1301 West 52nd Street
Chicago, IL 60609
Phone: (312) 747-6672

Sherman Park opened in 1905 as part of the city’s plan to provide additional green space for the more than 2 million residents of Chicago. Following the success of the experimental McKinley Park, the South Park Commission began creating a new kind of park for residents of overcrowded immigrant and tenement neighborhoods. These new parks would not only create green space but also provide social services and host community programs.

Landscape architects John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. teamed up with World’s Fair architect Daniel H. Burnham to design an entirely new system of parks. Sherman Park was one of the largest parks, covering almost 60 acres. The low and wet site was transformed into an urban oasis with intricate bridges running over a waterway that surrounds an island of ball fields. Burnham’s classically-inspired architecture included one of the first field houses in the world.

Today, Sherman Park’s facilities include an auditorium, meeting rooms and assembly halls, baseball fields, outdoor basketball courts, playgrounds, swimming facilities, a gym, tennis courts, and paths for walking, jogging, and cycling. A population of geese can often be seen wandering the grounds during the warmer months.