Parks home. "Other Parks and Open Lands". hydepark.org home.

Elm Playlot This page brought to you by Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference Parks Committee and HPKCC's website, www.hydepark.org. Join the Conference! Contact our Committee Chair Gary Ossewaarde.

Elm Playlot, Located at 5215 S. Woodlawn, north of Kimbark Plaza/53rd on Woodlawn, Elm Park was part of a trio developed during urban renewal in the late 1950s early '60s, but unlike Nichols and Spruce there was no public planning input. It is small, like an afterthought from the planned Kimbark Plaza, and has no logical exit from the rear, which has a few parking spaces, delivery areas for the stores, and housing. Its design also was poor, including bench arrangement and hiding spots that encouraged drinking, gangs, dope dealing, and more. Still, many like the "gazeboesque" feature in the back and like the bench arrangement for group reading. In response to complaints, in the late '90s Alderman Preckwinkle, the Plaza, park district, community organizations and others explored various options, including a swap to the plaza for parking in exchange for new parkland from the city elsewhere in the 4th ward (nw of Cottage and 47th?) while increasing landscaping in the shopping plaza's lot in front. Meanwhile, plans to remodel the park (plans of the park district and others developed by an architect for a small charrette) were aborted in the midst of these discussions. No resolution was reached and problems have continued. In mid 2004, it appeared CVS pharmacy, soon to be built at the east end of the plaza, would like to use or acquire part of Elm for parking but nothing happened.

Neighbors in mid 2010 were working to form a new advisory council and come up with imaginative reconfigurations and or uses (there are no activities or facilities at present for kids, for example) plus neighborhood watch. However word is that loss of the park for a parking lot is again on the table. The park's first activities and the meetings of the now-official advisory council have occurred. Enthusiastic planning is underway.

Contact: Timika Hoffman-Zoller, zollerfamily@gmail.com. Heather Kelly, Nichols and neighboring parks Supervisor, 1355 E. 53rd St. 773 747-2307.

Next meeting for Elm Park Council- September 28, 2010, Tuesday, 6:30 pm. At Nichols Park fieldhouse, 1355 E. 53rd St. Timika Hoffman-Zoller, zollerfamily@gmail.com. Now 4th Tuesdays.
See "Neighbors spruce up Elm Park."

At the July 31 picnic, several choices and assignments were made and Sandra Ham rolled out blueprints showing the evolution of the park's original design as well as a photo of 1963-64 HPKCC Parks Committee chair Barbara Fiske examining a 3-D model of the park's design.

The July 13 meeting covered a wide range of matters from a picnic-- held July 31st and bike safety clinic (being explored for August 21) to administrative and included

Safety Committee Report (this was detailed and included lots of ideas)
Elm Park Storytelling Program- various leads were explored to have one or more sessions this summer.
Bike Safety Clinic
Elm Park Repairs & Clean-Up (this was detailed and included lots of ideas, concerns, and suggestions on whom to contact and on requesting from Nichols Supervisor Heather Kelly. Some research needs doing on why various lights are going out, where the water connection is, et al. Bushes trimming has been scheduled by the Park District. )
Kimbark Parking Lot Issue
Prepare Elm PAC Budget Proposal. Major items include fence and gate, gazebo update, and benches
Park Walk-Through was carried out after the meeting
Plan First Elm PAC Picnic

See these sites also for discussion or mention of Elm Playlot:
http://www.hpherald.com/pg9.html
http://hydepark.org/parks/elm.htm
http://hydeparkprogress.blogspot.com/2010/06/advisory-group-forms-to-clean-up-elm.html
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/The-Quadrangle-Club-at-the-University-of-Chicago/201105261164
http://hydeparkchicago.blogspot.com/

Planning continued at the July 27 meeting and the July 31 fun picnic. The council now has large and reduced-size original plans for the parks that serve as templates. Topics in active planning include events, floral and shrub plantings or movements, a labyrinth, and much more.

