Baraga Playlot Park
History
Baraga Park stands on the former site of a Chicago Transit Authority car barn in the Lower West Side community. The Chicago Park District began leasing the property from the transit authority in 1967. After demolishing the car barn, the park district installed swings, a sand box, and a basketball court. The transit authority sold the property to the park district in 1973. In 1990, the park was rehabilitated with a soft surface playground featuring a redwood play structure.
The park district designated the site Lilac Park in 1975, as part of a city-wide program to name parks for trees and flowers. Within three years, however, the park was renamed in honor of Frederick Baraga (1797-1868), a Slovenian immigrant and the first Catholic Bishop of Marquette, Michigan. Furthering his missionary efforts, Baraga worked to educate the Native Americans of the Upper Midwest during the mid-19th century. He authored the first dictionary and grammar books in the Ojibwa language.