Washington Square Park (Chicago)

Washington Square, also known as Washington Square Park, is a park in Chicago, Illinois. A registered historic landmark that is better known by its nickname Bughouse Square (derived from the slang of bughouse referring to mental health facilities), it was the most celebrated open air free-speech center in the country as well as a popular Chicago tourist attraction. It is located across Walton Street from Newberry Library at 901 N. Clark Street in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is Chicago's oldest existing small park. It is one of four Chicago Park District parks named after persons surnamed Washington (the others being Washington Park, Harold Washington Park, and Dinah Washington Park). It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 20, 1991.OriginOn September 4, 1842, the city received a 3acre parcel that was donated by the members of the American Land Company for use as a public park. The property had once been a cow path with a well for farmers to water their cattle. The donors stipulated the name Washington Square. Between 1869 and the 1890s, the city improved Washington Square with lawn, trees, bisecting diagonal walks, limestone coping, picket fencing, and an attractive Victorian fountain. By the time Alderman McCormick became President of Drainage Board in 1906, the fountain had been razed and the park had deteriorated. Alderman McCormick devoted his aldermanic salary to improving the park. He donated a $600 fountain, and the city allocated an additional $10,000 to rehabilitate the park. By the 1910s, the neighborhood surrounding Washington Square had become more diverse.