Events
Jun
26
Location:
8029 W. Forest Preserve Ave.
Chicago, IL 60634
Supervisor:
Crystal Loza
Phone Numbers:
Main
(312) 746-5559
Hours
Park Hours
Description
Located within the Dunning community, Hiawatha Park totals 13.88 acres and features a large gymnasium, fitness center, and club rooms. Outdoors, the park offers tennis courts, baseball fields, football/soccer field and a playground for the young ones. Popular in summertime, the water spray feature offers children a place to play and cool down while having a blast!
Young park-goers can play a variety of seasonal sports including basketball, flag football, floor hockey and volleyball at the facility. In the summer, youth attend our popular day camp.
Teens in the neighborhood should check out the weightlifting program and teen club activities as well as sports club.
Adults participate in a range of activities, including fitness, walking club, yoga. Plus, sign up for leagues such as 16" Softball and basketball. Parents gather at Hiawatha Park with their preschoolers for moms, pops and tots. Play group, preschool, tap and ballet, tiny tot tumbling and bitty basketball are also available for preschool-age residents.
The seniors in the community enjoy getting together for a game of bridge and socializing at the senior citizen club during the week.
The staff at Hiawatha Park invites everyone to come out and play year-round at the park!
History
Hiawatha Park was one of many parks created through a ten-year program providing additional recreational space for post-World War II Chicago. Acquisition began in 1946 and in 1947, the Chicago Park District selected a 12-acre park site in the Dunning Community Area. Land acquisition moved slowly and was finally completed in 1955. Improvements began nearly a decade later, and Hiawatha Park opened to the public in 1958. The Park District installed a fieldhouse in subsequent years. Hiawatha Park honors an Onandaga Indian chief, who formed the League of Five Nations, the famed Iroquois confederation. Over the centuries, Hiawatha (ca. 1570) became an almost mystical figure for Native Americans, and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) further mythologized him in "The Song of Hiawatha." The park name was suggested by community residents, who wished to carry on the tradition of naming Chicago parks for Indian tribes, people, and places.
Advisory Council
Map & Facilities
Hiawatha Baseball Field
Hiawatha Bocce Court
Hiawatha Fitness Center
Hiawatha Football/Soccer
Hiawatha Water Spray Feature
Hiawatha Soccer Court
