Welcome to historic Humboldt Park!
Welcome to historic Humboldt Park!
The beautiful lagoon by the boat house
The beautiful lagoon by the boat house
Natural areas for long walks
Natural areas for long walks
Little Cubs Field
Lily pads on the lagoon
Lily pads on the lagoon
Night Out in the Parks events on the lawn
Explore history in the park!
Explore history in the park!
Location:

1440 N. Humboldt Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60622

Supervisor: Jesus Perez
Phone Numbers: Main (312) 742-7549

 

Hours

Park Hours
Day Time slot Comment
Sunday: 6:00 am-11:00 pm
Monday: 6:00 am-11:00 pm
Tuesday: 6:00 am-11:00 pm
Wednesday: 6:00 am-11:00 pm
Thursday: 6:00 am-11:00 pm
Friday: 6:00 am-11:00 pm
Saturday: 6:00 am-11:00 pm
Fieldhouse Hours
Day Time slot Comment
Sunday Closed
Monday 9:00 am-8:30 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am-8:30 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am-8:30 pm
Thursday 9:00 am-8:30 pm
Friday 9:00 am-8:30 pm
Saturday 10:00 am-6:00 pm

Description

Located in the heart of the Humboldt Park Community, Humboldt Park totals 197.26 acres and is home to a large, historic fieldhouse with a fitness center, two gymnasiums and meeting rooms, as well as an inland beach and the historic lagoons and boat house. 

Recreational facilities at the park include an artificial turf soccer field, a junior soccer field, baseball fields, tennis courts and a replica of the Chicago Cubs stadium known as “Little Cubs Field." The park is home to several playgrounds that were recently renovated as part of Mayor Emanuel’s Chicago Plays! Program.

With the support of the community, Puerto Rican leaders in Chicago began leasing the historic Humboldt Park stables near Paseo Boricua. This landmark location now houses The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. It is the only museum in the nation that is completely dedicated to the history of Puerto Rican arts and culture.

Take the Humboldt Park Audio Tour

Many of these spaces are available for rental. The grand ballroom in the field house is a popular location for wedding receptions and graduation parties. The outdoor soccer fields and Little Cubs Field frequently host competitive sports tournaments.  

Park-goers come to Humboldt to enjoy baseball, soccer and tennis, as well as fishing by the lagoon. On the cultural side, Humboldt Park is host to the Latin Jazz Festival and the Puerto Rican Festival. The park is also the site of a wind turbine filtration system for the lagoons.

After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer, youth attend the Park District’s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, including baseball camp.

In addition to programs, Humboldt Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, including Shakespeare in the Park, Movies in the Park and other Night Out in the Parks special events.

The park was named for Alexander Von Humboldt, a German naturalist and geographer famed for his five-volume work Cosmos: Draft of a Physical Description of the World, though his single visit to the United States did not include Chicago. The creation of Humboldt and several other Westside parks is a key part of Chicago's history that provided beautiful green space and linked together the city's historic boulevard system.

History

In 1869, shortly after the creation of the West Park System, neighborhood residents requested that the northernmost park be named in honor of Baron Freidrich Heinrich Alexander Von Humboldt (1759-1859), the famous German scientist and explorer. Two years later, completed plans for the entire ensemble of Humboldt, Garfield, and Douglas parks and connecting boulevards were completed by William Le Baron Jenney, who is best known today as the father of the skyscraper.

Having studied engineering in Paris during the construction of that city's grand park and boulevard system in the 1850s, Jenney was influenced by French design. The construction of Humboldt Park was slow, however, and the original plan was followed only for the park's northeastern section.  Land acquisition for the park was not completed until 1913.

Jens Jensen, a Danish immigrant who had begun as a laborer, worked his way up to Superintendent of Humboldt Park in the mid-1890s. Unfortunately, the West Park System was entrenched in political graft at the time. The commissioners fired Jensen in 1900 because of his efforts to fight the corruption.

Five years later, during major political reforms, new commissioners appointed him General Superintendent and Chief Landscape Architect. Deteriorating and unfinished areas of Humboldt Park allowed Jensen to experiment with his evolving Prairie style. For instance, Jensen extended the park's existing lagoon into a long meandering "prairie river." Inspired by the natural rivers he saw on trips to the countryside, Jensen designed hidden water sources that supplied two rocky brooks that fed the waterway. Nearby he created a circular rose garden and an adjacent naturalistic perennial garden.

Jensen designated an area diagonally across from the rose garden as a music court for dances, concerts and other special events. He commissioned Prairie School architects Schmidt, Garden, and Martin to design an impressive boat house and refectory building which still stands at one end of the historic music court.

