Community at Dunbar Park Statue Unveiling
Community at Dunbar Park Statue Unveiling
Dunbar Statue Unveiling
Dunbar Statue Unveiling
The new Chicago Plays! Playground at Dunbar
The new Chicago Plays! Playground at Dunbar
Kids celebrate Dunbar Park's new playground!
Kids celebrate Dunbar Park's new playground!
Location:

300 E. 31st St.
Chicago, IL 60616

Supervisor: Rashod Vaval (Williams Park)
Phone Numbers: Main 312-747-7107

 

Hours

Park Hours
Day Time slot Comment
Sunday: 6:00 am-9:00 pm
Monday: 6:00 am-9:00 pm
Tuesday: 6:00 am-9:00 pm
Wednesday: 6:00 am-9:00 pm
Thursday: 6:00 am-9:00 pm
Friday: 6:00 am-9:00 pm
Saturday: 6:00 am-9:00 pm

Description

Dunbar Park is 21.80 acres and is located in the Douglas Community. The park features four baseball diamonds, athletic fields, picnic groves, tennis courts, a running track, a batting cage, an interactive water feature and a reading garden. In summer 2016, the park's northern playground was renovated as part of Mayor Emanuel’s Chicago Plays! Program. 

Dunbar Park is an active community park. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out the great programs offered at nearby Williams Park

History

The elegant south side Douglas community became densely populated during World War I, as an influx of African-Americans from the rural south settled there. Many lovely mansions were quickly divided into multiple unit apartments to accommodate the large numbers of new arrivals to the area. The Douglas community went through further decline during the Great Depression and experienced additional population increases during World War II.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a number of neighborhood revitalization initiatives emerged. Among them, the Lake Meadows Apartments were created by private developers and included 2,000 new housing units, shops, and a commercial building. In 1956, the Board of Education constructed Paul Dunbar High School nearby. Four years later, the Chicago Land Clearance Commission worked with the Chicago Park District to create an adjacent park.  The Chicago Park District acquired the land and vacated streets and alleys from 1958-1964 to assemble this 20+ acre park site.  The site was developed into a park between 1964 and 1966.

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), one of the nation's first critically acclaimed African-American authors, was popular with white and black audiences alike. The son of former slaves, Dunbar was raised in Dayton, Ohio. Although he was the only African-American student to attend public high school there, he was selected as editor of the school paper and president of the literary society.

While working as an elevator operator, Dunbar self-published his first book of poetry, Oak and Ivy, selling copies to passengers to underwrite the costs. In 1893, Dunbar was invited to Chicago to recite poetry to audiences at the World's Columbian Exposition. Publishing two more volumes of poetry, Dunbar began giving readings throughout the United States and England. He went on to publish nine more books of poetry, five novels, four short story collections, and a play before his death at the early age of 33.

Advisory Council

Parking/Directions

For directions using public transportation visit www.transitchicago.com.

Map & Facilities

Dunbar Playground - N

220 E. 29th St.
Chicago, IL 60616
United States

Dunbar Playground - SW

220 E. 31st St.
Chicago, IL 60616
United States

Paul Laurence Dunbar Monument

300 E. 31st St.
Chicago, IL 60616
United States

Dunbar Playground - N
Dunbar Playground - N

220 E. 29th St.
Chicago, IL 60616
United States

Show on Map
default image
Dunbar Playground - SW

220 E. 31st St.
Chicago, IL 60616
United States

Show on Map
Paul Laurence Dunbar Monument
Paul Laurence Dunbar Monument

300 E. 31st St.
Chicago, IL 60616
United States

Show on Map