Location:
5553 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
Supervisor:
Moseth Sample (Emmerson Park)
Phone Numbers:
Main
(773) 761-0433
Hours
Park Hours
Description
Located in the Edgewater neighborhood (at the intersection of Ashland and Bryn Mawr avenues) this small park is 0.28 acres and it features a new soft surface playground. While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs at nearby Chase or Emmerson Parks.
History
Edgewater's Mellin Park takes its name from Curtis S. Mellin, Sr. (1895--1957), Republican alderman for the surrounding 50th Ward between 1929 and 1931. Mellin lived in the area and was a manager for Goldblatt's Department Store at 4700 North Broadway at the time of his death. It was Mellin who, as alderman, proposed the creation of the park on City land. The City had purchased the Ashland Avenue property for police department use in 1916. By 1929, the property had become a dumping ground, and Alderman Mellin proposed to convert it to a small park designed especially for the use of mothers with babies and small children. The City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation quickly improved the site, bringing in fresh soil and grading the property; planting trees, shrubs, and grass; and installing benches, a drinking fountain, and a small shelter house and sand box with a trellis-like pergola. Fifteen hundred local residents attended the park's dedication on July 22, 1930. Mellin "Baby Park," the bureau's first park created specifically for young children, proved a success. Three other city parks based on this model (Ashland, Irving Park, and a section of Winnemac) soon followed. In 1957, the City transferred Mellin Park, along with more than 200 other park properties to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act.
