Cornell Square Park

1809 W. 50th St.

Hours: Park: 6am - 11pm; Fieldhouse: Mo - Fri 9am - 9pm

Sa and Su 9:00am - 5:00pm

Park Supervisor:
Louis Alvarado

(312) 747-6097

Description

Cornell (Paul) Square

Located in the New City Community area, Cornell Square Park totals 8.29 acres. Fondly referred to as the “Back of the Yards” area, the park field house features include two gymnasiums, an auditorium and a kitchen. Outside, the park offers baseball fields, basketball courts, an athletic field for football or soccer, an artificial turf field for soccer, a playground, interactive water spray feature and an outdoor swimming pool. Many of these spaces are available for rental for athletic tournaments.

Park-goers can play baseball, basketball and seasonal sports 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.In addition to programs, Cornell Square Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as holiday events and Movies in the Park.

1/25/2012
Celebrate Valentine's Day in the Parks with Dances & Parties
The Chicago Park District celebrates Valentine’s Day in February with numerous dances and parties throughout the city including the traditional daddy-daughter/mommy-son... Read more

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Spring programs begin the week of April 2 and run through the week of June 1. In-person registration at the park continues until all spots are full.

Summer program registration begins Monday, April 9 at 9am online, and Saturday, April 14 at the park. An account must be created before registering either online or in-person through the new system. Create your account now. Our traditional 6-week day camp runs Monday, June 25 through Friday, August 3. Most other summer programs run the week of June 18 through the week of August 26.

FACILITIES

FACILITY TYPE	ADDRESS	QTY	NOTES
Baseball	1809 W. 50th St. Chicago IL 60609	2
Basketball Courts - Outdoor	1809 W. 50th St. Chicago IL 60609	2
Fieldhouses	1809 W. 50th St. Chicago IL 60609	1
Football / Soccer - Grass	1809 W. 50th St. Chicago IL 60609	1
Meeting/Event Space	1809 W. 50th St. Chicago IL 60609	2
Meeting/Event Space	1809 W. 50th St. Chicago IL 60609	1
Playgrounds	1809 W. 50th St. Chicago IL 60609	1
Swimming Pools - Outdoor	1809 W. 50th St. Chicago IL 60609	1	Accessibility feature: Lift
Tennis Courts	1809 W. 50th St. Chicago IL 60609	3
Water Spray Features	1809 W. 50th St. Chicago IL 60609	1

History

The South Park Commission created Cornell Square in 1904 as part of a revolutionary neighborhood park system which improved the difficult living conditions in Chicago's congested tenement districts. The innovative parks provided not only beautiful "breathing spaces," but also public bathing, the city's first branch libraries, classes and vocational training, inexpensive hot meals, health care, and a variety of recreational programs. Nationally renowned landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers and architects Daniel H. Burnham and Co. designed the entire system. Five of the first ten properties which opened in 1905 were known as squares because they were smaller than ten acres in size; the other five, which were larger than ten acres, were considered parks. In addition to Cornell Square, these were Mark White, Russell, Davis, and Armour Squares, and Ogden, Sherman, Palmer, Bessemer, and Hamilton Parks. Cornell Square was named in honor of Paul Cornell (1822--1904), a lawyer and real estate developer who was a leading force behind the creation of the South Park System. In the mid-1850s, Cornell bought land south of Chicago and developed the community of Hyde Park. He arranged to have the Illinois Central Railroad provide commuter service to the newly developed area. Cornell believed that parks would provide "lungs to the great city and its future generations." He was instrumental in securing approval of the state bill which established the South Park Commission in 1869, and served as a member of its board for 14 years.