Location:
1230 W. Greenleaf Ave.
Chicago, IL 60626
Supervisor:
Kristen Rezny
Phone Numbers:
Main
(773) 262-8605
Hours
Park Hours
Description
Located in the East Rogers Park community (adjacent on the west to Sheridan Road, abutting Loyola University’s property to the south, and Lake Michigan on the east), Loyola Park sits on 40.87 acres of land. The large fieldhouse is equipped with two gymnasiums, woodshop, boxing center and clubrooms for rental. Outside, the park offers a senior baseball and a softball field, a two-hoop basketball court, sand volleyball courts, four tennis courts, a playground, as well as a nearly 2/3-mile walking trail along the beautiful beach and Lake Michigan. Beach season begins the Friday before Memorial Weekend and goes through Labor Day.
With a great diversity, and quantity, of programs: there’s something for everyone at Loyola Park! Parents will appreciate the opportunity for their tots / preschoolers to increase their socialization skills in programs such as: Preschool, Tot Spot, MightyFitFamily, Saturday Dribblers, Saturday Kickers, Tiny Tot- and Recreational-Tumbling. Loyola Park is one of the sites for the popular Park Kids after school program for youth; Winter- and Spring-Break Camps are available during days when school is out.
Recreation for youth includes: baseball, basketball, boxing, cheerleading, cross-country, and Go Girl Go, gymnastics, hip hop dance, seasonal sports, soccer, softball, track & field, volleyball, and wrestling. Pre-Teens and Teens can make new friendships in their age-appropriate clubs. Other teen programs include: baseball, basketball, boxing, cheerleading, drop-in, flag football, Go Girl Go, hip hop dance, soccer, softball, and volleyball. During the summer, Loyola Park offers various camps, in addition to its popular 6-week affordable day camp for youth: Dance Intensive-, Basketball-, Soccer-, Tennis-, Volleyball-, and Play-Camp.
Loyola Park is also noted for its Special Recreation programs for people with disabilities—including training for Special Olympics, after school Park Kids, summer camp for children and teens.
Adults and/or seniors are not forgotten; they can enjoy low-impact aerobics, conditioning, cross-training, yoga, boxing, and volleyball.Tae Kwon Do is an all-ages class offered through a partnership.
On the cultural side, Loyola Park offers arts & crafts and woodcraft. The park has Art Partnership who bring their talents to the community. Barrel of Monkey's offers writing and improv workshops for children and Full Effect offers Hip Hop Dance classes.
Loyola Park is the home of artist Lynn Takata’s “Windform”: a 100’ long abstract concrete sculpture, which is meant to represent the movement of the water--and provides areas for patrons to sit and enjoy the lake, as well as slopes for children to climb and play on.
Loyola Park hosts a bounty of annual special events: the autumn Boxing Show and Halloween Party, Black History Month Celebration, Family Valentine Dance, Earth Day Park Clean-up, Easter Egg Hunt, Gym Showcase, and the Father’s Day-weekend Artists of the Wall Festival.
History
Loyola Park was the sole park created by the North Shore Park District, one of 22 independent park boards consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Unlike most of these park boards, the North Shore District, formed in 1900, was at first interested only in enhancing the area through boulevard improvements along Sheridan Road, Pratt Boulevard, and Ashland Avenue. By 1905, however, public pressure had prompted the district to consider park development. The district spent several years mulling its options. Finally, in 1909, at the urging of the Rogers Park Woman's Club, the North Shore District determined to concentrate its resources on purchasing land for a single beachfront park and boating basin known as North Shore Park. Shortly thereafter, noted landscape architect and engineer O.C. Simonds developed plans for a pier at the site, but these were never realized. Between 1912 and 1924, the North Shore District had acquired more than nine acres of lakeshore property. A small fieldhouse, built in 1923, soon provided game and club rooms. Playfields were flooded for ice skating in winter; in 1929, the local American Legion post erected a shelter house for skaters.
Several years after the Chicago Park District took over in 1934, local residents asked that North Shore Park be renamed. The Park District agreed, and held a contest to choose a new name. Neighborhood residents favored the name Loyola Park, for nearby Loyola University. The Jesuits began to develop this important Rogers Park institution in 1906, when they purchased a 20-acre site between Devon and Loyola Avenues. During the 1930s, the university raised its neighborhood profile substantially by constructing a number of dramatic Art Deco buildings, including the Madonna della Strada Chapel. From 1948-1949, the Chicago Park District acquired more land and more than doubled the size of Loyola Park and built a new fieldhouse with an adjacent grandstand. Streets were vacated in 1950 to further expand the park. Land acquisition was completed after another half-acre was added in 1971, bringing the size of Loyola Park to more than 40 acres.
Advisory Council
Contact:
Jennifer Walling, President
Email:
jenniferwalling@gmail.com
Meeting Details:
1st Monday of the month at 6:30pm.
Parking/Directions
Metered parking is available in two nearby lots. Get rates and additional information.
For directions using public transportation visit www.transitchicago.com.
Map & Facilities
Loyola Baseball Field South
Loyola Basketball Court - Outdoor
Loyola Beach
1230 W. Greenleaf Ave. (Greenleaf Ave. @ Lake Michigan)
Chicago, IL 60626
United States
:
Loyola Beach - Ropa Cabana | Concession
1230 W. Greenleaf
Chicago, IL 60626
United States
:
(773) 372-2198
Loyola Beach Volleyball Court
Loyola Beach Dunes Natural Area
Loyola Baseball Field North
