Smith Park

2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago, IL 60612

Hours: Park: 6am - 11pm

Fieldhouse: M-F 9:30am - 8pm, Sa 9am - 5pm, Su 10:30am-2:30pm

Park Supervisor:
Travis Bogle

(312) 742-7534

Description

Located in the West Town Community, Smith Park totals 9.82 acres and features a field house with a gymnasium, kitchen and meeting rooms. Outside, the park offers a children’s soft surface playground, water spray feature, swimming pool and baseball fields and an athletic field for football or soccer.

Many of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play seasonal sports at the facility or bring the children for tots programming. After school 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, Smith Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Family tot events, Skate Nights and Movies in the Park. Smith is also the host site of the annual Ukrainian Festival.

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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	2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago IL 60612		3
Ceramics Studios	2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago IL 60612		1
Concessions	Smith Park, 2526 W. Grand Ave.		1	Food & Beverage, 11am - 8pm, 773.415.1484
Fieldhouse	2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago IL 60612		1
Football / Soccer - Grass	2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago IL 60612		1
Gardens	2526 W. Grand Ave.	Ornamental	1	Community Garden
Gymnasiums	2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago IL 60612		1
Meeting/Event Space	2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago IL 60612		4
Playgrounds	2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago IL 60612		1
Swimming Pools - Outdoor	2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago IL 60612		1	Closed for the season. Accessibility feature: Lift.
Tennis Courts	2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago IL 60612		2
Water Spray Features	2526 W. Grand Ave. Chicago IL 60612		1

History

In 1929, when a large city dump in the West Town neighborhood had been completely filled, the Bureau of Sanitation transferred part of the site to the Bureau of Parks and Recreation. The city soon named it the Smith Athletic Field for Joseph Higgins Smith, alderman of the surrounding 32nd ward from 1914 to 1933. (At the time, the city regularly named parks for standing aldermen of the wards in which the sites were located.) Although it had been named, the park had few improvements until the late 1930s, when the city installed playground equipment, constructed a small brick recreation building, and created an athletic field that was flooded in winter for ice skating. By the late 1950s, a World War II tank and artillery piece had been placed in the park. In 1959, the city transferred Smith Park to the Chicago Park District, along with more than 250 other properties. After making initial improvements, the park district added a spraypool, swimming pool, and bath house in the late 1960s. In 1979, a large modern fieldhouse was constructed in Smith Park. Nine years later, the park district dedicated its gymnasium to Tommy Positano, a high school student who had been active at the park, and who received a Junior Citizenship Award posthumously.