Many of Chicagoland’s most cherished public spaces are tucked away in the hearts of neighborhoods, known only to a lucky few. This summer, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) and Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) want to shine a spotlight on these special places across Chicagoland through the “What Makes Your Place Great? Your Secret Corner of Chicagoland” contest.
From June 2 through July 26, 2010, entrants can e-mail original photos or videos showcasing their favorite undiscovered public places across Chicagoland, along with a 250-word-or-less description, to placemakingchicago@metroplanning.org. The four chosen winners will win a prize package that includes passes to the Brookfield Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago History Museum, or CAF – and the chance to be featured in a CAF tour this fall.
To get your creative juices flowing, MPC staff will be profiling their favorite spaces throughout the summer. To enter your own favorite space, read the complete contest guidelines at placemakingchicago.com.
I consider myself lucky to live across the street from Washington Park, one of the Chicago Park District's jewels. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the late 1800s, the park received a lot of recent attention as the proposed site of the Olympic Stadium during Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. At over 300 acres, it would be stretch to call the park "hidden." In fact, the park's size can be a bit daunting. However, one "hidden treasure" that engages me and my family personally and brings the park alive during the summers is the regular visits by African American horse riders.
Olmsted designed Washington Park and its sister parks, the Midway Plaisance and Jackson Park, to accommodate equestrians. My mother-in-law, who grew up in the neighborhood, has fond memories of cowboys and girls riding the trails in the 1950s. I'm happy to say that this tradition is now seeing a resurgence on the South Side largely due to the tireless efforts of a few riders to build awareness and advocate to the City of Chicago to allow for this use again in the parks. Largely led by the Broken Arrow Horseback Riding Club, horseback riding lovers have a place to go in the city and riders from all over the region and Midwest come to our South Side parks to participate.
My favorite thing about their visits is the simple cultural exchange that occurs both actively and passively, the brief interactions between urban youth and rural riders and the personification of a long tradition of Black cowboys that is most celebrated in the legendary Buffalo Soldiers. Today, almost every weekend I can take my son out to see the beautiful horses and their noble riders jaunting through the park. Thanks to them, my 17-month-old has added "horse" to his vocabulary and gets to see men and women of color that he can identify with working with these majestic animals.
So, while Washington Park itself is an amazing place, like with any other public spaces, it is the people, activities, and unique interactions that make it great. Seeing Palominos, Morgans, and Pintos cantering along 51st Street and through the park never ceases to surprise me.