Came to Harrison Park in my newly acquired two toned Caleb Williams Bears jersey to eat and review…read morethe rotisserie chicken from Cermak Fresh Market. It was my 4th food review of the day, and I was exhausted. What has my life become? Traveling the country on weekends to film myself eating food? If you would have told me in January that this is where I would be... well honestly I would have believed you. I've been on the bike to work every morning repeating "travel, meet cool people, be purpose driven" over and over again everyday for the past year. I asked for this. I thought this review was going one way, but it just hit a sharp drift around a corner. That's why I love this type of stream of consciousness writing. You never know what will pop in your brain. Gotta just let it flow. I am so grateful. I'm traveling, meeting cool people, and have a significant amount of purpose in my life. It's crazy to realize your dreams are coming true. But anyways, I was exhausted eating this chicken that ended up landing at a 7.6/10, but it is an exhaustion of my choosing. For that, I am grateful. IG @johnny.novo Tiktok @jnov__ Substack @johnnynovo

One of my favorite parks to go to in Chicago. It is under renovation, but they have made it safe to…read morewalk around. There are plenty of FREE parking around for such a large public park but still try to be careful walking around. I would bring my nieces and nephew here to play such as a large playground outdoor and large gymnastic room. The washroom and locker rooms are kept clean and always someone onsite, in case of any emergency.

Coliseum Park is good city park with fun structures, plus a separate dog run…read more We were gathering with several families for an early dinner(Feb. 2026), and this park was a fun place to meet ahead of time. Coliseum Park is a 0.75-acre fenced greenspace at S. Wabash and E. 14th Place, open daily 6am-9pm. There's a cool-looking coliseum-shaped open-roofed structure at the northeast corner entrance, about 15-feet-tall, a circular center with two promenading arms (if promenading is what i mean to say). By the way, some city parks set up a two-gate entrance that gives kids an extra safety barrier from the street; this park only has a single-gated surrounding fence. Our group loved the six-sided climbing-structure, maybe 10-feet tall, that encloses a sort of rubbery swinging ramp and a web of ropes. Kids can climb to the top of a medium-length metal slide. There's also a smaller plastic slide on a hill for the younger kids We ran up and down five small built-hills, i dont know that else to call them, sort of padded bumps that are more fun than they sound like in a flat city :-). Some of them have stubby posts or rocks for sitting or climbing. One has a swiveling wavy-chair to plThere's several good-size low rocks around the park, too. I think i've finished making up awkward names for these things ;-). There's a medium-small self-powered merry-go-round which we spent a lot of time spinning on. And there's a saucer swing for one or two kids at a time, which was popular, too. The play area around all this equipment is that rough padding that helps soften any falls, but gives a good rash if a hand, elbow, or knee slides along it. Yes, a few tears were shed, but I suppose it reduces slipping. I didnt explore the dog-friendly fenced-area along the west side of this park, next to the elevated L-tracks. It's the length of the park, maybe 10-feet wide, mostly paved, with several trees. The entrance is from E. 14th Place. Signs remind you that dogs aren't allowed in the rest of the park with the kids. One of the adults tried the climbing structure, but it was kind of small for them. The merry-go-round and several of the hills are big enough for an adult or two to get involved :-) For those of us who were enjoying watching the playing more than engaging in the playing, there's backless benches scattered about the park, and there are benches along the edges of the park that have backs. (Though i admit i took a wild turn on the merry-go-round :-). Also, from an adult perspective, the corners on some of the play structures in more than one city park look like pimento-stuffed cocktail olives. Or is that just me?

Kind of a smaller park Spongy ground good for toddlers…read moreThere's a big slide that's fun And a round shell swing The dog park is tiny though Usually younger babies compared to other parks Right behind a Kindercare so sometimes those kids are playing here It's also under the El so sometimes has loud train passing over

The place was made famous in a recent Gatorade commercial honoring MJ's induction into the Hall of…read moreFame (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6VhYFLlObk). It's got a couple full basketball courts and a playground. The place looks straight out of a video game with train tracks running overhead. The courts themselves aren't that great -- occasional potholes and sewer drains, uneven surface with some loose gravel. Played with some neighborhood kids who were welcoming. If you're scared, there's a police station across the street too.

