Description
Located in the Englewood community, Carpenter Park totals 0.29 acres and is a pleasant location for families to spend the day relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. Park amenities included a playground with swings, slides and a climbing apparatus.
History
In 1956, the City of Chicago acquired property at the corner of 62nd and Carpenter Streets in the Englewood neighborhood. By 1957, the City's Bureau of Parks and Recreation had developed the site as a playground, transferring it to the Chicago Park District that same year pursuant to the Chicago Park and City Exchange Functions Act. The park takes its name from the adjacent street, in turn named for early Chicagoan Philo Carpenter (1805-1886). Born in Massachusetts and trained as a pharmacist in New York, Carpenter arrived in the 200-person settlement of Chicago in 1832. He immediately opened a drug store on what is now Lake Street and began to invest in real estate. Within two years, he had made his fortune. Carpenter later became a vocal advocate of abolitionism and temperance, and served as a director of the Chicago Theological Seminary. Carpenter had seven children, including a daughter, Augusta, for whom Chicago's Augusta Park is named.