Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District

The historic Chicago park and boulevard system is a ring of parks connected by wide, planted-median boulevards that winds through the south, west, and north sides of the City of Chicago. The neighborhoods along this historic stretch include, Logan Square, Humboldt Park, Englewood, Back of the Yards, Lawndale, and Bronzeville. It reaches as far west as Garfield Park and turns south east to Douglas Park. In the south, it reaches Washington Park and Jackson Park, including the Midway Plaisance, used for the 1893 World's Fair.

Incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago and its developers, confronted questions concerning the provision urban parks and their relation to the city fabric. In 1849, John S. Wright, a real-estate investor, proposed an expansive system of parks connected by drives. The system was authorized by Illinois state legislation in 1869. The original plans foresaw a "ribbon of parks and pleasure drives encircling the city." The landscaped boulevards connecting the parks were themselves conceived as places of leisure activity, parks "spun out". While intended as a "unified park and boulevard system", it was to be developed by separate park commissions on the north, west and south sides of the city. A 2011 review describes its vision and realization:

This ambitious 26-mile system was created in response to the belief that it would not only help create healthful, accessible and livable neighborhoods, but would also spur residential real estate development in what was then the outskirts of the city. As anticipated, the park and boulevard system attracted real estate development and in the process created one of the city’s most recognizable and lasting urban features. The system is locally significant because, for the first time in Chicago, urban growth was thoughtfully planned and executed on a city-wide scale. The park and boulevard system not only provided a structure for orderly real estate development, it also provided an amenity that elevated the sophistication of the city by enriching both its visible character and its quality of life.

The South Park Commission's part of the system was designed by Olmsted, Vaux & Co. The firm's principals, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, designed park and boulevard systems for Boston (its Emerald Necklace), Buffalo, and other cities. This part includes the Midway Plaisance and other areas used in the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. The West Chicago Commission's section of the system was designed by William Le Baron Jenney. Extending from Logan Square, his 1871 plan linked Humboldt, Garfield and Douglas Parks.

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