Lake Shore Park

Lake Shore Park is a large park in Streeterville. There are tennis courts here, as well as a walking/running track, and a small playground. There's an adequately sized field house which has fitness equipment, rooms for meetings, and even a gym. It once was an armory during its back and forth between being owned by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. These days it's abutted by the Museum of Contemporary Art on the west side.

Love, Love, LOVE this Park.

I brought my cat on a leash last evening after it cooled down which was fun. Spartacus enjoyed seeing the birds flying around and exploring the grass and sitting on the bench....he seemed to really enjoy himself.

TO THE MANAGEMENT: Please fix the water fountains near the tennis courts-people and animals require water in this insanely HOT weather! Thank you!

The Park is very nice, but the tennis courts are terrible!! Newly resurfaced in Aug. 2023, but the slope is so steep it's ridiculous...whoever did this obviously doesn't know how to build a tennis court!! Plus, they painted on bright yellow Pickleball lines...confusing for both Pickleball and Tennis players. So disappointing!!

I'm highly intrigued by the amount of peace that I encounter at Lake Shore Park, and wish many more parks throughout our city were like it. I view Lake Shore Park as my gateway to the Lakefront path from Chicago's West-side via Chicago Ave. I take it as a pit stop for water, plus to do a quick upper body workout on the dip and pull up bars on-the-go which pumps me up prior to entering the Lakefront path while on my bike.

There are always healthy activities going on at Lake Shore Park, such as runners & walkers on the running track; tennis players; residents playing with their dogs; residents playing flag football, softball, or even those that choose to sit on the bench and read a book or chat on their phone. I get the feeling that many use it to escape from reality during their lunch break also because you'll see a select few still wearing work uniforms also.

As someone that loves to see the sunrise and sunset, I would imagine that the best times to visit this park would be in the morning, and late evening hours, so that you can get that extra sense of peace w/ the outer beauty that comes with a sunset and sunrise.

Thomas Gouard

Fieldhouse Hours: Sa-Su: 9:00 AM-9:00 PM, Mo-Fr: 8:00 AM-11:00 PM )
(CLOSED ON MAJOR HOLIDAYS)
Park Hours: 6:00 AM-11:00 PM
Park Supervisor: Michael Mucci
Park Phone: (312) 742-7891

Located in the Near North Community Area also known as Streeterville. Lake Shore Park has a total of almost 6 acres of pretty greenery along with amenities that include extensive outdoor recreational fun times. It has tennis courts, a quarter mile soft surface running track, softball diamonds and a playground.

My husband and I are looking forward to coming back and checking out the Field House, it has a coffee or tea shop inside based we could see on the outside. There was one metal patio table and 2metal patio chairs outside right to the entrance of the door. We played catch with outer football underneath the beautiful large trees that are on the right side of the field house. There was this great delicious aroma of flowers that I caught a whiff of as the Lake Michigan breeze blew our way.

Then I started looking around and saw some pretty white blooming flowers on some bushes that adorned the side of the Field House and it was so pretty! Also we saw a stand of food with two big rainbow umbrellas giving it shade. We did not check it out as we did not carry our cash with us. Hopefully next time we can stop by and see what they sell.

According to the info I read online, this park has a center (which is closed today due to Memorial Day, Inside it offers a full-size gymnasium, a fitness center and meeting rooms available for rent.

Many of these spaces are available for rental. Park-goers can play seasonal 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, Lake Shore Park hosts fun special events throughout the year for the whole family, such as Movies and concerts.

ONE REALY COOL THING I FOUND OUT TODAY IS:

Can you believe Lake Shore Park sits atop what were originally the sand dunes of Lake Michigan?

History

Lake Shore Park was planned for years before development beganby the Lincoln Park Commission just before 1900. The Lincoln Park Commission was one of three Chicago park boards created by the Illinois state legislature in 1869. Twenty years later, the legislature gave a section of accumulating duneland north of Chicago Avenue to the park commission.

The City of Chicago challenged the commission's ownership, but the matter was resolved in the commission's favor in 1895. Shortly thereafter, plans were drawn for what was initially known as Chicago Avenue Park. In 1897, the commission began stabilizing and expanding the site with landfill, a process that would continue for many years. Landscape improvements began in 1900. In 1907, the Lincoln Park Commission agreed to expand the park by improving city land just west of the park.

At the time, the Lincoln Park Commission was a leader in a national movement toward neighborhood parks. The commission's efforts included Seward and Stanton parks, developed during the same period. In 1908, the commission officially named the expanded property Lake Shore Playground, in recognition of its location. A shelter house was erected, and outdoor recreational facilities installed.

By 1915, the city had reclaimed its land, transferring it to the State of Illinois for an armory. The commission completely redesigned the remaining parkland in the following years. Demolishing the original shelter house, the commission constructed a new brick fieldhouse. The 1916 fieldhouse sat at the east end of the park, facing Lake Shore Drive and Lake Michigan. A running track, baseball diamond, and tennis courts stretched to the west. The Chicago Park District took control of Lake Shore Park in 1934, when the 22 city park districts were consolidated into a single unified district. In 1963, the park district dismantled the 1916 structure and built yet another fieldhouse on the park's eastern border. The armory to the west was demolished in the 1990s, and Lake Shore Park is now bordered by the stepped terraces of the new Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Josef Paul Kleihues.

This is a really nice park with great views of the lake and downtown. Very unique to have work out equipment, a full track, and outdoor tennis. I loved the baseball fields and they no longer have those.

Very nice little park just off the lake. Running track is well maintained and good green space for kids to run around in. Also, has a fenced in playlot that is targeted towards kids under 6. The playlot is well maintained and sits on top of wood chips. Great location across the street from Prentice. If you need to spend a few days at Prentice, the running track is a perfect place to slip out to work up a sweat.

Lake Shore Park is a great place for both humans and dogs to get some exercise in the city. However, I wouldn't really call this place a park...it's more of a tennis court, outdoor track and dog playground rolled into one.

There are two tennis courts, which are well kept and well lit at night. The track is great place to run or walk without having to dodge tourist, cars or bicyclist. It also surrounds the tennis court and dog area, which is pretty cool because you get to see some cute (and not so cute) dogs as you make your way around the track.

Great park. Right in the mix on LSD. Miss the basketball court. Tennis courts are in good shape, though. Strolled through on a recent trip to the Chi to show the boys one of my stomping grounds to play ball on the north side.

Clean and relatively quiet park thats only a few blocks off from Michigan Ave. It's a nice spot to read a book or watch people playing softball/baseball. The park has a very family oriented vibe and feels very safe. It also boasts tennis courts, a track, and bathrooms!!