Hermitage Park
History
Hermitage Park is one of many city parks created to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. Established by the Bureau of Parks and Recreation in 1949, by the following year the four-acre site had playground equipment, a shelter house, and an athletic field. In 1959, the city transferred the West Englewood community park to the Chicago Park District. Installing a new spray pool in 1966, the park district made subsequent improvements over the years, including a 1991 soft surface playground.
Hermitage Park is one of two park district properties that bear the name Hermitage. The other is located on Hermitage Avenue in Chicago's North Center community. The name recognizes the nation's seventh president, Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), whose Nashville, Tennessee estate is known as "The Hermitage." The city's Jackson Boulevard also honors the former president.
