607 W. 92nd St.
Chicago, IL 60620
Hours
Park Hours
Description
Located in the Auburn Gresham community, Wallace Playground is a great location for families to spend a portion of their day relaxing, enjoying nature and the outdoors. This 1.07-acre park contains a playground with swings, slides, and climbing apparatus.
History
Wallace Park was one of 42 playgrounds and playlots developed by the City in 1950 to meet the recreational needs of post-World War II Chicago. Having used Playground Bond funds to purchase property in the Washington Heights neighborhood, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation improved the site with playground equipment, a volleyball court, a gravel-surfaced softball field, and a small recreation building. In 1957, the City transferred Wallace Park, along with more than 200 other properties, to the Chicago Park District pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange of Functions Act. Having added a basketball court and a spray pool in the 1960s, the Park District substantially rehabilitated the site in 1991, constructing two new soft surface playgrounds for tots and older children.
Following its general practice, the bureau named the park for adjacent Wallace Avenue. The street honors Chicago real estate developer John S. Wallace who subdivided property near what is now the intersection of Wallace and 43rd Streets in the 1860s.