{"nrhp_refnum":"04000871","name":"Washington Park","other_names":["Western Division of South Park","park No. 21"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"5531 S. King Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.79597493750006,"lon":-87.61127258235723,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-08-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Entertainment/Recreation","Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 367-acre public park district on Chicago's South Side, between 51st and 60th Streets, laid out from 1871 as the Western Division of South Park to a plan by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that Washington Park is the most intact surviving expression of Olmsted's 1871 plan for South Park, since Jackson Park was redesigned for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the Midway Plaisance was never fully built. It retains its circulation system, lagoon, meadow and mall, along with historic buildings, structures and sculpture such as Lorado Taft's Fountain of Time.","narrative":"Washington Park is a 367-acre public park on Chicago's South Side, bounded by 51st Street, 60th Street, Cottage Grove Avenue and King Drive. It began in 1871 as the Western Division of South Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, and was named in 1881. Its figure-eight circuit drives, the Mere lagoon, the Pool, the tree-lined Mall, the Seven Hills landscape and the South Open Green still follow the original design closely. Historic structures include the 1880 Stables/Roundhouse by Burnham & Root, the oldest building in the park, a 1904 brick comfort station, two bridges to Bynum Island and Lorado Taft's 1922 Fountain of Time. The park is recognized because Jackson Park was reshaped for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the Midway Plaisance was never completed as planned, leaving Washington Park as the best-preserved example of Olmsted's South Park concept. It sits at the south end of the Bronzeville community.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux (landscape plan); Burnham & Root (Stables/Roundhouse); South Park Commission in-house architects; Lorado Taft (Fountain of Time)","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts Classicism; Art Deco","criteria":[],"status_note":"Remains a public park and recreation area; the Mere and surrounding landscape were improved in 2003, and conservation of the Fountain of Time's reflecting basin was anticipated for 2004-2005.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.350175-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/42/8910/28891042/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/04000871.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000871/abfa56ef1e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000871/abfa56ef1e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"Night Ranger","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wasparkpond2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Night Ranger</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wasparkpond2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891042","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Park_(Chicago_park)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7972096"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/washington-park-04000871/"}