Simons Park

Simons Park
Type	Municipal
Location	Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Coordinates	41°54′41″N 87°42′55″W / 41.91139°N 87.71528°W / 41.91139; -87.71528Coordinates: 41°54′41″N 87°42′55″W / 41.91139°N 87.71528°W / 41.91139; -87.71528
Created	1920
Operated by	Chicago Park District
Status	Open all year

Simons Park is a municipal park located at 1640 N. Drake Avenue in the Humboldt Park community of West Side, Chicago, Illinois.

It is administered by the Chicago Park District, and contains full facilities for activities including baseball, boxing, and outdoor basketball. It also contains a full gymnasium, meeting rooms, a children's playground and a spraypool (operated during the summer months).

History

The property currently occupied by Simons Park was originally farmland, owned and planted by early settlers Edward and Laura Sprague Simons.^[1] The original land was bordered by Armitage Avenue, North Avenue, Central Park Avenue and Kedzie Avenue.

In 1916, the Fullerton Avenue Business Men's Association proposed creating a public park to serve the neighborhood, however the plan was put on hold until after World War I was over. The Northwest Park District (consolidated into the greater Chicago Park District in 1934), made a purchase of land in 1920 to establish the park, and within 8 years, a new fieldhouse had been constructed to finish the park. The fieldhouse was designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager.^[1] It was remodeled in 1990 and renovated in the early 2000s.^[2]

Simon City Royals

A 1950s Chicago greaser gang called Simon City originally took their name from the park, as it was the most prominent feature in their territory at the time. After merging with another gang, this gang would eventually become the infamous Simon City Royals street gang. As the neighborhood began to change, the Simon City Royals eventually left the area, leaving their territory behind.

References

1 2 "Simons Park". Chicago Park District. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
↑ Kevin Lynch; Diana Strzalka (March 6, 2001). "PARK DISTRICT HAS $10 MILLION FIX FOR FIELD HOUSES RENOVATIONS PLANNED FOR 48 FACILITIES, MOST ON SOUTH, WEST SIDES.". Chicago Tribune.

Parks in Chicago

Abbott Park Ada Park Adams Park Jane Addams Park Almond Park Altgeld Park Amundsen Park Arcade Park Archer Park Armour Square Park Armstrong Park Arnita Young Boswell Park Arrigo Park Auburn Park Augusta Park Austin Park Avalon Park Avondale Park Bauler Park Bessemer Park Bell Park Berger Park Blackhawk Park Boyce Park Bosley Park Burnham Park Calumet Park Chopin Park Columbus Park Donovan Park Douglas Park DuSable Park Dunbar Park Dvorak Park Eckhart Park Ellis Park Fernwood Park Foster Park Fuller Park Gage Park Garfield Park Gompers Park Grant Park Hamilton Park Harrison Park Hayes Park Holstein Park Hoyne Park Humboldt Park Independence Park Indian Boundary Park Jackson Park Jefferson Park Jesse Owens Park Kelvyn Park Kenwood Community Park Kosciuszko Park Legion Park Lincoln Park Loyola Park Maggie Daley Park Marquette Park McGuane Park McKinley Park Midway Plaisance Millennium Park Mount Greenwood Park Mozart Park Nichols Park Northerly Island Park Ogden Park Olson Park and Waterfall Oscar O. D'Angelo Park Oz Park Palmer Park Peoples Park Ping Tom Memorial Park Piotrowski Park Portage Park Promontory Point Pulaski Park Revere Park River Park Rogers Park Rowan Park Riis Park Russell Square Park Shedd Park Sherman Park Skinner Park Smith Park South Shore Nature Reserve Stanton-Schiller Park Strohacker Park Union Park Vittum Park Warren Park Dinah Washington Park Harold Washington Park Washington Park Washington Square Park Welles Park Wicker Park Wildwood Park Wilson Park Winnemac Park

Beaches in Chicago

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