Flower (Lucy) Park

The Chicago Park District acquired this property in 1973.  Formerly known as People's Park, the site was renamed Lucy Flower Park in 2005 as part of an effort by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to recognize the contributions of Chicago women.

Lucy Louisa Flower (1837- 1921) was a social reformer who spearheaded many Chicago and Cook County initiatives to improve the lives of women and help children and eliminate juvenile delinquency. After briefly working in the US Patent Office in Washington D.C., Lucy moved to Madison, Wisconsin where she taught in the public schools. In 1873, some years after marrying a Madison attorney, James Monroe Flower, Lucy and her family moved to Chicago. She soon became active in charitable efforts. In 1880, Lucy helped to found the Illinois Training School for Nurses (later named the Cook County School of Nursing). At a time when County nursing positions were generally doled out through political patronage, the school sought to provide professional training for nurses, establish standards, and make nursing a respectable profession for women. Serving on the Chicago Board of Education from 1891 to 1894, Lucy Flower inspired progressive initiatives in the schools such as manual training and kindergartens, and providing bathing facilities for children who lived in the tenement districts. Lucy also championed compulsory school attendance, which became law in 1897. She led the movement to create a new type of court for children under the age of 16. The resulting bill, approved in 1899, established the Cook County Juvenile Court, the first of its kind in the world. Peoples Park is located approximately 2 ½ miles from Lucy Flower’s home at 1920 W. Wellington Ave.