Douglas Park

Douglas Park, the southernmost of the three great West Side parks, was named in honor of Chicago resident Stephen A. Douglas (1813-61), a United States Senator most remembered for his debates with Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election. , , Before any landscape improvements could be made to Douglas Park, tons of fill, including manure from the nearby Chicago Stockyards, had to be added to the marshy site. The northern section of the park was the first part to be completed; it was opened to the public in 1879. Although it was a simplified version of the ambitious plan laid out by designer William Le Baron Jenney (known for his innovations in skyscraper technology) in 1871, it still included a lake, an artesian well, large groves of tree and specially designed bridges and benches. , , The area south of Ogden Avenue remained unfinished through the 1880s. During the next decade, several improvements were made including an ornamental iron footbridge, a rustic bridge of granite boulders, and a Jenney-designed barn and stables building (1892). In 1896, in response to a petition drive by local gymnastics clubs, one of the city's first public outdoor gymnasiums and swimming pools was built. This facility, which no longer exists, helped inspire similar athletic programming in parks throughout Chicago and the nation. , , In 1905, Jens Jensen, who had begun his career at the West Park Commission as a street sweeper, was appointed its superintendent and chief landscape architect. He was to become one of the most important landscape architects in America. Remnants of some of his designs, which led to the development of the "Prairie style" of landscape architecture, can still be seen today in Douglas Park. These include a semi-circular entryway at the park's south end (Marshall Boulevard) and a formal garden at the corner of Ogden Avenue and Sacramento Drive. The garden includes a reinforced concrete shelter known as Garden Hall, a rectangular reflecting pool, an informal lily pond, flower beds, and unique benches. , , Other improvements that Jensen designed in 1907 no longer exist, however, such as the grand entrance to the park from Douglas Boulevard, which included a circular fountain. , , In 1927, a major bond issue led to the construction of the Douglas Park fieldhouse, which was designed by the Chicago firm of Michaelsen and Rognstad, famous for their high quality, picturesque buildings. More recently, the lagoon near the fieldhouse was dammed to provide an inland swimming beach.