4th Ward Parks

The 4th Ward is home to a diverse set of parks, each with its own unique features and offerings, and has the most lake front of all wards. Parks are managed by the Chicago Park District, a sister agency of the city. For more information on the park district as a whole, including using the parks for private events, click here.

Douglas Park

Grand Boulevard

Hyde Park

North Kenwood / Oakland

South Loop

DOUGLAS PARK

Burnham Park

Burnham Park totals 653.63 acres and sits on Chicago’s lakefront just south of Grant Park. The park was named for Chicago's famous architect and planner, Daniel H. Burnham, who envisioned a south lakefront park with a series of man-made islands, linear boating harbor, beaches, meadows, and playfields, as published in his seminal, The Plan of Chicago of 1909.

Today, Burnham Park features the naturalistic Promontory Point, designed by Alfred Caldwell and a popular skate park at 31st Street. The park is also home to beaches located at 12th Street, 31st Street, Oakwood Boulevard and 57th Street, bird sanctuaries and beautiful natural areas. The Margaret T. Burroughs Beach and Park is a newer park feature and stretches from 31st Street to 26th Street.

Park Supervisor: Monique Scott - (312) 742-5369 (permits only)

Advisory Council: Website | Email | (312) 428-8033

Dunbar Park

Dunbar Park is 21.80 acres and is located at 300 E. 31st Street. The park features four baseball diamonds, athletic fields, picnic groves, tennis courts, a running track, a batting cage, an interactive water feature and a reading garden. In summer 2016, the park's northern playground was renovated as part of the Chicago Plays! program.

Park Supervisor: Keith Jones - (312) 747-7107

Advisory Council: President - Kenneth Clark | Email

Lake Meadows Park

Located at 3117 S. Rhodes Avenue, Lake Meadows Park totals 7.97 acres. The park's amenities include stately shade trees, a playground, basketball courts and an athletic field for baseball, football or soccer. The playground was remodeled in 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! program.

Park Supervisor: Jamal Burton - (312) 747-6287

Advisory Council: President - Rena Henderson Mason | Email

Grand Boulevard

Washington Park

Located in the Washington Park/Woodlawn neighborhood, Washington Park totals 345.67 acres and features two gymnasiums, a photography lab, dance studio, racquetball court, fitness center, game room, and multi-purpose rooms. Green features of the park include a nature area, a Harvest Garden and an arboretum. Outside, the park offers a lagoon, aquatic center, three playgrounds, basketball/tennis courts, baseball, football, soccer, cricket, and softball fields. Many of these spaces are available for rental including the gymnasiums, fields, and multi-purpose rooms. Additionally, Washington Park features the renowned Fountain of Time sculpture by Lorado Taft.

Park-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, fitness, Teen Club, Junior Bears Football. On the cultural side, the park offers music & movement and dance. During the summer, youth can participate in the Chicago Park District’s popular six-week day camp.

In addition to programs, Washington Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family, such as Ashaki Black History Month Celebration and other holiday-themed events.

Park Supervisory: Janie Collins - (773) 256-1248

Advisory Council: President - Cecilia Butler | (773) 667-4160

Sumac Park

This small playground is 0.83 acres and it is located at 4201 S. Champlain Avenue. It is an active community park that features a renovated and accessible playground with benches for seating.

Park Supervisor: Renee Shepard-Owens - (312) 747-7138

Honeysuckle Park

Honeysuckle Park totals 0.25 acres and it is located at 4635 S. Champlain Avenue. This small playground features benches and swings. The playground was renovated in 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! program. It is an active community park.

Park Supervisor: Kisha Taylor - (312) 747-7138

Hyde Park

Elm Park

Located at 5215 S. Woodlawn Ave, Elm Playlot Park is a 0.51 acre recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families. This park contains a community garden and a gazebo. Park patrons that visit this park enjoy gardening activities, storytelling and other special events.

Park Supervisor: Ayanna Peters - (312) 747-2703

Advisory Council: President - Timika Hoffman-Zoller | Email

Nichols Park

Located at 1355 E. 53rd Street, Nichols Park totals 11.48 acres and features a gymnasium and a multi-purpose room. Green features of the park include a community flower garden, community vegetable gardens, and wildflower meadow. Outside, the park offers two playgrounds, a baseball diamond, walking path, and a sandbox. Many of these spaces are available for rental including the gymnasium and multi-purpose room.

