Seward Park
Park Description
Located at the corner at Division Street and Orleans Avenue in Near North sits the expansive, two-acre Seward Park with a newly renovated front lawn, ornamental fountain, playground and clock tower.
Seward Park offers the right mix of athletic programming, cultural arts partners and family special events for residents in this emerging neighborhood. Individuals and teams frequently rent Seward Park’s two gyms for sports leagues and games, fundraisers, parties, corporate outings and more.
Seward Park offers the following programs for different age groups at various times throughout the year: basketball, boxing, track and field, volleyball, arts & crafts, indoor and outdoor soccer, T-Ball, summer day camp, Cubs Care Rookie Baseball, and bitty basketball. Check the seasonal program schedule, @PLAY, for current class information.
Professional dance company, Chicago Dance Medium, calls Seward Park home. The Chicago Park District Arts Partner offers Ballet, Body Shop, Creative Movement and Pilates Method classes for young and adult dancers. Raw Footage is the company’s inter-generational community outreach performance project, in which anyone can get involved.
Another partner, Barrel of Monkeys, empowers students to imagine and create stories, which are later assembled into original comedic sketches performed by actors. Finally, Tango Sentido Production Inc. offers six-week courses in the rhythmic and sensual Buenos Aires-style tango.
Seward Park features two gyms with balconies; men’s & women’s locker rooms; a dance studio; six club/meeting rooms; a boxing ring and room; playground; two softball/soccer fields; and several outdoor basketball standards.
History
Completed in 1908, Seward Park was one of the Lincoln Park Commission's first three neighborhood parks. Although the park commission was established in 1869 to manage Lincoln Park and its connecting boulevards, by the turn of the century administrators were concerned about the living conditions in densely-populated neighborhoods within their jurisdiction. Approval of a 1907 bond issue allowed the acquisition of land for Seward and Stanton Parks, along with improvements to Lake Shore Playground, which was already part of the Lincoln Park System.
Prairie School architect Dwight H. Perkins designed the Seward Park fieldhouse. An advocate for playgrounds in congested districts and a leader in saving the forest preserves, Perkins served as architect to the Chicago Board of Education during the period in which he also worked for the Lincoln Park Commission. Perkins' fieldhouse included gymnasiums, shower baths, a reading room, club rooms, and an assembly hall equipped with a movable stage and an electric lantern with an attachment for educational moving pictures.
The Lincoln Park Commissioners decided to name new parks after President Abrabham Lincoln's cabinet members. William H. Seward (1801-1872) was the Secretary of State during Lincoln's administration.
