Description

Located in the West Town Community, Commercial Park totals 1.36 acres and features a fieldhouse with a kitchen and a gymnasium with a newly upgraded floor. Outside, the park offers a playground, baseball field and basketball court. Many of these spaces are available for rental for community meetings and parties.

Park-goers can play basketball, seasonal sports and volleyball at the facility. Afterschool programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District’s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well for toddlers.

In addition to programs, Commercial Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as the Community Kids Festival and Movies in the Park.

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SPRING PROGRAMS:
Register online or in-person for spring programs now. Spring programs run the week of April 1 through the week of June 3.

SUMMER PROGRAMS:
Online registration for our park’s summer programs begins Tuesday, April 16 at 9 am, and in-person registration begins Saturday, April 20. The standard 6-week summer camp program runs July 1 through August 9. Most other summer programs run the week of June 17 through the week of August 19.

FACILITIES

FACILITY TYPE	ADDRESS	DESCRIPTOR	QTY	NOTES
Baseball Field	1845 W. Rice St.		1
Basketball Court - Outdoor	1845 W. Rice St.		2
Community Gardens	1845 W. Rice St.	Ornamental	1	Community Garden
Fieldhouse	1845 W. Rice St.		1
Football / Soccer - Grass	1845 W. Rice St.		1
Gymnasiums	1845 W. Rice St.		1
Meeting/Event Space	1845 W. Rice St.		2
Playgrounds	1845 W. Rice St.		1
Water Spray Features	1845 W. Rice St.		1

History

Concerns about the lack of playgrounds in congested parts of the city spurred the Commercial Club of Chicago to create a small park in the West Town neighborhood in 1903. A prominent and influential business organization, the club participated in various projects to improve and beautify the city, including sponsoring Daniel H. Burnham's seminal 1909 Plan of Chicago. For the playground project, club members donated $10,000, the largest gift for such an effort at the time. The park was named Lincoln Playground, for adjacent Wolcott Avenue, previously known as Lincoln Street. In 1906, the club donated the park to the City of Chicago, stipulating that it be named in honor of the Commercial Club, and that the name never be changed again. The Commercial Club remained active in supporting this and other playgrounds for many years. It donated $1,000 for an ornamental fence around Commercial Club Park in 1908, and made annual $200 gifts to provide prizes for athletic contests and competitions in numerous municipal parks. When Commercial Club Park first opened to the public, it included playground equipment, sand courts, a shelter house, and a playfield that was flooded for skating in the winter. By 1938, the city had constructed a fieldhouse in the park, providing a gymnasium and play room. The city transferred the site to the Chicago Park District along with more than 250 properties in 1959. In 1980, the park district rehabilitated the fieldhouse and enlarged Commercial Club Park by acquiring and demolishing an adjacent electric sub-station.