At the time, Chicago's existing parks were far away from the filthy, noisy, overcrowded tenement neighborhoods in the center of the city. Superintendent J. Frank Foster envisioned a new type of park that would provide social services as well as breathing spaces in these areas.
The effort was so successful that the following year the South Park Commission began creating a whole system of new neighborhood parks for the south side. Over 10, attended the park's dedication on June 13, , and it received such intensive use that in , the parks commission acquired adjacent property, doubling McKinley Park's acreage.
Its current facilities include a field house, swimming pool, gymnasiums, meeting rooms, ball fields, ice rink, tennis courts, biking and walking trails, and a lagoon. McKinley Park's neighborhood plan was based on years of outreach and engagement, and resulted in recommendations to achieve six identified community goals: preserve neighborhood diversity , promote equitable transit-oriented development , revitalize commercial corridors , modernize the Central Manufacturing District , enhance and expand parks and recreational opportunities , and create a resilient community.
Hispanic residents comprise the majority of the current population of the McKinley Park neighborhood, joined by about an evenly split number of white and Chinese. The neighborhood includes a mix of commercial and residential areas, with housing stock consisting mostly of single family homes and two-flats. McKinley Park's many restaurants and shopping options tend to be clustered along Archer Avenue, 35th Street and on Ashland, and include Mariano's and Jewel grocery stores, a Target department store, an Ace Hardware, a Walgreens drugstore, and many independent and franchise outlets serving both retail and business clientele.
Numerous manufacturing, production and industrial companies maintain sites east of Ashland. Neighborhood institutions include grammar and middle schools, a branch of the Chicago Public Library , the William McKinley American Legion Post , and several churches. The southeast corner of the neighborhood, dominated by businesses and industry, lies in the 11th Ward and is represented by Alderman Patrick Daley Thompson.
A cyclist pauses to take in the view at the McKinley Park Lagoon. The park was officially named in October , one month after the assassination of President William McKinley. The park was part of a nationwide effort to provide open spaces in American cities that had become dirty and overcrowded, since most parks were outside city centers.
Today, the park has a lagoon, swimming pool, athletic fields, an ice rink, tennis courts, and biking and walking trails. It is the area's showplace and led to the naming of the entire community. After years of declining populations, during the s the population grew from 13, to 15,, with Mexicans joining the ethnic mix.
Well-kept two- and four-flat buildings dominate the landscape, but new infill housing has begun to appear. Two stops on the CTA Orange Line rapid transit have boosted property values and spurred development of a new restaurant, shopping mall, and drugstore. The Chicago Fact Book Consortium, ed. Solzman, David M. All Rights Reserved. Portions are copyrighted by other institutions and individuals. Meeting Details: 2nd Monday of the month at p. William McKinley Memorial W.
McKinley Gymnasium W. Jospeh Donnersberger Memorial W. McKinley Ice Rink W. Chicago , IL United States : McKinley Natural Area W. McKinley Baseball Fields W. McKinley Park Pool W. McKinley Picnic Grove W. McKinley Clubroom W. McKinley Playground W. McKinley Fieldhouse W. McKinley Tennis Courts W.
McKinley Fishing Area W. McKinley Water Playground W. WGN 9: When public pianos come to Chicago parks, music fills the air. Previous page Previous. Online registration begins Tuesday, August In-person registration begins Saturday, August Online registration begins Tuesday, October In-person registration begins Saturday, October Online registration begins Tuesday, December In-person registration begins Saturday, December Online registration begins Tuesday, March In-person registration begins Saturday, March
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