Indian Boundary Park

Opened 1922, Indian Boundary Park was laid out as the adjacent West Ridge neighborhood was growing into the 1920’s. It contains a massive playground and tennis courts, a turtle pond surrounded by native prairie plants, and a relic from old Chicago City Hall. Today, it is a popular neighborhood park, and hosts a variety of music and arts programming in its Cultural Center. The Tudor Revival style Cultural Center building was designed by Clarence Hatzfeld, who worked on numerous Chicago Park District buildings in the 1920’s. The building was meticulously restored to its original appearance after fire damage in 2012, even including a full restoration of the 1929 Mason & Hamlin grand piano that has graced the main hall since the building opened. The park is surrounded by two grand 1920’s apartment houses, the Park Castle, and Tudor Gables, whose courtyards flow seamlessly into the north end of the park. Visiting Indian Boundary Park and its surrounding buildings is a bit like traveling back in time to 1920’s Chicago. The park is named for the 1816 treaty in which the Potawotami, Ojibwe, and Odawa tribes relinquished their rights to a 20 mile strip of land, connecting Lake Michigan to the Illinois River, to the United States - the site of modern Chicago. The tribes were paid just $1,000 for their rights to the land. Today, the name of Indian Boundary Park is a reminder that modern Chicago sits on native Native American lands. Address: West Ridge, Chicago - United States #europetrip #themepark #awesomepic #oldarchitecture