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Archer (William Beatty) Park

Address


4901 S. Kilbourn Ave.
Chicago, IL 60632

Jurisdiction

Chicago Parks

Reserved

This section is reserved for future use.

Description

Located in the Archer Heights Community Area, Archer Park totals 14.06 acres and features a gymnasium, kitchen, and fitness center. Outside, the park offers an interactive water spray feature, baseball fields, a basketball court, an athletic field for football and soccer, a horseshoe area and a playground.

Many of these spaces are available for rental for private parties or sports activities.

Park-goers can play baseball, football and soccer sports at the facility. After school programs are offered throughout the school year, and in the summer youth attend the Park District’s popular six-week day camp. In addition to programs, Archer Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Movies In the Park.

History

Archer Park takes its name from the surrounding Archer Heights community. The community and its main artery, Archer Avenue, are named for Col. William Beatty Archer (1793-1870), a Commissioner for the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which paralleled the road in the 1800s. Archer, an abolitionist as well as a civil engineer, nominated Abraham Lincoln for Vice President in 1856. The Chicago Park District acquired land from 1949-1950 and established Archer Park to provide green space in an area then experiencing significant industrial development. The new park was part of a ten-year, district-wide program to increase recreational opportunities in underserved neighborhoods in post-World War II Chicago. Archer Park provided solely outdoor recreational facilities until 1970, when the Park District constructed a small fieldhouse.