Close your eyes. No, please do not actually close your eyes for you will not be able to read. After figuratively closing your eyes, imagine blue skies with just a few perfectly shaped clouds drifting by. The nearby sounds of children’s laughter pass your ears. Dozens of dogs cross your path as they gallivant proudly behind their loving owners. A quick CRACK of a baseball connecting with a bat is heard followed by cheers from the crowd of proud parents. You are sitting at a bench in the center of it all soaking up the sun, with an ice cream cone in hand and a smile of contentment on your face.
Sound appealing? This is a very typical summer afternoon at Oz Park. Located in the northeast neighborhood of Lincoln Park, Oz Park is probably one of the most unique parks in the city of Chicago. While Lincoln Park is probably one of the most, if not the most affluent neighborhoods in Chicago, it did not start out this way. In fact, Oz Park was originally designed in the 1960s as an urban renewal project in an effort to improve the area and uplift the community. Named in honor of Lyman Frank Baum, the author of the Wonderful World of Oz, Baum actually settled in Chicago just a few miles away from the park’s Playlot. There is also a wonderful garden on site, cleverly named “The Emerald Garden.”
Though there’s more than just the park aspect of Oz Park. Lincoln Park, the neighborhood in which it’s located, is one of the most dynamic in the whole city. To the West of the park lies Halsted Street, filled with blocks of great shopping and even better restaurants. To the east is Lincoln Avenue, one of the busiest bar streets in Chicago. Lincoln Avenue is also speckled with cheap fast-food joints for late-night, drunken college students and under-agers.
Before writing this, I asked many of my Chicago friends what their favorite park in the city is. The answer, believe it or not, was unanimous. While there are countless great parks in the city, each friend’s initial response was Oz Park. Maybe it’s the location, history or the giant 8-foot statues the park is so well known for. Oz Park embodies to a certain degree everything Chicago represents: historic, exciting yet relaxing, and pleasant on temperate days. But you’ll just have to see for yourself!
Featured photo courtesy of Chicago Park District
