Secret Wood Shops in Chicago: Map
Whether you are an apartment dweller with no room for a table saw or a novice with a desire to learn how to use a chop saw, if you live in Chicago, a wood shop may be available to you.
The Chicago Park District runs seventeen wood shops in and around the City of Chicago for the use of Chicago residents. Each park offers a variety of classes tailored to a wide variety of interests and ages.
Rumor has it that there used to be many more wood shops but they have been closed or the staff has been reallocated to other programs in recent years. The two shops closest to the HouseinProgress--River Park and Welles Park--no longer exist. Neither do the Columbus Park, Hamilton Park or LeClaire Hearst Park wood shops. It's not clear how many others have been closed.
With Chicago Public Schools doing less with the practical arts, with the Mayor's green initiatives pushing residents to implement new home technologies, and with the Historic Chicago Bungalow Initiative encouraging homeowners to restore and renovate their homes, it would benefit the city to celebrate these wood shops. To have more accessible hours for residents to develop the skills that make them self-reliant and help to keep properties maintained. To encourage skilled craftspeople to work with novices and pass along valuable experience and knowledge.
A DIY girl can dream, can't she?
Click below to interact with the map of the Chicago Park District Wood Shops
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- Brands Park
- Calumet Park
- Foster Park
- Grand Crossing Park
- Graver Park
- Horner Park
- LaFollette Park
- Lincoln Park Cultural Center
- Loyola Park
- Mann Park
- Marquette Park
- McGuane Park
- Merrimac Park
- Portage Park
- Rainey Park
- Ridge Park
- Shabbona Park
P.S. Should you talk to your Alderperson in the near future, mention the wood shops. Make sure they know we'd like to keep the ones we still have.
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Comments
Steve will love you for posting this. He is a HUGE Loyola Park wood shop fan.
Posted by: Jocelyn | November 12, 2007 4:26 PM
Some friends in have spoken highly of the wood shop at Ridge Park in Beverly. I'm hoping to check it out soon. We need to build some wood-framed window screens for our bungalow living room before we can cut open our long-painted-shut windows next spring.
Posted by: Anne | November 27, 2007 8:40 PM