My Return to Chicago's Humboldt Park
A few weeks ago we made a visit to the neighborhood I grew up in. The prominent
physical feature of the area is Humboldt Park.
Humboldt is one of three west side parks connected by a system of boulevards, which was
laid out by city planners in 1869.
The park was named for Baron Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt, a German
scientist, explorer, and the founder of modern geography.
The oldest structure in the park today is the Receptory and Stables. It was built in 1896
and drew its inspiration from old, German-style country house architecture. If you look into the far upper right hand corner of the image, you will see a horse head and wagon wheel sitting on the peak of the roof.
The Field House was built in 1928 next to the swimming lagoon. My father used to spend
a lot of time here when he was a kid. The grass has grown up along the far side of the lagoon adjacent to the building. When I was a youngster, you could still get to the water by going through the archways at the bottom level.
It was nice to see people using the park the way my family did for three generations. In
the late 1970s, and into the 80s, Humboldt fell on hard times. The park was lorded over by gangs and drugs, not the kind of place you'd want to visit with the children.
I was pleasantly surprised to see young families enjoying a Sunday afternoon in the park.
When my father was a young boy, he used to sleep in the park with his friends on hot summer nights. When I was a youngster, the family came here every year for the Polish Day Parade, until it left the neighborhood in the early 80s.
My first visit to the Park occurred when I was only a few weeks old. My Father took the
photo-op of my Mother and me under the statue of General Tadeusz Kosciuszko. Humboldt Park and I have a long history.
Posted by designslinger at 9/8/2009 2:29 AM 
Categories: Gardens, History
Tags: Alexander von Humboldt Chicago Boulevard System Chicago Parks
Categories: Gardens, History
Tags: Alexander von Humboldt Chicago Boulevard System Chicago Parks
What a lovely picture of you and your mother!
Who would have known that saving these old pictures would come so handy so many years later!