Wicker Park

1425 N. Damen Avenue Chicago IL 60622

Hours: Park: 6am - 11pm

Fieldhouse: M-F 9am-9pm Sa. 9am-5pm Su. 9am-5pm

Park Supervisor:
Vacant

(312) 742-7553

Description

Located in the West Town Community Area, Wicker Park totals [4.03] acres and features a field house with gymnasium and meeting rooms. Outside the park offers a large children’s playground with interactive water spray feature, a community garden area, ornamental fountain, dog friendly area and baseball field and basketball courts and an athletic field for soccer or football.

Many of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play seasonal sports and table games at the facility. 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, Wicker Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as indoor movies in the park and holiday events.

Though small in size, Wicker Park is especially well known for its lush and well-tended gardens. These ornamental gardens, which comprise 10,000 square feet of space, were designed, funded, and are maintained by volunteers affiliated with the Wicker Park Garden Club. The club works in close collaboration with the Chicago Park District through the Community Gardens in the Parks program. Various sections of the gardens are designated in memory of individuals who worked to develop the gardens in the park: William Westfall, Marion Smith, Casey Wismont, Conrad Cwiertnia, and Allen Blaurock. All interested gardeners are invited to attend weekly garden tending days where they will learn how to design and maintain gardens for their homes.

3/6/2013
Hop to It at an Egg Hunt at Your Local 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	1425 N. Damen Avenue Chicago IL 60622		1
Basketball Court - Outdoor	1425 N. Damen Ave.		2
Community Gardens	1425 N. Damen Ave.	Ornamental	1	Community Garden
Dog Friendly Areas	1425 N. Damen Avenue Chicago IL 60622		1	.14 acres, located at intersection of Wicker Park and Evergreen. Doggie drinking fountain.
Fieldhouse	1425 N. Damen Avenue Chicago IL 60622		1
Fountains, Monuments, Sculptures	1425 N. Damen Avenue Chicago IL 60622		1
Gymnasiums	1425 N. Damen Avenue Chicago IL 60622		1
Meeting/Event Space	1425 N. Damen Avenue Chicago IL 60622		3
Playgrounds	1425 N. Damen Avenue Chicago IL 60622		1

History

In 1870, when businessmen and developers Charles G. and Joel H. Wicker began constructing drainage ditches and laying out streets in their subdivision, they donated a four-acre parcel of land to the city to be used as a public park. Fencing the triangular site to keep cows out, the city created an artificial lake in the center of the park, surrounding it with lawn and trees. As the Wickers had hoped, the area developed into a fashionable middle- and upper-class neighborhood. In 1885, the city transferred Wicker Park to the West Park Commission. Five years later, the West Park Commission filled the park's lake, replacing it with lawn. Between 1892 and 1895, a fanciful fountain was installed in the park. The cut-granite fountain had an outer basin which still exists, lovely ornamentation, and floral urns. In the center was a cast-iron fountain with foliage motifs and small gargoyle faces from which water was sprayed. In 1908, Jens Jensen, then West Park System Superintendent, removed the cast-iron fountain and replaced it with a jet spray, converting the fountain into a children's wading pool. Jensen also built pergolas (trellis-like structures) and planted additional trees and shrubs in Wicker Park. The West Park Commission was consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. To provide additional programs, the park district soon constructed a small fieldhouse in Wicker Park. The building proved inadequate, and the park district replaced it with an attractive post-modern fieldhouse in 1985. Throughout its history, the park has borne the Wicker family name. Having settled in Chicago in 1839, Charles G. and his brother Joel H. opened a wholesale grocery business. Charles went on to own two railroad lines, and to serve as Alderman, Cook County Supervisor, and Illinois State Legislator.