Durso (John) Park

Durso Park's Near North Side community is among the oldest sections of Chicago. Filled with industry and worker housing before 1900, the western portion of the community became increasingly blighted during the first decades of the 20th century.

In an effort to rid the area of its deteriorating housing, the Chicago Housing Authority in 1943 constructed the Frances Cabrini Homes, a 586-unit complex of row houses and garden apartments. Fifteen years later, CHA expanded Cabrini, more than tripling the size of the original public housing development. To create parkland for the Cabrini complex, the City began leasing a parcel of nearby land from the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago in 1948. The new park soon included a shelter house and sand box, as well as a playfield that could be flooded for skating in winter.

After assuming management of the park, the Chicago Park District constructed volleyball and basketball courts, a recreation building, and a spray pool during the following decade. In 1977, the Park District formally acquired the property and an adjacent vacant lot from the Archdiocese, more than doubling the park's size. Game tables and a soft surface playground were added in subsequent years.

Known for years as Hudson Park for adjacent Hudson Street, in April 1979, the park was renamed in honor of John R. Durso, a neighborhood resident with a long history of service to the community. Durso demonstrated an ongoing interest in the needs of the area's underprivileged children, sponsoring various activities including the local scouting program. Needy neighborhood families also benefited from his generosity during the Christmas season.