Calumet Park
Also known as: Park No. 11
Why it's listed
Calumet Park is a 199-acre public park on Chicago's far Southeast Side, running along Lake Michigan from East 95th Street to the Illinois-Indiana line. Planned in 1903 as Park No. 11 in a system of 14 parks, it was delayed while the South Park Commissioners built out a much larger site with slag and other landfill during the 1920s and 1930s. The park's in-house 1921 plan favored a naturalistic landscape of winding drives, tree-edged play fields and a bathing beach. Its most formal element is the classically styled field house of exposed aggregate concrete, with a central pavilion and two gymnasium wings. Sculptor Frederick C. Hibbard made two bas-relief panels of playing children for the facade, and murals from the late 1920s, two by Tom Lea, decorate the auditorium. Depression-era work added a brick comfort station and a maintenance yard. The park counts nine contributing and seven noncontributing resources and keeps strong integrity as a large green space on the south lakefront.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the park as a largely intact example of South Park Commission planning, with a naturalistic landscape, athletic fields, a beach, and a classically designed field house. The field house carries bas-relief panels by sculptor Frederick C. Hibbard and murals including work by Tom Lea. The park retains strong integrity and still serves the Southeast Chicago communities as recreational space.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 03000788, listed August 21, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 9801 South Avenue G, Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | Cook County |
| Listed | August 21, 2003 |
| Reference number | 03000788 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | South Park Commission architects (field house); Frederick C. Hibbard (sculptor of bas-relief panels); Olmsted Brothers prepared early plans |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts Classicism |
| Areas of significance | Entertainment/Recreation, Social History, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a public park with athletic fields, beach, field house, gymnastics center and fitness center; the Coast Guard building is altered and noncontributing. |
| Acreage | 199 |
| Coordinates | 41.71616, -87.52697 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 03000788.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q2934413
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.