DuSable Park on the horizon...our dreams are coming true
For years, we have been holding space for the work of the DuSable Park Coalition, which has included a broad diversity of member organizations that wish to see the vision for DuSable Park situated at the Chicago River and Lake Michigan come to fruition. The Coalition also holds a wreath laying ceremony every August to commemorate the passing of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable--see below.
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After decades of waiting for DuSable Park to come into actualization, the year 2020 brought progress for the activation of DuSable Park! In May 2020, the Chicago Plan Commission voted to approve Related Midwest's Spire Site at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive on the conditions that they will provide support for DuSable Park! Read more here.
Later in 2020, more great news came as funding was announced in the form of Open Space Impact Fees to the tune of $5.4 million to activate the park. Read more here and check out this video of Executive Director Juanita Irizarry's overview of the project's progress. |
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In May 2021, our dreams became much closer to coming true when Mayor Lori Lightfoot promised $25 million to go towards DuSable Park in addition to plans to work with local artists to create three statues that would represent DuSable and his wife, Kittihawa, a Pottawatomie woman's life. Read more here.
For more park history, keep scrolling and check out our DuSable video playlist on YouTube, which includes footage of past wreath laying ceremonies.
For more park history, keep scrolling and check out our DuSable video playlist on YouTube, which includes footage of past wreath laying ceremonies.
2023 Annual COMMEMORATION AND WREATH LAYING CEREMONY
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We had a great turn out on August 19, 2023 for festivities commemorating the 205th anniversary of Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable’s passing.
The DuSable Heritage Association (DHA), along with DuSable Park Coalition partners and Friends of the Parks, honored the memory of the Haitian-born founder of the City of Chicago, Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable, saluted his legacy of entrepreneurship and inclusion, and payed homage to his vision that made the Chicago the world-class it is today. The event included:
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DuSable Park Sits Unfinished Decades after Dedication
In 1987, Mayor Harold Washington dedicated DuSable Park in the name of the first non-native settler of Chicago. Three decades later, this site honoring our city’s black founder remains undeveloped. As a member of the DuSable Park Coalition, Friends of the Parks continues the fight to bring DuSable Park to fruition.
Jean Baptiste Point DuSable was born in Haiti of African and French descent. In the late 1700s, he made his way to the Great Lakes region and established a trading post on the north bank of the Chicago River near what is now Pioneer Court. In 1800, DuSable sold his homestead to Canadian trader William Burnett, who later sold the property to his partner, John Kinzie.
DuSable Park, an undeveloped 3-acre parcel of land at the convergence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, is not currently open to the public. The fenced-off site is contaminated with radioactive thorium from a gas lamp factory that closed in the 1930s. The Chicago Park District received EPA funding in 2012 to remove contaminated soil from the site. However, further remediation is necessary, as well as fortification of the coastline.
The Park District has no dedicated funding for DuSable Park and Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s “Building on Burnham” plan, a strategy to invest in the city’s open spaces, included no mention of the undeveloped park. A July 2016 article in the Chicago Tribune reported that more than 70 proposals for DuSable Park have failed over the nearly 30 years since the site was formally dedicated by Mayor Washington.
The DuSable Park Coalition was formed in 2000 in response to plans to lease the parkland for a parking lot. The coalition has gained new allies in recent years, such as Alderman Brendan Reilly, who has expressed strong support for the park. He wants to ensure that any developer of the abandoned Chicago Spire project is held to the previous commitment to contribute funds for the development of the adjacent park. In addition, the Park District has identified funds from an EPA legal settlement that could be used to conduct further soil remediation at the site. The Park District is also pursuing permission to use the EPA funds for coastal revetment. Nevertheless, the hoped-for fall groundbreaking may not start until the spring.
Each year, Friends of the Parks joins with other members of the DuSable Park Coalition to commemorate DuSable’s death and advocate for the actualization of the park in his name. We continue to grow our coalition and shine a light on the need to honor our city’s founder with the completion of DuSable Park.
Jean Baptiste Point DuSable was born in Haiti of African and French descent. In the late 1700s, he made his way to the Great Lakes region and established a trading post on the north bank of the Chicago River near what is now Pioneer Court. In 1800, DuSable sold his homestead to Canadian trader William Burnett, who later sold the property to his partner, John Kinzie.
DuSable Park, an undeveloped 3-acre parcel of land at the convergence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, is not currently open to the public. The fenced-off site is contaminated with radioactive thorium from a gas lamp factory that closed in the 1930s. The Chicago Park District received EPA funding in 2012 to remove contaminated soil from the site. However, further remediation is necessary, as well as fortification of the coastline.
The Park District has no dedicated funding for DuSable Park and Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s “Building on Burnham” plan, a strategy to invest in the city’s open spaces, included no mention of the undeveloped park. A July 2016 article in the Chicago Tribune reported that more than 70 proposals for DuSable Park have failed over the nearly 30 years since the site was formally dedicated by Mayor Washington.
The DuSable Park Coalition was formed in 2000 in response to plans to lease the parkland for a parking lot. The coalition has gained new allies in recent years, such as Alderman Brendan Reilly, who has expressed strong support for the park. He wants to ensure that any developer of the abandoned Chicago Spire project is held to the previous commitment to contribute funds for the development of the adjacent park. In addition, the Park District has identified funds from an EPA legal settlement that could be used to conduct further soil remediation at the site. The Park District is also pursuing permission to use the EPA funds for coastal revetment. Nevertheless, the hoped-for fall groundbreaking may not start until the spring.
Each year, Friends of the Parks joins with other members of the DuSable Park Coalition to commemorate DuSable’s death and advocate for the actualization of the park in his name. We continue to grow our coalition and shine a light on the need to honor our city’s founder with the completion of DuSable Park.
