Mann Park

Mann Park Dedication in 1931

      Mann Park is a great asset to the whole Hegewisch community.  It took hard work and determination by many Hegewisch residents to lobby their local officials to build a park in Hegewisch.  It is located between 130th and 132nd, between  Carandolet and Exchange Avenues.  When the people of Hegewisch first proposed the park in 1907, it was disregarded because it conflicted with a railroad. This did not stop the determined citizens of Hegewisch. After four years of letters to the alderman, and many protests, the community was finally promised an outdoor park. The Olmsted brothers immediately adapted an existing plan for the new park because they felt the people of Hegewisch greatly needed a park to come together as a community. It took a whopping eighteen years to negotiate a contract to build a field house, swimming pool, gyms, and many activity rooms, but it was worth the wait.  Almost immediately after it was built people were going there in search of jobs and leisure activities.  Originally the park was called "Park Number Nine." In 1922, however, it was changed in honor of James R. Mann. He was a congressman who committed his entire life to a career as a public servant.  He served from 1897 until he died in 1922. Mann Park officially became a part of the Chicago Park District on  May 1, 1934, and since then has been a important part of Hegewisch community life. 
     Mayor Richard J. Daley, who served as Mayor of Chicago from 1955 to 1976, performed his last official act at Mann Park.  He dedicated a new gymnasium in the morning of December 20, 1976 and died of a heart attack later that same day. 

Mann Park Field House at Present

Click on the links at the left to tour
Chicago's Hegewisch Community.