Tom (Ping) Memorial Park

The Chicago Park District acquired the site for Ping Tom Memorial Park in 1991. For years, its surrounding Chinatown community had suffered a total lack of open space and recreational facilities. The only nearby parks, Hardin Square and Stanford Park, had been demolished 30 years earlier to make way for the Dan Ryan Expressway. Two full generations of children in Chinatown grew up without access to a neighborhood park or any recreational area.

Ping Tom Memorial Park's 12-acre site was originally a Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad yard located along the edge of the South Branch of the Chicago River. In 1998, the Chicago Park District began transforming the old rail-yard into a beautiful rolling green space, taking full advantage of impressive river views. The park has a children's playground, community gathering areas, and Chinese landscape design elements.  In 2002, the Chicago Park District acquired 5 plus additional acres on the northeast side of the park, bringing the total acreage of the park to over 17 acres adjacent to the Chicago River. The Chicago Park District is reclaiming the Chicago River as a major system of parks and water-based recreation for all Chicagoans with the creation of four new boathouses and river launches. The first two boathouses opened in 2013 (Ping Tom and Clark Park). The third location at River Park was completed in 2014. The fourth Boathouse is at Park 571 (2828 S. Eleanor). 

The park was named in honor of the leading force behind its creation, Chinatown's most noted civic leader, Ping Tom (1935-1995). A lifelong resident of Chinatown, Ping Tom formed the Chinese American Development Corporation in 1984. The private real estate firm transformed a 32-acre rail yard site into Chinatown Square, a $100 million dollar residential and commercial expansion of Chinatown.

Active in numerous prominent civic and cultural institutions, Ping Tom was also an advisor to U.S. senators, Illinois governors, and Chicago mayors.