Winnemac Park

5101 N. Leavitt St., 60625

Hours: Park: 6am - 11pm

Fieldhouse: M-F 1:30-9:30pm; Sa (high school pool) 9am-5pm; Su closed

Park Supervisor:
Lisa Ragucci

(312) 742-5101

Description

Winnemac Park, part of the school-park campus program, encompasses nearly 40 acres, including land owned by both the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park District. Bounded by Damen, Foster, Leavitt and Argyle, Winnemac Park offers programming and program registration in Amundsen High School, Chappell Elementary School and Winnemac Stadium.

In 2008 the park officially opened a new accessible playground for the community. The park was renovated in 1999 with $2 million in improvements including the addition of 200 trees, a scenic prairie garden and nature trail, three softball fields, a soccer field and new walkways, decorative lights and fencing.

Winnemac youth programs include basketball, bitty basketball, after-school drop-in, table fun and games, soccer, Cubs Care rookie baseball, and summer day camp. Also offered for adults are a fitness center, weightlifting, track & field, cross training, and walking. The park is popular with the Chicago United Runners and various community clubs that run the trails year round. If you are interested in our swimming programs associated with Winnemac Park, we invite you to view those opportunities listed under Amundsen School Park.

To enter Amundsen H.S. for activities use door #4 after 6pm.

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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	QTY	NOTES
Baseball Field	5001 N. Leavitt St.	5
Football / Soccer - Grass	5001 N. Leavitt St.	1
Gymnasiums	5001 N. Leavitt St.	2	Amundsen H.S.
Meeting/Event Space	5001 N. Leavitt St.,	1	Chapell School
Picnic Groves	5001 N. Leavitt St.	1
Playgrounds	5001 N. Leavitt St.	1
Prairies & Grasslands	5001 N. Leavitt St.	1
Running Tracks	5001 N. Leavitt St.	1
Swimming Pools - Indoor	5001 N. Leavitt St.	1	at Amundsen High School. Spring Season Pool Schedule Accessibility feature: ramp
Tennis Courts	5001 N. Leavitt St.	2

History

Lying adjacent to Chappell Elementary and Amundsen High School, Winnemac Park has served as both park and school land for many years. The City of Chicago's Special Parks Commission established the park in 1910, on land leased from the Board of Education. Shortly thereafter, the commission graded and landscaped the former truck farm, installing a number of athletic fields. In 1929, the board built Amundsen High School on the northeast corner of the site. Chappell Elementary was built west of the high school in 1937. The site also includes Hansen field, a football and soccer stadium erected in the 1930s. The Chicago Park District took responsibility for maintaining the park facilities in 1959. In 1991, the Board of Education transferred to the park district the portion of the park lying south of Winnemac Street; the park district is now acquiring the remaining land. Winnemac Park is named for the adjacent street. The roadway in turn takes its name from Winamac, an important chief of the Potowatamie Indians. Winamac, whose name meant "catfish," was a signer of the 1795 Treaty of Grenville, in which Great Lakes tribes surrendered the site of Chicago to the U.S. government. Winamac and his people fought with the British in the War of 1812, and the warrior died during the fighting.