Two baseball fields are the main attraction here and is frequently used by local softballers and…read morelittle league teams. Also here is one basketball court, which parents do not like being used when their kids are playing baseball/softball. When there aren't games bring played, you'll see the neighborhood dog owners out and about. The families will have their kids out in the playground in the good weather which was upgraded in 2013. Not much to this park, but it's nestled in a relatively quiet neighborhood in Bridgeport partly because of the one way streets. Nice for the family and kiddos.

From the owner: Donovan Playground Park is located in the Bridgeport Community, Donovan Park totals 2.68 acres and…read morefeatures a small field house. Outdoors, the park offers baseball fields, athletic field, playground, basketball courts and an inter-active water spray facility. While the park is busy during the summer with baseball leagues and day camp, year round programs and special events are also offered including pre-school, dodge ball and a variety of youth sports and adult fitness. Adults participate in a range of activities, including yoga, conditioning, pilates and Chicago's famous 16" softball . Parents gather at Donovan Park with their preschoolers for moms, pops and tots as well. Hours: Park: 6am - 11pm; Fieldhouse: M,W 9am - 5:30pm F 9am 7pm, 11am-5:30pm T,Th Sa-Su Closed

This review is for the CPD pool classes for tots (1 1/2 to 3 years old). I wasn't thrilled with…read morethe classes here. Not what I expected. The pool is COLD in the Fall for the little ones. I registered for this CPD swim class online for a 10 week class. The instructor was fine (funny and patient) but after a few weeks he stopped coming and there was always a sub. I didn't like that. The facility itself is ok. I have been there for a Halloween party as well. The staff is very helpful and friendly. I do know that they hold swim classes for senior citizens if you are looking for something like that.

Nice field house and fitness center. Plenty of well-lit street parking. 'Transitioning' area with…read morenoticeable loitering but I felt there were enough park patrons coming in and out that as a young female I felt fine walking out of a fitness class to my car at 8pm.

I love this park in the South Loop. It was introduced to me through sound bathing. It's a quiet and…read morewell manicured Green space. There is a beautiful community garden, a water fountain, and lots of shade. On any given Saturday, there are families having a picnic, a group enjoying sound meditation, people taking a leisurely stroll, etc. It feels very diverse and welcoming.

Lovely neighborhood park with a fountain and plenty of grassy space in which to picnic. There are…read moreusually a bunch of cute kids running around, and there is a highly coveted community garden. This is a beautiful space to walk around with nice landscaping.

For a long time this was the only park in Chicago's Chinatown until the fantastic Ping Tom Memorial…read morePark was built in the early 2000s. It is really unfortunate that the community had to go so long with this park as its only source of public "green" space. It is sandwiched between a couple of houses in a residential area along a long, narrow strip of land along 24th Pl. The park is basically broken into three equal areas: a children's playground, a small pavilion with some benches and a "fountain" with a few built-in chess/checker board tables. I put fountain in quotations because quite honestly I'm not sure if it is a fountain or not. There is a recessed square that looks like it could hold some water, but when I first visited this park in early fall it only contained a few piles of leaves. In the middle of the fountain is a stone column featuring a bust of Sun Yat-sen (from what I could decipher from the worn engraving on the column, he was an important political figure in China). As the pavilion and benches aren't all that interesting, the park's best feature is the children's playground. The park has some nice foliage, but it is negated by the noise and ugly aesthetic of the Stevenson Expressway, which is the park's very prominent southern boundary. As a standalone park, Sun Yat-sen is very disappointing, but if you look at it in conjunction with Ping Tom Park, it fares a little better. Ping Tom is located at the complete north-side of Chinatown, while this one is on the very south-side, so it gives those people living in the area an alternative to walking ~9 blocks north.

Wow! The neighborhood volunteers have done a beautiful job with this little garden. It's located on…read moreWolcott just behind the McKinley Park branch of the CPL. It was a hidden little gem in the neighborhood. Obviously it's a play space for children, but they also have community events like concerts and events with partner organizations. I love that they have established a lovely space for a variety of family and community and would happily visit with my little one if in the area.