Independence Park

Independence Park is a 7.86-acre public park on Chicago's northwest side, created by the Irving Park District after residents began holding Fourth of July celebrations on the site in 1903. Its centerpiece is a red brick field house completed in 1914 by architects Hatzfeld and Knox. The Classical Revival building has arched openings, a cruciform plan and Spanish ceramic tile roofs, along with Prairie style touches such as patterned brickwork and broad eaves. It originally held a swimming pool, gymnasium, auditorium and a branch library. In 1929 the district added land to the east, including a 1919 bungalow by Benedict Bruns that became a women's reception building. The landscape keeps its walkways, mature trees, a raised semicircular area with a flagpole, and concrete letters spelling the park's name, remnants of a sunken garden that existed from the late 1920s to 1949. Athletic fields, tennis courts and playgrounds continue to serve the neighborhood. Its buildings and landscape illustrate early twentieth-century park design and community recreation.