Clarendon Park History.In 1916 the Chicago Plan Commission heralded Clarendon Municipal Bathing Beach as proof of concept for what it described as the "Reclamation of the Lakefront for the People." Nearly half a million visitors from far and wide flocked to the beach during its first season, and the beach flourished throughout the 1920s. Yet fewer than twenty years later, Clarendon Beach was filled in for the northward extension of Lake Shore Drive and Lincoln Park, leaving the towered beach house to find a new purpose amid newly created land.
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A Beach Becomes a Park.
Over the next 80 years, the former grand beach was transformed into Clarendon Park and Community Center, where in 2016 we celebrated what Park District historian Julia Bachrach described in her Centennial talk as "100 years of healthful recreation"! Offerings over the years ranged from scouting and a senior hub to an acclaimed boxing program and all-city skating championships. Clarendon today offers a lively roster including football, basketball, softball, karate, camp, yoga, and hip hop. The park also offers its thousands of neighbors a rare opportunity to enjoy cherished time in nature - tending gardens on summer evenings, running carefree over open grass, swinging in leafy playground, or walking the dog as the winter sun sets.
Clarendon Park Community Center in need of a face-lift.
Clarendon Park's Community Center is in need of some much needed renovations to bring it up to code. Learn more about the construction needs by checking out the assessment report conducted by the Chicago Park District.