South Chicago People's Park | garden

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South Chicago People’s Park is exactly what its name implies: a park for all people to enjoy, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity. The volunteers who created the park wanted it to be open and welcoming to everyone who wished to venture inside, and recognize the fact that a diverse group spearheaded the effort to create beauty on what had once been a place filled with bad memories. In 1970 a semi-trailer accident killed three pedestrians on the site, and area residents wanted to reclaim the land by cleaning out the debris and underbrush and, in the process, heal themselves and each other from the tragedy. More than two years and 3,000 volunteer hours later, the South Chicago Peoples Park was established.

Today the space is filled with items for everyone to enjoy: more than 175 shrubs, plants and trees, a lighted performance stage and patio, giant play turtles, and a mosaic tile mural created by local youth. One of the park’s most dramatic and eye-catching features, a wrought-iron fence and archway tells the story of the corner’s transformation and South Chicago’s history, and helps keep the grounds safe from vandals.

neighbor-space.org/2011/05/20/south-chicago-peoples-par...