The Chicago Park District purchased land for this park in 1970, with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The new park was intended to provide much-needed recreational space for young children in an industrial area of the East Garfield Park neighborhood. The park district officially designated the playlot Marigold Park in 1974, when a number of parks were named for trees and plants. The marigold is a hardy flower, blooming under blazing sun when everything else wilts. One type of marigold, the pot marigold, or calendula, came to Europe as early as the 11th century with crusaders returning from the Holy Land. In Europe, the name marigold probably developed from the association with the Virgin Mary and for the flower's gold color. The term "pot marigold" refers to the fact that it was boiled in cooking pots and used as food and hair dye. The scientific name calendula is Latin for "the first day of the month." Pot marigolds were routinely planted in European monastery gardens because they would bloom every month of the year, providing a nearly constant supply of flowers for churches.

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