located just three blocks from the park, at 6900 South Hermitage Avenue. He also served as the school's principal. A resident of West Englewood, Murray lived at 6733 South Marshfield Avenue.
