Chicago park and boulevard system

Chicago Boulevard System Historic District
A Chicago Boulevards information sign in Palmer Square park -- such markers with local information are found throughout the 26 miles of the system.
LocationChicago, Illinois
Area26 linear miles
Built1869-1942
ArchitectDaniel Burnham, William Le Baron Jenney Jens Jensen, Frederick Law Olmsted, Calvert Vaux
NRHP reference No.12000040
Added to NRHP2018

The historic Chicago park and boulevard system is a ring of parks connected by wide, planted-median boulevards that winds through the north, west, and south sides of the City of Chicago. Neighborhoods along this historic stretch include Logan Square, Humboldt Park, Garfield Park, Lawndale, Little Village, McKinley Park, Brighton Park, Gage Park, Englewood, Back of the Yards, and Bronzeville.[1] It reaches as far west as Garfield Park and turns south east to Douglass Park. In the south, it reaches Washington Park and Jackson Park, including the Midway Plaisance, used for the 1893 World's Fair.[2][3]

Constructed from the 1870s through 1942, in 2018 approximately 26 miles of the system was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nominated to the register as both nationally and locally significant, its national significance includes being, "the first comprehensive system of greenways for a major city in the United States."[4]: 75 

  1. ^ "Biking the Boulevards with Geoffrey Baer" Archived 2016-03-22 at the Wayback Machine, WTTW. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  2. ^ Midway Plaisance "Biking the Boulevards with Geoffrey Baer", WTTWRetrieved May 18, 2016.
  3. ^ "Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District" map, City of Chicago. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference NR2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).