Kilbourn Park & Organic Greenhouse
Park Description
Youth recreational activities at this 12-acre park include: basketball, soccer, softball, and tumbling. Other youth programs include: arts & crafts, painting & drawing, as well as the Park Kids after-school program. Toddler programs include preschool, recreational tumbling, as well as parent-and-tot classes. Adult-oriented programs at the park (seniors welcome!) include aerobics, conditioning, sewing, quilting, watercolor painting, and greenhouse workshops.For those who enjoy a good game of soccer - check out the artificial turf soccer field. Contact the park for availability. Most programs charge a nominal fee—and pre-registration is required
Discover the wonderful world of nature! Spark your curiosity and explore the fun & educational offerings at the Chicago Park District’s only park with a teaching organic greenhouse.Beginning in September the Kilbourn Park Greenhouse will offer a series of six workshops for adults in the community. (click here for a complete listing)
Kids can get their hands dirty while enjoying the 3-season Harvest Garden youth program, Garden Buddies program for toddlers, environmental-themed projects and crafts, as well as various family workshops.
This year’s Family Harvest Festival—a free, annual Celebration of the End of the Growing Season—will take place on Saturday, September 12h from 1pm-4pm. Held in a festive autumn setting, this family-friendly event will include tastes from the organic garden, face-painting, and a craft project.
The first-ever public fruit tree orchard in a major metropolitan city was planted in KilbournPark at the Organic Greenhouse in fall 2008.The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation generously donated 24 high-quality, mature fruit trees and helped plant with a team of volunteersanew orchard at KilbournPark. The fruit trees include apples, pears, plums, cherries, and paw paws. They are still getting adjusted to their new home, but we look forward to years of harvesting fruit in the park! In addition, weplanted currants, goumie berries, blackberries, raspberries and several grape vines. These fruits are going to be a wonderful addition to our already abundant strawberry harvest.Check out the greenhouse next time your at the park!
The Organic Greenhouse is always looking for volunteers—including parents with their children!
Kilbourn Park & Organic Greenhouse is located in Chicago’s Kilbourn Park neighborhood (on the south side of Addison Street, between Cicero and Milwaukee Avenues), at 3501 N. Kilbourn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60641. The greenhouse is open Tuesday through Saturday; their hours of operation vary with the season. The fieldhouse is open 7 days a week, excluding major holidays.
For further information regarding the park or its programs, contact the Kilbourn Park fieldhouse at (773) 685-3351. The telephone number for information about Kilbourn’s Organic Greenhouse and its programs is (773) 685-3359. Or visit the Chicago Park District’s website at www.chicagoparkdistrict.com.
History
Created by the Irving Park District, Kilbourn Park takes its name from adjoining Kilbourn Street, named in honor of a small town located near the Wisconsin Dells. The Irving Park District had formed in 1910 to create and manage parks for its tree-lined, middle-class neighborhood. Fifteen years later, the district acquired the site for Kilbourn Park and improvements began. By the late 1920s, the park's recreational features included athletic fields, a running track, horseshoe and tennis courts, an 18-hole putting green, two playgrounds, a children's wading pool, a sand box, and penned-in rabbits. Kilbourn Park also had a fieldhouse, maintenance building, and greenhouse. A unique feature, the greenhouse was used to display tropical plants and to propagate outdoor plants for use throughout the entire Irving Park District.
Clarence Hatzfeld designed all three of the buildings in Kilbourn Park. Having been trained in the office of Chicago architect Julius Huber, Hatzfeld became known for numerous north- and northwest-side park fieldhouses, commercial buildings, and residences. During the Depression, he worked for the Chicago Park District, which formed in 1934 through the consolidation of the city's 22 independent park agencies. Hatzfeld went on to serve as Recreation Technician for the Federal Works Administration in Washington, D.C.
In the late 1930s, the Chicago Park District planted a large perennial garden in Kilbourn Park. Although the original garden was not maintained, a renewed interest in gardening at Kilbourn Park has sparked a volunteer program in the greenhouse and a new perennial garden outside. Additionally, the park district has been able to provide increased recreational programming since the Kilbourn Park fieldhouse underwent a major expansion in 1991.
