Oz Park
Encyclopedia
Oz Park is a public park in the Lincoln Park
neighborhood of Chicago
. It is located at 2021 N Burling Street, at the corner of Lincoln and Webster, just south of the Lincoln, Halsted, and Fullerton intersection. The park borders Lincoln Park High School and features many statues fashioned after characters in The Wizard of Oz
. It is open from 6 AM to 11 PM, and pets are allowed.
, was a resident of the Lincoln Park area in the 1890s. Remembering its former resident, fans of The Wizard of Oz would gather in the park for an Oz Festival to honor the famous book
, movie
, and author every year. The park was officially named Oz Park in 1976, and the park district has added statues of the main characters throughout the past 20 years to honor its namesake.
courts, an asphalt volleyball
court and tennis
courts. In 1996 and 1997, $600,000 of the $900,000 that Melamerson left for park upgrades and to begin youth sports programs went to renovating the Oz Park athletic field. In her honor, the field was named Melamerson Athletic Field. State Representative John Fritchey and Alderman Vi Daley gave the Oz Park Advisory Council funding for improvements to Dorothy's Playlot in 2006. In 2007, Dorothy's Playlot was covered with a rubberized material, and several pieces of play equipment were replaced.
No need to pack a lunch, there is also a Chicago Park District registered Chicago-style hot dog cart located in the center of the park, named Hubby's Dog House, which provides Vienna hot dogs, sausages, brats, and AmyLu Gourmet Sausages to park visitors. The cart is typically at the park starting at 10 am until 8 pm on nice days.
was approached by an elderly woman who wanted him to create sculptures of the main characters from The Wizard of Oz
to decorate the park. She died, however, before the park approved the project four years later. Approximately 30 years later the documents regarding the initial plans were found, and in the early 1990s Kearney was commissioned to create the first of the four statues. He later went on to create a total of four: The Tin Man
, The Cowardly Lion
, The Scarecrow
, and Dorothy
& Toto.
statue was added to Oz Park. It stands in the southeast corner of the park near the intersection of Larrabee and Dickens. Unlike the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion was created out of bronze
, which was poured into wax casts to create the forms of the statue. The plaque below the statue reads "The Cowardly Lion became a citizen of Oz Park in June 2001. Commissioned by the Oz Park Advisory Council, created by Sculptor John Kearney, and made possible by three very generous donors: Wonderful Wizards, Good Witch Glindas, Emerald City Citizens." The names of the donors are written below each of the donor categories.
joined its companions in the park in June 2005. The statue stands closely behind the statue of the Tin Man in the interior part of the park. It was made in the same way as the statue of the Cowardly Lion out of bronze. The plaque below the statue is almost identical to that of the Cowardly Lion and reads "The Scarecrow became a citizen of Oz Park in June 2005. Commissioned by the Oz Park Advisory Council, created by Sculptor John Kearney, and made possible by three very generous donors: Wonderful Wizards, Good Witch Glindas, Emerald City Citizens." The names of the donors are written below each of the donor categories.
& Toto was added to the park in May 2007 (see image). The statue stands on the west side of the park near "Dorothy's Playlot". It too is made in bronze
using the same process as was used to create the statues of the Cowardly Lion
and the Scarecrow
. The plaque below the statue reads "Dorothy & Toto became citizens of Oz Park in May 2007. Commissioned by the Oz Park Advisory Council, created by Sculptor John Kearney, and made possible by three very generous donors: Wonderful Wizards, Good Witch Glindas, Emerald City Citizens." The names of the donors are written below each of the donor categories.
The Chicago Park District
also hosts many programs for children at Oz Park including day camps, golf, "Kicker's Clinic", and t-ball.
Lincoln Park, Chicago
Lincoln Park, is one of the 77 community areas on Chicago, Illinois North Side, USA. Named after Lincoln Park, a vast park bordering Lake Michigan, the community area is anchored by the Lincoln Park Zoo and DePaul University...
neighborhood of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. It is located at 2021 N Burling Street, at the corner of Lincoln and Webster, just south of the Lincoln, Halsted, and Fullerton intersection. The park borders Lincoln Park High School and features many statues fashioned after characters in The Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
. It is open from 6 AM to 11 PM, and pets are allowed.
History
During the 1950s, the area surrounding what is now called Oz Park was in need of improvement. The City of Chicago gave the Lincoln Park Conservation Association permission to improve the community in the 1960s. In 1974, the Chicago Park District acquired the land and began constructing a park. Lyman Frank Baum, a children's author and the creator of The Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
, was a resident of the Lincoln Park area in the 1890s. Remembering its former resident, fans of The Wizard of Oz would gather in the park for an Oz Festival to honor the famous book
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
, movie
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, and author every year. The park was officially named Oz Park in 1976, and the park district has added statues of the main characters throughout the past 20 years to honor its namesake.
