Collection on Friends of the Parks

Collection

Identifier: MSS0002

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection includes documents from the Friends of the Parks organization. The materials in the collection came from a variety of sources: Lincoln Park Advisory Council, Lincoln Park Conservation Association and the affiliated neighborhood organizations. Record types include newsletters, bulletins, histories, minutes, correspondence, reviews, reports, and pamphlets. Several individual reports, newsletters, financial statements, and correspondence are from Friends of Lincoln Park and the Chicago Park District.

Dates

1971-1998

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Biographical / Historical

Friends of the Parks was created out of a movement started in December 1974 by a small group of people who decided to stop the disintegration and destruction of the Chicago parks. Four major Chicago organizations are responsible for the conception of Friends of the Parks: The Metropolitan Housing and Planning Council, The League of Women Voters, The Open Lands Projects, and Business and Professional for the Public Interest. Today, the words of Frederick Law Olmstead, the great designer of Chicago’s great South Park system, give insight and guidance to the members of Friends of the Parks. These members state, “that use, maintenance, and preservation of open space in urban area is so vital to the psychological health of our citizens that it is directly related to most of our sociological problems.” Moreover, these members feel “that natural open space and park recreational programs provide an essential revitalization for city dwellers who live under the increasing pressures of urban life.”