Park History
The park was created in 1915 by the Ridge Avenue Park District (RAPD) for a purchase price of $3,000 per acre. The Ridge Avenue Park District was the first of 19 neighborhood commissions established in 1896 to serve areas recently annexed by the City of Chicago.
The park was conceived as the second and largest of four passive parks. The three others were Morse (now Matanky), Chippewa, and Pottawattomie. The park's days as a passive park have long since passed decades ago with the inclusion of four tennis courts, a playground, a spray pool, and a sand volleyball court. The park landscape architect was Richard Gloede of Evanston, Illinois, the creator of many North Shore estate landscapes. Two stone columns (still in place) on Lunt Avenue marked the entry to a large, oval perennial garden designed by Mr. Gloede with many shrubs and meandering paths. The park was unique in that it had no straight lines crisscrossing it like most of the other city parks. The park's eastern and northern lawns flow seamlessly into the front yards of co-op apartment buildings abutting the park. The original plan also included the spray pool, still an important feature of the park. |
Oval perennial garden by Richard F. Gloede
Lunt Ave entrance to the park
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Lagoon
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The park's lagoon, designed by Richard Gloede, is a 1.04 acre multi-habitat natural area that features prairie plants at its north end; the west end of the park is the former site of a small prairie planting. The lagoon itself contains wetland vegetation, while grassland plants dominate the island in the middle of the lagoon.
In 2001, the lagoon and the prairie areas underwent a restoration, while the island saw the planting of Bur oaks. Periodic controlled burns are used to maintain plants on the island and in the prairie area. |
Zoo
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In the mid-1920's, the RAPD opened a small zoo in Indian Boundary Park at 2555 W. Estes Avenue with the donation of a black bear given by the district president, Frank Kellogg. Although many parks had their own zoos at that time, the animals were eventually transferred to Lincoln Park Zoo.
In the early 1980's, the community successfully lobbied to prevent the zoo from closing. The Chicago Park District spent $300,000 on repairs and new habitats for the animals. Work was completed in 1984. In 2013, the zoo at Indian Boundary Park finally closed. The few remaining animals -- a goat and some chickens -- were moved to the Lincoln Park Zoo. |
Playground
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The Robert Leathers-designed playground was built by the community in 1989. Funds were raised over a three-year period and 1,500 volunteers constructed the playground in five days.
Indian Boundary Park is named for the northern borderline of the twenty mile corridor of land ceded to the US at the Treaty of St. Louis (1816). The treaty was signed by the US and the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi; also known as the Three Fires Confederacy. |
Fieldhouse
Front view of the fieldhouse
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The fieldhouse, a Tudor revival arts and crafts structure, was designed by Clarence Hatzfeld who was responsible for many of the Chicago Park District’s distinctive public buildings including the nearby Green Briar and Chippewa parks.
Built in 1929, the structure serves as one of the twelve cultural centers of the Chicago Park District offering classes for all ages in theater, dance, visual arts, and music, as well as performances presented to the public. The fieldhouse was designated a Chicago Landmark on May 11, 2005. |
The interior design motifs acknowledge the Native Americans who lived here before moving west. The motifs include an Indian chief keystone carved in relief over the entryway, chandeliers in the auditorium feature parchment as drums with bows and arrows and Indian head carvings on the walls.
Auditorium
The centerpiece of the fieldhouse is the multi-use auditorium with the original 1929 lighting fixtures and maple dance floor. This room is used as a theater rehearsal and performance space, dance studio, lecture hall and music performance venue. Some of our music classes are conducted in the auditorium on the newly restored 1929 Mason & Hamlin grand piano.
The basement is another multi-use space but is primarily the province of the theater program. It multi-tasks as a large rehearsal space, black box theater, and gathering space for teen programs.
The ground floor board room and solarium are where some of our visual arts classes take place because of their excellent natural light. smaller community meetings take place here. the room is equipped with a piano for some of our music programs as well. (we also use the ground floor front office, also equipped with a piano, for music instruction in a more private setting.)
The second floor has been devoted to our rapidly expanding stained glass and ceramics program complete with kilns for ceramics and glass fusing. The studio is set up with student work stations, each with easy access to storage and equipment.
The basement is another multi-use space but is primarily the province of the theater program. It multi-tasks as a large rehearsal space, black box theater, and gathering space for teen programs.
The ground floor board room and solarium are where some of our visual arts classes take place because of their excellent natural light. smaller community meetings take place here. the room is equipped with a piano for some of our music programs as well. (we also use the ground floor front office, also equipped with a piano, for music instruction in a more private setting.)
The second floor has been devoted to our rapidly expanding stained glass and ceramics program complete with kilns for ceramics and glass fusing. The studio is set up with student work stations, each with easy access to storage and equipment.