Dinah Washington Park
History
The Chicago Park District purchased this once-vacant lot in 1972 with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The new park was intended to provide additional recreational space for an underserved area of the South Chicago neighborhood. The park district officially designated the playlot Redbud Park in 1974, when a number of parks were named for trees and plants. The popular ornamental redbud tree grows 20 to 40 feet high, and has a widespreading crown. The redbud's name stems from the tiny pinkish-red flowers that appear on its branches in the spring before its leaves come out. George Washington so admired the tree that he often transplanted redbuds found in the surrounding woods to his garden at Mount Vernon.