Tuley (Murray) Park

In 1907, Senator Clark of the 13th District presented petitions to the South Park Commission requesting the creation of a park in Dauphin Park, now part of the Chatham neighborhood. Annexed to Chicago in 1889 as part of the Town of Lake and Village of Hyde Park, the neighborhood had much open land used for truck farming, trap shooting, and duck hunting, and some frame homes built by railroad workers. The South Park Commission was pleased with the recent success of ten revolutionary neighborhood parks which included year-round recreational facilities, educational programs, and social services. The Commissioners agreed to the request, and began efforts to create Tuley, along with Trumbull, Grand Crossing, and Mann Parks. While acquiring 20 acres of land between 1909 and 1911, the South Park Commission hired the Olmsted Brothers, landscape designers of the previous neighborhood parks, to lay out the four new parks. Development was slow, however, and Tuley Park's original plan was never executed. Although the commission fenced the park, constructed walks, and installed ball fields that were flooded in winter for ice skating, Tuley Park was left unfinished until the 1920s. At that time, the surrounding neighborhood became more populated, and tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a Spanish Revival-style fieldhouse were constructed in the park. The South Park Commission was consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Originally known as Burnside Park for the adjacent Burnside community area, Tuley Park was officially named in honor of Murray F. Tuley (1827-1905) in 1922. Tuley was a circuit court judge who was instrumental in framing the Chicago City Charter adopted after the Great Fire of 1871.