"Chains of Verdure": Chicago's Connected Park System

      Chicago draws millions of tourists every year, sights within the loop such as Navy Pier and the Magnificent Mile are inundated with cameras and khakis as out-of-towners flood the windy city during the summer. As impressive as these attractions are, just four miles to the west lies some of the country's most impressive accomplishments in civic park planning. Hundreds of acres of trees, lakes, and pathways lie just beyond the shadows of the city skyline, and these parks stand as a testament to past planning practices that yielded benefits citizens of Chicago still enjoy today.
 

Plan for Douglas Park, 1871. Pulled from
"Midwestern Landscape Architecture", pg. 61,
William H. Tishler, University of Illinois Press.

      As Chicago continued to grow, demand for parks increased as they were a means of escaping the heavily-industrialized, polluted environment of the mid-1800's American city. In 1869, the state legislature passed a bill that facilitated the creation of large city parks on what was then the outskirts of town. Not ones to skimp, the city commissioners sought the work of Frederick Olmstead, Calvert Vaux, and William Jenney.

      Olmstead and Vaux brought a planning pedigree of excellence with them, designing New York's Central Park in 1858 established their well-deserved spot on landscape architecture's Mount Rushmore for the two. William Jenney studied in Paris under Jean-Charles Alphand, the engineer who was famous for renovating the French city in the 1850's. These designers brought their experiences with them to the grasslands of Chicago, where they would create what is today one of the most impressive park systems in the nation.
       
      Jenney was commissioned to design the three western parks, a task that proved to be challenging. Chicago's topography was flat and often treeless, and the land Douglas, Garfield, and Humboldt Parks sat on had drainage issues. The solution was to create lakes, and this opened opportunities for water sports and other features focused around the water. Jenney capitalized on the new waterfront, designing music stands and picnic areas that invited people to spend the day besides the new lakes.

Plan for Chicago Park System, showing "Chains of Verdure"
connecting parks. Initially the pathways would connect
the southern parks (Washington and Jackson) to the western parks
(Douglas, Garfield, and Humboldt), then Lincoln Park to the north.

      Perhaps the most intriguing aspect to Jenney's design was the implementation of what he coined "chains of verdure", green boulevards that connected the parks. These thoroughfares allowed park-goers the ability of traveling between parks without interacting with the harsh city that surrounded them. These passageways were supposed to link the western parks with Lincoln Park to the north and Jackson and Washington Park in the south, but were never fully realized.

      The fire of 1871 stifled many grandiose plans the designers had however, as many of the funds had to be diverted to rebuilding the city. Jenney proposed a Fire Memorial in Garfield Park at the end of Washington Street, which was the major east-west roadway at the time. Unfortunately, the monument was never created, along with many other proposed projects that were to fill the parks.

Plan for Garfield Park, 1871. Pulled from
"Midwestern Landscape Architecture", pg. 64,
William H. Tishler, University of Illinois Press.

      The parks of Chicago and the history behind them are impressive and further illustrate how the presence of world-class parks enhance the lives of those around them. Just as people have enjoyed these spaces for over a hundred years, citizens today spend many outdoor hours at these massive spots of nature within the city. The foresight the planners had to connect the parks shows the brilliance of their plan, as landscape architects and planners today strive to create linear urban green spaces. While there are numerous attractions that are flashier and perhaps more visually stimulating in Chicago, these parks can be regarded as the unsung heroes of the city, islands of elm and oak in the grey seas of a modern urban city. 


Written using information and images from "Midwestern Landscape Architecture", edited by William H. Tishler. Library of American Landscape History, University of Illinois Press. 16 June, 2014. lalh.org/midwestern-landscape-architecture/.

Images courtesy of Chicago Park District Special Collections, Chicago, Illinois.