Chicago Park District directory

One of America's best-kept secrets is Chicago's historic park system. Even Chicagoans who routinely enjoy its diverse open spaces- from the magnificent lakeshore parks to intimate neighborhood settings- may be surprised about their parkland legacy. We invite you to learn more about the history of Chicago parks, which are second to none in America and abroad.

By 1934, all of Chicago's 22 park districts were terribly hindered by the Great Depression. To reduce duplication of services, streamline operations, and gain access to funding through President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, voters approved the Park Consolidation Act of 1934, which established the Chicago Park District. The Chicago Park District Seal was created in 1934, almost 100 years after the first park was dedicated. Two instructors from the School of the Art Institute, Park Phipps and Lloyd Cowan, won a contest to design the official seal for the newly-created Chicago Park District, which combined 22 different park districts into one. The designers received a $150 prize for their "Garden in the City" seal.

Since its formation more than seventy years ago, the Chicago Park District has continued its tradition of innovative programs and ideas, and beautifully designed landscapes and facilities. In the late 1940s, a Ten Year Plan led to dozens of new parks including a progressive school-park concept. In 1959, the system expanded again, when the City of Chicago transferred more than 250 parks, playlots, natatoriums, and beaches to the Chicago Park District. Now the steward of 8,000+ acres of open space, totaling more than 570 parks, 31 beaches, 50 nature areas, and 2 world-class conservatories, and host of thousands of special events, cultural, nature, sports and recreational programs, the Chicago Park District remains the nation's leading provider of green space and recreation.