Chicago Park system compared to peers

[Milwaukee City]

I gotta tell you I was a little surprised to learn that Chicago Park District only operates 6 Golf Courses in Chicago and being a huge golf fan I would think Chicago would have a lot more for a city it's size to only have 6 courses. I know the Chicago area as a whole has more GC's than you can shake a stick at but I think most municipalities have more.

Chicago Park District Golf - Chicago, Illinois - Managed by Billy Casper Golf - Play Golf

[Drover]

Originally Posted by LakeShoreSoxGo

Disagree, you would have to be blind not to notice the amount of park land in western cities like SF, Portland, SD, Seattle, Sac, etc... or eastern cities like NYC/Boston. Look at a view of Golden Gate Park (and The Presidio for that matter) from the air. These take up massive chunks of SF. Chicago is not bad, but it is not "a park in every neighborhood" type of town.

But that's exactly what it is. And that seems to be the major issue others have with it when comparing it to other cities that have huge expansive parks; with the possible exception of Lincoln Park we don't really have anything that compares. What we do have on the other hand is a bunch of comparably smaller (but still kinda big) parks scattered all over the city: Garfield Park, Douglas Park, Horner Park, Jackson Park, Humboldt Park, etc., in addition to numerous smaller parks, ball diamonds, playlots, and all that.

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

I gotta tell you I was a little surprised to learn that Chicago Park District only operates 6 Golf Courses in Chicago and being a huge golf fan I would think Chicago would have a lot more for a city it's size to only have 6 courses. I know the Chicago area as a whole has more GC's than you can shake a stick at but I think most municipalities have more.

Chicago Park District Golf - Chicago, Illinois - Managed by Billy Casper Golf - Play Golf

Golf courses aren't a particularly efficient use of space in the core of a city this dense.

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

But that's exactly what it is. And that seems to be the major issue others have with it when comparing it to other cities that have huge expansive parks; with the possible exception of Lincoln Park we don't really have anything that compares. What we do have on the other hand is a bunch of comparably smaller (but still kinda big) parks scattered all over the city: Garfield Park, Douglas Park, Horner Park, Jackson Park, Humboldt Park, etc., in addition to numerous smaller parks, ball diamonds, playlots, and all that.

I think another issue is the lack of variety in the parks. A lot of times it seems like you get a park like Brainerd. Just a plot of grass with a half way kept little league ball diamond.

[summer22]

Some of Chicago's most beautiful parks are in neighborhoods you wouldn't want to spend time.

The layout/design and look of the older (I think pre-WPA era) parks really appeals to me... the stone fieldhouses, the lagoons, the walking paths, the old gyms, the feeling of history that you can feel. Sherman Park, Cornell Square Park, Ridge Park, Jackson Park, Garfield Park, Gage Park, Armour Square Park, Marquette Park and others. I'm not as familiar with parks on the north side. But a lot of these I named are in areas that aren't really considered safe. I played ball in a few of these when I was growing up... good memories. It could be the memories are the reason I feel these parks are great, I'm not an objective observer. They were special to me and my friends. I'm also remembering that in the 1940's, one of my great-uncles was a tennis and swim instructor for the Park District and worked at Gage Park and Gage Park High School.

Sherman Park -
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=sherm...61840&t=m&z=17