4237 S. Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL 60653
Hours
Park Hours
Description
Aspen Playlot Park totals 0.23 acres is located in the Grand Boulevard Community Area. The park was renovated in 2016 as part of Mayor Emanuel’s Chicago Plays! Program. It is an active community park.
While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Fuller Park.
History
The Chicago Park District acquired this park site in 1969, and officially named it Aspen Park in 1974. Aspen Park was one of a number of properties the Park District named for trees and plants at this time. The District's park naming committee felt that neighborhood children could relate well to park names chosen from nature.
The Aspen tree, with its brilliant white bark, provides an especially appropriate name for this park, given its Wabash Avenue location. Wabash means, "gleaming white" in the Sioux language. Before the Chicago Fire, the stretch of Wabash Avenue extending into the Loop was a much-admired, tree-lined avenue of beautiful homes owned by wealthy Chicagoans.