Armour Square Park - Chicago, IL - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

In 1906, the year after Armour Square opened to the public, President Theodore Roosevelt described the square and nine other related properties as "the most notable civic achievement in any American city." The South Park Commission created the ten new innovative parks to improve the difficult living conditions in Chicago's congested tenement districts.

Nationally renowned landscape architects the Olmsted Brothers and architects Daniel H. Burnham and Co. designed the entire system. The first ten included five squares smaller than ten acres in size, and five parks larger than ten acres.

In addition to Armour Square, these were Mark White, Russell, Davis, and Cornell Squares, and Ogden, Sherman, Palmer, Bessemer, and Hamilton Parks. These properties soon influenced the development of other parks throughout the nation.

The field house concept of Armour Square Park was an important new development in American 20th century park design. It was intended to provide facilities for physical recreation rather than the passive recreational contact with 'Nature' provided in the 19th century naturalistic park.

It was envisioned as a place where youths from less affluent homes would learn to become good American citizens through playing team sports that emphasised cooperation. In this way it was hoped that ethnic differences would be erased.

These formal parks were zoned into areas for small children, boys and young men, girls, and young women, and buildings that provided swimming pools and athletic facilities. No attempt was made to evoke 'Nature' in any of these areas.

The current layout of Armour Square Park is very similar to the original design created over a century ago.

Street address: 3309 S. Shields Ave Chicago, IL USA County / Borough / Parish: Cook Year listed: 2003 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949, 1950-1974 Historic function: Landscape, Other, Recreation And Culture Current function: Landscape, Other, Recreation And Culture Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Privately owned?: Not Listed Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/06/2020 libbykc visited it 01/13/2018 adgorn visited it

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