Park-goers can participate in the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, preschool activities, bitty basketball, tiny tot dance, and low-impact aerobics. During the summer, youth can participate in the Park District’s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer as well, and include Sports Camp.

In addition to programs, Nichols Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the entire family including a Pumpkin Patch, Winterfest and May Fest.

Park Supervisor: Ayanna Peters - (312) 747-2703

Advisory Council: President - Stephanie Franklin - (773) 955-3622

Sycamore Park

Located at 1355 E. 53rd Street, Sycamore Park is a recreational destination enjoyed by park patrons and their families. This park is 0.65 acres and it contains a playground with swings, slides, climbing equipment, and a sandbox.

Park Supervisor: Ayanna Peters - (312) 747-2703

Kenwood Park

Located at 1330 E. 50th Street, Kenwood Park totals 7.01 acres and features a small fieldhouse. The park operates programs inside the adjacent Beulah Shoesmith Elementary School.

Outside, the park offers tennis courts, baseball fields, an athletic field for soccer or football, a playground and an interactive water spray feature. In partnership with Common Threads nutrition program, the park has a community garden where children learn about the commonalities of various cultures through food.

Park-goers can play seasonal sports and table games at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer, youth attend the Park District’s popular six-week day camp.

In addition to programs, Kenwood Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Movies in the Park and Halloween Pumpkin Patches.

Park Supervisor: Kisha Taylor - (312) 747-7138

Advisory Council: President - Sundeep Mullangi - (312) 593-3567 | Email

Houston Park

This small playground is located at 5001 S. Cottage Grove Avenue. The 4.01 acre park features a playground, basketball courts and mural honoring civil rights activist, Jessie ‘Ma’ Houston. It is an active community park. The playground at Houston Park was renovated in 2015 as part of the Chicago Plays! program.

While there is no structured programming taking place at this location, we invite you to check out our great programs offered at nearby Kenwood Park for recreation.

Park Supervisor: Kisha Taylor - (312) 747-7138

North Kenwood/Oakland

Ellis Park

Ellis Park totals 12.90 acres and features include tennis courts, athletic fields for football or soccer and a soft-surface playground.

In 2015, the Chicago Park District broke ground to build a new fieldhouse at Ellis Park. Opened in the summer of 2016, the Arts and Recreation Center at Ellis Park, located at 3520 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, is a $18 million dollar state-of-the-art facility providing 32,000 square feet of facility space that includes a five-lane competitive pool, a gymnasium, a fitness center, multi-purpose arts and community spaces, a rooftop terrace, locker rooms and administrative space.

The Arts and Recreation Center at Ellis Park also provides afterschool and summer youth programming, family activities, arts and cultural offerings, health and wellness programming, and community events for residents of all ages. The facility is a popular destination for community members to swim, workout or try out a new fitness program.

Park Supervisory: Monique Scott - (773) 285-7099

Advisory Council: President - Kandis Martin | Email

Mandrake Park

Located at 3858 S Cottage Grove Avenue, Mandrake Park totals 10.16 acres and features a playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball diamonds, a running track and an artificial turf multi-purpose athletic field.

Chicago Park District programs are now offered in the former Abraham Lincoln Center, which serves as the fieldhouse for Mandake Park. The fieldhouse offers meeting rooms, a large gymnasium, a performance auditorium, and a culinary center. It is located across the street from the track and playground on the corner of Pershing Road and Cottage Grove Avenue.

Patrons come to Mandrake Park to play basketball and seasonal sports at the facility. The park is a popular destination for athletic programs, including track and flag football. In the summer, youth attend the Park District's popular Summer Day Camp program, and after-school activities are offered throughout the year.

In addition to programming, Mandrake Park offers special events throughout the year including Gym Showcases, Movies in the Park screenings and other Night Out in the Parks special events.

Park Supervisor: Sidney Lewis - 312-747-9938

Advisory Council: President - Peitience Miller | Email

Williams-Davis Park

Previously referred to as Park No. 532, Williams-Davis Park is a vibrant new park located at 4101 S Lake Park Avenue. The park was created in the late 1990s, as part of the Chicago Housing Authority's Plan for Transformation.

The site was redeveloped into a mixed-income community known as Lake Park Crescent, which includes a 2.89-acre park. Landscape designers, Bauer Latoza Studio worked with the Chicago Park District to create an exciting public space with a playground and passive areas.

