On December 6, 1879, former U.S. President Ulysses Grant took part in a tree planting ceremony in the park. A memorial boulder with a plaque (both of which have been removed from the park, along with the tree) commemorated the event. In the 1920s black semiprofessional baseball teams played at Washington Park. George Lott

George Lott

George Martin Lott was an American tennis player and tennis coach who was born in Springfield, Illinois, United States. Lott is mostly remembered as being one of the greatest doubles players of all time. He won the U.S. title five times with three different partners: John Hennessey in 1928; John...

 began playing tennis at the park.

Washington Park was a site of tension and conflict arising from the demographic changes resulting from the African American expansion into the neighborhood in period following the First World War.