Garfield Park Roller Rink And Park Get $2 Million Overhaul With New Play Space, Event Stage
WEST GARFIELD PARK — A West Side public roller rink facility has undergone a $2 million overhaul to add features including an event stage, play areas, gathering space and colorful new murals.
The Park District unveiled improvements this month to Park No. 602 at 4008 W. Madison St. The newly improved half-acre park, which opened in 2021 as a roller rink and community plaza, will debut to the public on Juneteenth, according to the Park District.
The added recreation options allow parkgoers more opportunities to congregate, play and have live events, according to the Park District. The upgrades will hopefully help the park reach its goal of creating a safe space and further investment along Madison Street, an area that has faced decades of disinvestment, said Angela Taylor, of the Garfield Park Community Council.
“Renaissance and revitalization [has] started in the Madison corridor,” Taylor said. “I think this skate park is just one [building block] … to start to erect things that make things more positive and more acceptable for our families to be able to have walkability throughout our corridor.”
The centerpiece of the improved park is the renovated West Madison Roller Rink, which includes a colorful painted surface in addition to preexisting safety barriers and free equipment rental at an on-site kiosk, according to the Park District.
Next to the rink, two shaded pergolas house a new event stage and picnic area.
The park also now includes a nature play area with tree trunk benches and musical equipment. Stone blocks that spell “reclaim” sit in front of a mural that runs the length of the park and has a theme of community empowerment. Another mural on a shipping container commemorates Fred Hampton, former chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, whose headquarters were on Madison Street on the Near West Side.
The park was built on a lot that sat vacant for decades, Block Club previously reported.
The project was the brainchild of the Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative, a coalition of West Side residents and neighborhood groups focused on building a culture of physical, mental, spiritual and economic wellness in the area. It was pitched as a way to reverse disinvestment on the struggling Madison Street corridor — once the booming downtown of Garfield Park — and to reclaim an area that struggled with violence and drug issues.
For Taylor, the park’s message of reclamation speaks to what she has seen across Madison Street throughout her life in Garfield Park.
“Just like it took time to get Madison Street in the situation that it is currently in, it will take time to reverse that and bring back some positive energy,” she said.
The latest improvements to the park were funded by $1 million from the city and $1 million from the Park District, according to the district. The original building project cost $1.5 million.
The park opens June 19 and will be open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. For more information, visit the park’s website.
