Yuccabloom: A Memoir of Meaningful Meanderings: Lincoln Park, Chicago

As I have already said, I grew up in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Back then, in the 1970s and early 1980s, Lincoln Park wasn't the same affluent neighborhood it is today. When I was growing up it was still very much a working middle class neighborhood, inhabited by many families who had been living here for a few generations. My great grandfather eventually settled here, after immigrating from what is now independent Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Lincoln Park neighborhood's defining architectural character is late 19th century/early 20th century. Just west of the park itself is street after street of stone and red brick houses from that time period, mixed in with more austere modern architecture. That architecture is still what first comes to mind when I think of Chicago neighborhoods.

The park of Lincoln Park is quite extensive. At the south end, the park offers the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Lincoln Park Zoo, Lincoln Park Conservatory, and the Farm in the Zoo, as well as the Chicago History Museum. The park itself borders the Lakefront and offers a series of ponds. Overall, it is a beautiful park. When I had my first apartment, in the area of Lincoln Park of Clark Street and Belden, I used to walk to Lincoln Park all the time. The park itself has changed over the years, as trees have grown and more trees and landscaping have been added. But the park is still essentially the same. Here are my photos from yesterday.

Alexander Hamilton Monument, Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL

I never understood why there was a statue of Alexander Hamilton in the middle of Lincoln Park in Chicago. While he was a Founding Father, he wasn't anyone as distinguished as a past President or the author of the U.S. Constitution, and then there is the matter of his unfortunate demise at the hands of Aaron Burr in a duel. (I would have preferred a statue of President John Adams, or at least President Lincoln would have made sense.) But, at any rate, this is Chicago and here it is. This statue used to be part of a larger monument, a large marble structure that had a concrete interior platform, where I used to go and sit on the marble ledge to read a novel or a book of poetry, looking out periodically at the Chicago skyline. There were some mornings when I would come here, with a cup of seething black coffee in hand and a bag carrying a cranberry-orange scone, and I would sit silently, taking in the new day. I miss that marble structure, but I am romanticizing it too much, coloring it too much with the nostalgia for yesterday. I understand why they dismantled it. On any given morning when I would visit the monument, I was "greeted" by the sight of broken beer bottles and used condoms strewn upon the concrete floor. Yeah, not necessarily an inspiring sight, and no way to treat one of the Founding Fathers. This arrangement, with the flower and grass plantings, is by far prettier. Sometimes change is good.

Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL

High-rise buildings bordering Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL

John Hancock Center and skyline framed underneath by North Pond, Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL

Part of the magic of Lincoln Park, at least for me, is that it offers a beautiful view of the Chicago skyline. Here, every major skyscraper, except for the Sears Tower, is represented.

Prairie grass at the Pond, Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL

A phenomenon that I have been happy to witness during my time back in Chicago is the recent embrace of wildflowers and prairie plants native to the region. You can see this on a larger scale with the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park. It's a great way to celebrate the region's, and the city's, botanical heritage. Besides, prairie plants are so beautiful and some of the grasses smell so good. It's much better than the mowed grass lawns that you see in so many parks, which offer nothing more than a flat, bland green. Prairie plants and grasses, which grow to a good height, wave beautifully, rhythmically, in the breeze, adding both color and texture to a park. Less manicured suburbia and more of the wonderment of nature growing naturally! Here are some more photos of prairie plants at the pond.