Park gains needed friends, says Herald July 7, 2020. Based on article by Daschell M. Phillips

Elm Park Advisory Council is up and running. It is lead by founder and newly elected president Timika Hoffman-Zoller, who with her family has lived in the vicinity several years. She had noticed that people were not actively using the park, although derelicts had, though not as much now. it is small park overshadowed by Kimbark Plaza, Zoller noted, has no rear exit, no play equipment, and is near the shopping center deliveries-- so there are hiding spots that can encourage gang and drug activity.

Nevertheless, she said, the park can be taken care of and utilized by the community. She went to park supervisors and sought other advice on organization. She was surprised, however, to learn of plans to turn the park over to the shopping center for employee parking, with a distant park substituting for the lost open space. Such expansion plans for the center have been on the books for many years. Meanwhile the park was not being improved. It was speculated that the city/park district have have trouble finding both a square foot matching plot for a new park and funds.

Meanwhile, Ms. Hoffman-Zoller feels and was told that fixing up and cleaning up the park, even if only for interim, would not be a waste of time. She started with a neighborhood watch meeting with police, then held the inaugural meeting of the council. In planning are reading activities for children , bi-weekly positive presence activities, and cleanup-- the latter would include programs, a gate, trash cans, signs for curbing of dogs, grass trimming and broke glass removal.

Neighbors spruce up Elm Park

Hyde Park Herald, August 11, 2010. By Daschell M. Phillips

In one month's time Hyde Park residents have succeeded in organizing an Elm Park Advisory Council. Now the council is seeking funding from the park district to make renovations and institute programs.

As Timika Hoffman-Zoller approached the Chicago Park District board's annual budget hearing with a list of needs for Elm Park, 5215 S. Woodlawn Ave., she was greeted with a round of applause. In about one month, Hoffman-Zoller gathered community members adn formed a council to improve the state of a park in her neighborhood that was overrun with alcoholics and drug dealers.

The Elm PAC, which is lead by Hoffman-Zoller, president, Piotr Gornicki, vice president an Joanne Michalski, secretary and Danielle Rose, treasurer, currently has 13 members who regularly spend time in the park individually and gather together as a council in the park for picnics to encourage more positive community use of the park.

Hoffman-Zoller said the council's presence has caused the park district to increase its maintenance of the park. "Nearby neighbors said there's no longer garbage and broken glass all over the park and graffiti was removed from the Elm Park sign," Hoffman-Zoller said. She said neighbors noticed that before the council was formed the park's lights weren't turned on until 10 p.m. Now they are turned on at dusk.

At the Elm PAC's first picnic, University of Chicago graduate Sandra Ham, ho lives right next to Elm Park and is the chairwoman of the park's gardening and landscaping committee, presented some historical facts about the park such as why the park has several circular designs, the fact that there used to be a fountain in the park that could be fixed and reused if the council decides that's best and that there was once a sandbox in the park, as well as why it was named Elm Park but never had elm trees.

"The city was using names of trees and plants as a generic way to name city parks then later on started naming them afte people," said Ham, who also discovered by looking through the Hyde Park Herald newspaper archives that Hyde Park had problems with drinking, drugs an loitering in Elm Park since the 1970s. Despite teh park's long history of being a trouble spot for the neighborhood, Hoffman-Zoller is confident that with funding from the Chicago Park District the park can be revived and put to good use in the community.

"The main thing we want is a wrought-iron fence that is high and goes all the way around the park, new park bench arrangements, more lighting, a stage for storytelling and flowers, plants and shrubbery," Hoffman-Zoller said. She said thee park would also benefit from funding to support park programs such as storytelling programs for kids and poetry slams. "Partnerships with the Chicago Storytellers Guild and Little Black Pearl and Design Center are already being formed, but they must be paid," Hoffman-Zoller said.

The next Elm PAC picnic is fro m11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21. Hoffman-Zoller said it will be the park's 1st Annual Bike Safety Clinic. Guest speakers include representatives from Active Transportation Alliance, D.J.'s Bike Doctors and Blackstone Bicycle works. Very successful.

Recent gains, by Sept. 1 2010.
1. graffiti gone off of Elm Park Sign ... check
2. new curb your dog signs.... check
3. dead tree gone..... check
4. new water fountain.... check