Facilities
The 13.32 acres (53,904.2 m²) park has one walking/biking trail, which is 0.61 miles (981.7 m) long. To go along with the Wizard of Oz theme, the park's garden is named "The Emerald Garden", and the playground is called "Dorothy's Playlot." The Emerald Garden (located at the corner of Webster and Larrabee) features flowers through which guests may walk. The Gardens are maintained by the Oz Park Advisory Council, which is a local group of volunteers. Dorothy's Playlot has swings and other climbing equipment on which children can play. While Dorothy is the main character of The Wizard of Oz, the playground is also named after Dorothy Melamerson, a retired Chicago gym teacher. Melamerson, interested in children's physical well-being, donated enough money in 1994 to create an athletic field with basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
courts, an asphalt volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
court and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
courts. In 1996 and 1997, $600,000 of the $900,000 that Melamerson left for park upgrades and to begin youth sports programs went to renovating the Oz Park athletic field. In her honor, the field was named Melamerson Athletic Field. State Representative John Fritchey and Alderman Vi Daley gave the Oz Park Advisory Council funding for improvements to Dorothy's Playlot in 2006. In 2007, Dorothy's Playlot was covered with a rubberized material, and several pieces of play equipment were replaced.
No need to pack a lunch, there is also a Chicago Park District registered Chicago-style hot dog cart located in the center of the park, named Hubby's Dog House, which provides Vienna hot dogs, sausages, brats, and AmyLu Gourmet Sausages to park visitors. The cart is typically at the park starting at 10 am until 8 pm on nice days.
Sculptures in the park
Shortly after the park had been built and named, the artist John KearneyJohn Kearney
John Kearney is a Chicago- and Provincetown-based American artist famous for making figurative sculptures, often of animals, using multiple, found metal objects, specifically bumpers from automobiles.-Life:...
was approached by an elderly woman who wanted him to create sculptures of the main characters from The Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
to decorate the park. She died, however, before the park approved the project four years later. Approximately 30 years later the documents regarding the initial plans were found, and in the early 1990s Kearney was commissioned to create the first of the four statues. He later went on to create a total of four: The Tin Man
Tin Woodman
The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...
, The Cowardly Lion
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
, The Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
, and Dorothy
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
& Toto.
Tin Man
Installed in October 1995 the Tin Man sculpture stands at the northeast corner of the park near the intersection of Lincoln, Webster, and Larrabee. It is made from old automobile parts, which is Kearney's signature medium. The plaque below the statue reads "The Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum welcomes you to Oz Park. A heartfelt salute to the community from the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce, October 1995.",Cowardly Lion
In June 2001 The Cowardly LionCowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
statue was added to Oz Park. It stands in the southeast corner of the park near the intersection of Larrabee and Dickens. Unlike the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion was created out of bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
, which was poured into wax casts to create the forms of the statue. The plaque below the statue reads "The Cowardly Lion became a citizen of Oz Park in June 2001. Commissioned by the Oz Park Advisory Council, created by Sculptor John Kearney, and made possible by three very generous donors: Wonderful Wizards, Good Witch Glindas, Emerald City Citizens." The names of the donors are written below each of the donor categories.
Scarecrow
The statue of the ScarecrowScarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
joined its companions in the park in June 2005. The statue stands closely behind the statue of the Tin Man in the interior part of the park. It was made in the same way as the statue of the Cowardly Lion out of bronze. The plaque below the statue is almost identical to that of the Cowardly Lion and reads "The Scarecrow became a citizen of Oz Park in June 2005. Commissioned by the Oz Park Advisory Council, created by Sculptor John Kearney, and made possible by three very generous donors: Wonderful Wizards, Good Witch Glindas, Emerald City Citizens." The names of the donors are written below each of the donor categories.
Dorothy and Toto
The statue of DorothyDorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
& Toto was added to the park in May 2007 (see image). The statue stands on the west side of the park near "Dorothy's Playlot". It too is made in bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
using the same process as was used to create the statues of the Cowardly Lion
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
and the Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
. The plaque below the statue reads "Dorothy & Toto became citizens of Oz Park in May 2007. Commissioned by the Oz Park Advisory Council, created by Sculptor John Kearney, and made possible by three very generous donors: Wonderful Wizards, Good Witch Glindas, Emerald City Citizens." The names of the donors are written below each of the donor categories.
Events and programs
Oz Park has been the setting for many public events in the past. Some notable events include:- Movies in the Park - Oz Park is one of many Chicago parks that shows free outdoor movies periodically on summer nights. Oz Park has shown:
- 7/15/2006 - Some Like It HotSome Like It HotSome Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....
- 6/7/2008 - Rear WindowRear WindowRear Window is a 1954 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes and based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder"...
- Pumpkin Patch - A family-friendly annual event. Kids choose and decorate pumpkins. Last year it was held on 10/11/2008.
- Art Therapy Connection's Chalk Festival - Children, adults, youth groups, student artists and professional artists create art using chalk.
The Chicago Park District
Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita...
also hosts many programs for children at Oz Park including day camps, golf, "Kicker's Clinic", and t-ball.