{"nrhp_refnum":"85000772","name":"Wild Flower and Bird Sanctuary in Mahoney Park","other_names":["Mahoney Park"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Sheridan Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kenilworth","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":42.08908193950006,"lon":-87.70330229104742,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-04-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 3.12-acre village-owned park on Lake Michigan at the southeastern edge of Kenilworth, Illinois, designed by landscape architect Jens Jensen in 1933 and developed as a wild flower and bird sanctuary.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the park is a surviving example of Jens Jensen's 'prairie profile' style of landscape design. It is described as the only surviving documented small park by Jensen in restorable condition in Cook County's northern suburbs. It was designed during the period when he was creating his most sensitive and masterful work, and it keeps his signature council rings and native plantings.","narrative":"Mahoney Park is a 3.12-acre village park on Lake Michigan at the southeastern edge of Kenilworth, Illinois. Jens Jensen designed it in 1933 in his Prairie School style of landscape design. A major road divides it into east and west halves. Its layout combines heavily planted boundary borders, gently curving footpaths, vegetative islands, open meadows, seven limestone council rings and two bird baths. The land came from the Mahoney family homestead, willed to the village in 1931 on condition that it become a park. Local garden clubs and civic groups organized to keep it, asked Jensen for plans, and used a Civil Works Administration allocation to pay for the work. The park is considered significant as a rare surviving small Jensen design in the northern Cook County suburbs. The west side remains largely intact. The east side has been affected by Dutch elm disease, invasive plants and bluff erosion, though it is described as restorable.","period_of_significance":"1933 (December 1933); 1900- period box checked","architect_builder":"Jens Jensen","architectural_style":"Prairie School style of landscape design","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in good condition on the west side and fair but restorable on the east side; the park is public, occupied, and used as a park, with restoration work in progress.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.658493-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/8926/28892631/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/85000772.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000772/07b40eefa4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000772/07b40eefa4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Thshriver","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wildflower_and_Bird_Sanctuary_in_Mahoney_Park_5.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Thshriver</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wildflower_and_Bird_Sanctuary_in_Mahoney_Park_5.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892631","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahoney_Park","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q97574202"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/wild-flower-and-bird-sanctuary-in-mahoney-park-85000772/"}