Work Finally Begins On DuSable Park, Nearly 40 Years After Land Was Set Aside For It

DOWNTOWN — After decades of delay, the Chicago Park District has broken ground on a long-anticipated lakefront park honoring the city’s first permanent non-native settler, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. The 3.5-acre park at 401 N. DuSable Lake Shore Drive is on a small peninsula east of Lake Shore Drive. It has been in the works since 1987, when former Mayor Harold Washington gave the land to the Park District to develop a park in honor of DuSable. Before Tuesday’s official groundbreaking, the site was honored with a Native American blessing and the singing of three anthems: the United States’ national anthem, the Haitian national anthem, and the Black national anthem. The ceremony honored the heritages of Jean DuSable, a Haitian immigrant, and his wife, Kitihawa, a member of the Potawatomi tribe. Current construction site of what will be DuSable Park, slated to be completed summer 2028. Credit: Melody Mercado, Block Club Chicago “I know many of you here have waited for this day for a very long time. This site was dedicated as parkland by the late great Mayor Harold Washington, and he saw the importance of keeping DuSable’s name alive and his legacy alive for generations to come,” Johnson said during the groundbreaking. The groundbreaking was also attended by Peggy Montes, who worked with Washington to set aside the land as a park in honor of DuSable. Montes is currently 90 years old and is a trustee at the DuSable Museum of African American History and was appointed by the late Washington as executive director of the Chicago Commission on Women. Addressing the crowd Tuesday, she shouted out others from Washington’s administration who were instrumental in keeping the dream of the park alive. She noted that while she wasn’t the only one involved, she is “still the only one here.” She noted how difficult it was to fight the battle to maintain the land in DuSable’s honor for nearly four decades. “It is a priceless piece of land, and we’ve had to go through hell and high water to make it stand today,” she said. But she said she will “be nice and … not complain about those who came against us. I love everybody, no matter what, because at the end, look what we have.” Peggy Montes, who worked with Washington to establish the land as a park in honor of DuSable, poses for a photo with her children and grandchildren. Credit: Melody Mercado, Block Club Chicago The $15 million project is moving forward with help from the development firm Related Midwest, which is currently building 400 N. Lake Shore Drive, a residential skyscraper project at the former Chicago spire site. The project is being paid for with $5 million in Open Space Impact Fees and $10 million from Related Midwest. Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) called out the investment during the groundbreaking, which he said he was happy to see was being honored. “For years and too long, people have asked when this park would finally be built. Today, I am proud to answer that question by finally putting a shovel into the ground, and soon a whole lot more than just a shovel,” Reilly said. Ross Barney Architects and Brook Architecture were selected as the lead design firms for the park in 2022. The firm submitted their plans last year to the city, two years after being awarded the project. New preliminary renderings for DuSable Park have been submitted to the Chicago Park District. Credit: Ross Barney and Brook Architecture The park is estimated to be completed by summer 2028, according to the Park District. The east end of the park will feature a boardwalk that follows the border of the peninsula. A pavilion honoring DuSable will be included, according to Ross Barney Architects. There will also be a pavilion designed by Brook Architecture where visitors can learn more about DuSable and his Potawatomi wife, Kitihawa. Park renderings show it will be accessible from the lakefront trail, an expanded Riverwalk and a dedicated bus stop. The Riverwalk extension will be added as part of the construction at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive, according to Related Midwest. Earlier this summer the Chicago Park District announced it had hired sculptor Branly Cadet and architect Rodney Leon to build a statue of DuSable inside the park. New preliminary renderings for DuSable Park have been submitted to the Chicago Park District. Credit: Ross Barney and Brook Architecture Cadet will build a full-body statue of DuSable while Leon will support the statue’s technical aspects, including its lighting, interpretive writing and base fabrication, according to the Park District. The park will also feature other art installations honoring the park’s namesake, his wife and Kitihawa, as well as other Indigenous voices. Interpretive signage and a history timeline are also part of the plans, the Park District previously revealed. Renderings of the statue or art installations have yet to be released. ______________________________________________________________________ Support Local News! Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? Click here to gift a subscription, or you can support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation. Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast: Need A Halloween Costume? A Chicago Thrifting Expert Shares Her Secrets Episode play icon Need A Halloween Costume? 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