Central Playlot Park
History
Central Park is one of many small parks created by the Bureau of Parks and Recreation to meet the growing recreational demands of post-World War II Chicago. The Bureau developed this Board of Education-owned site as a playlot in 1950, and transferred management to the Chicago Park District in 1959. The park district purchased the property from the Board of Education in 1990, rehabilitating it shortly thereafter.
Central Park takes its name from the adjacent street. Central Park Avenue runs south from the Humboldt neighborhood through Garfield Park and beyond. Garfield Park, created by the West Park Commission in 1869, is the midpoint between Humboldt and Douglas Parks on Chicago's grand boulevard system. Garfield Park was originally known as Central Park, thus giving the street its name.