In 1928, the West Park Commission constructed a fieldhouse in Humboldt Park. The structure was designed by architects Michaelsen and Rognstad, who were also responsible for other notable buildings including the Garfield Park Gold Dome Building, the Douglas and LaFolette Park Fieldhouses, and the On Leong Chinese Merchant's Association Building in Chinatown.

In 1934, Humboldt Park became part of the Chicago Park District’s portfolio when the City's 22 independent park commissions merged into a single citywide agency.

Advisory Council

Contact: Amy Vega,   President
Meeting Details:

Please contact the Humbolt Park Advisory Council for meeting details. 

 

Parking/Directions

For directions using public transportation visit www.transitchicago.com.

Map & Facilities

Humboldt Gymnasium

1440 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture

3015 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
(773) 486-8345

Humboldt Park Community Gardens

Little Cubs Field

Luis Munoz Marin Drive
Chicago, IL 60651
United States

:

Humboldt Spray Pool

1400 N. Humboldt Dr,
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:

Alexander Von Humboldt Monument

Humboldt Park - United Cooks | Concession

Louis Munoz Marin Drive at Division
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
(773) 805-5254

Humboldt Park - Wheel of Fun Rentals | Concession

1301 North Humboldt Drive
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
(773) 758-4382

Humboldt Park Formal Gardens

Humboldt Park Pool

958 N. Sacramento Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
(312)746-5281

Humboldt Water Playground

958 N. Sacramento Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:

Fritz Reuter Monument

Humboldt Path & Trails

1440 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Home | Artwork

Humboldt Playground -E

1300 N. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Humboldt Football/Soccer Field - Artificial Turf

Humboldt Playground -NE

2800 W. Le Moyne Dr.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Humboldt Baseball Fields

Humboldt Playground -W

1230 N. Kedzie Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Humboldt Basketball Courts - Outdoor

1000 N. Sacramento Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Humboldt Playground -N

2925 W. North Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Humboldt Beach

Humboldt Playground -S

3025 W. Augusta Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Humboldt Park Natural Area

1400 N. Sacramento Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Humboldt Tennis

1350 N. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Humboldt Boxing Gym

1400 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Interpreting Nature | Artwork

Humboldt Clubrooms

1440 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Leif Erikson Monument

Humboldt Cultural Center/Fieldhouse

1440 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

World’s Fair Bison | Artwork

Humboldt Fishing Areas

Shards of the Rainbow | Artwork

3015 West Division Street
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:

Humboldt Fitness Center

1440 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Burst! | Artwork

1400 North Sacramento Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
default image
Humboldt Playground -NE

2800 W. Le Moyne Dr.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
Little Cubs Field

Luis Munoz Marin Drive
Chicago, IL 60651
United States

:
Show on Map
default image
Humboldt Clubrooms

1440 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
Humboldt Playground -W
Humboldt Playground -W

1230 N. Kedzie Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
default image
Humboldt Spray Pool

1400 N. Humboldt Dr,
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
Show on Map
Humboldt Cultural Center/Fieldhouse

1440 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
Humboldt Playground -N

2925 W. North Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
Swans boat rentals are floating in the Humboldt Park lagoon, with the boathouse in the background.
Humboldt Park - Wheel of Fun Rentals | Concession

1301 North Humboldt Drive
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
(773) 758-4382
Show on Map
Humboldt Playgrounds -S
Humboldt Playground -S

3025 W. Augusta Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
default image
Humboldt Water Playground

958 N. Sacramento Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
Show on Map
Fritz Reuter Monument
Fritz Reuter Monument Show on Map
default image
Humboldt Fitness Center

1440 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
default image
Humboldt Tennis

1350 N. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
Home
Home | Artwork Show on Map
default image
Humboldt Gymnasium

1440 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
Leif Erikson Monument
Leif Erikson Monument Show on Map
default image
Humboldt Park - United Cooks | Concession

Louis Munoz Marin Drive at Division
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
(773) 805-5254
Show on Map
default image
Humboldt Basketball Courts - Outdoor

1000 N. Sacramento Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
Humboldt Park Pool
Humboldt Park Pool

958 N. Sacramento Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
(312)746-5281
Show on Map
Artist Gary Lehman standing in front a tree decorated with colorful painted wood pieces.
Shards of the Rainbow | Artwork

3015 West Division Street
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
Show on Map
Humboldt Beach
:
Show on Map
Humboldt Path & Trails

1440 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
Tree with colorful string and fabric wrapped around the trunk.
Burst! | Artwork

1400 North Sacramento Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
Show on Map
Humboldt Natural Area
Humboldt Park Natural Area

1400 N. Sacramento Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
Humboldt Playground -E

1300 N. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map
Outside view of the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture
National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture

3015 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

:
(773) 486-8345
Show on Map
default image
Humboldt Boxing Gym

1400 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Show on Map