Kenwood Community Park

When Dr. John A. Kennicott built his family estate south of 43rd Street in 1856, he named it "Kenwood" for his mother's birthplace in Scotland. After Kenwood's annexation to Chicago in 1889, the City's elite flowed into the neighborhood, building substantial, well-designed homes.

Fashionable Kenwood began to decline in the 1920s, however. Some single-family homes were subdivided into multi-family dwellings. High-rise apartment houses replaced others. Kenwood's population jumped by 28% during the decade. To create parkland for the growing community, the Chicago Board of Education acquired property in 1931 on East 50th Street.  The City's Board of Education soon transformed the site into a playground.

After the Chicago Board of Education transferred the park property to the City of Chicago in 1943, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation planted 12 large American Elms to shade the ball diamonds and jungle gym. By 1950, the park was well-equipped with additional playground apparatus, a small brick recreation building, and a playing field that could be flooded in winter for ice skating.

The City transferred Kenwood Community Park to the Chicago Park District in 1957 pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. The following year, when adjacent Kenwood Avenue closed and the new Beulah Shoesmith Elementary School was constructed just to the west, the Park District responded by rehabilitating the park. In addition to earlier park amenities, the redesign included tennis and horseshoe courts and a spray pool.