The gateway to the park features Milton Mizenburg Jr.’s first bronze sculpture, which he fittingly named, Restoration. The Chicago Park District officially acquired the park in 2006.

Park Supervisor: Sidney Lewis - 312-747-9938

Advisory Council: President - Vincent S. Williams | Email

Holly Park

This small playground is located at 4046 S Ellis Avenue. The park totals 0.45 acres and features a playground and spray pool that were renovated in 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! program.

Park Supervisor: Sidney Lewis - 312-747-9938

Kennicott Park

Located at 4434 S Lake Park Avenue, Kennicott Park totals 2.91 acres and features a field house that formerly served as the home of the Judd Elementary School. The field house offers a gymnasium, an art room, a fitness center, a kitchen, a dance studio and conference rooms. Outside, the park offers a small athletic field and playground that was renovated in summer 2014 as part of the Chicago Plays! program.

Many of these spaces are available for rental. Kennicott Park is the site for several community-based partnerships that provide programs for children and adults.

Park-goers come to Kennicott Park to play basketball and table games at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer, youth attend the Park District’s popular six-week day camp. Specialty camps are offered in the summer include cooking programs and a doll camp.

In addition to programs, Kennicott Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Movies in the Park at nearby Gwendolyn Brooks Park, Halloween activities and other Night Out in the Parks events.

Park Supervisor: Renee Shepard-Owens - (312) 747-7138

Harsh Park

This small park is located at 4458 S. Oakenwald Avenue. The park is 0.31 acres and it features a playground that was renovated in summer 2016 as part of the Chicago Plays! program.

Park Supervisor: Renee Shepard-Owens - (312) 747-7138

Gwendolyn Brooks Park

Formerly known as Hyacinth Park, Brooks Park is a small park totaling 2.56 acres and is located at 4542 S Greenwood Avenue. The park features a playground that was renovated in fall 2013 as part of the Chicago Plays! program, and a bust honoring the park's namesake, poet Gwendolyn Brooks. In 2018, pickleball courts were installed at the park.

The park is a popular spot for children and families who come to the park for the playground, Movies in the Park screenings and other Night Out in the Parks special events.

Park Supervisor: Renee Shepard-Owens - (312) 747-7138

Chamberlain Triangle Park

Chamberlain Triangle Park is located at 4227 S Greenwood Avenue. This 0.2 acre park features passive green space. It is an active community park.

Park Supervisor: Renee Shepard-Owens - (312) 747-7138

South Loop

Grant Park

Proudly referred to as "Chicago's Front Yard," Grant Park totals 312.98 acres and is a public park located in Chicago’s central business district in the Loop Community area. Grant Park’s most notable features include Millennium Park, Maggie Daley Park, Buckingham Fountain, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum Campus.

A city centerpiece, much like New York’s Central Park, Grant Park is home to some of Chicago's most iconic landmarks and attractions. The park includes Museum Campus, the site of world-class museums, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. Grant Park's centerpiece is the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain, built in 1927 to provide a monumental focal point while protecting the park's breathtaking lakefront views.

Grant Park is also home to baseball diamonds, tennis courts and breathtaking gardens. The park plays host to some the city's largest food and music festivals, including The Taste of Chicago — a large food and music festival held around the Independence Day holiday — and The Grant Park Music Festival. Grant Park is also the site of the start and finish lines for the Chicago Marathon and Lollapalooza, a popular outdoor music festival.

Grant Park has been the site of many large, historic civic events. In 1911, it hosted the major Chicago International Aviation Meet. In 1968, it was the scene of clashes between Chicago Police and demonstrators during the Democratic National Convention. In 1979, Pope John Paul II delivered an outdoor mass to a large crowd in the park, and in the 1990s, championship celebrations for the Chicago Bulls were staged here. The park was also the location for President Barack Obama's Election Day victory speech on the night of November 4, 2008.

Named for U.S. President and Civil War General, Ulysses S. Grant, Grant Park was developed as one of Chicago's first parks and expanded through land reclamation. The park was the focus of several disputes in the late 1800s and early 1900s over open space use. It is bordered on the north by Randolph Street, on the south by Roosevelt Road, on the west by Michigan Avenue and on the east by Lake Michigan.

Grant Park offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park is generally flat and is crossed by large boulevards and pedestrian bridges that are used to connect Millennium Park and Maggie Daley so that patrons may cross Columbus Drive with ease. There are also several parking garages underneath the park, near Michigan Avenue.