Neighborhood News: Lush, green North Park Village Nature Center transformed from a TB Sanitarium
“Whether you seek serenity, a place to spot a rare bird or a place to volunteer your time and talent, visit this oasis of nature in the city – this hidden gem.”
North Park Village Nature Center website
Traveling down the lush, green trails and surrounding grounds of the 155-acre North Park Village Nature Center, 5801 N. Pulaski Road, it’s hard to imagine that from 1911 to 1974, it was known as the Chicago Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium, its historic buildings and beautiful grounds home to hundreds of patients through its 63-year existence.
In the beginning…
Native Americans were the first to settle the area where wild onion and leek grew, according to the blog site Urban Explorer. In the 1850s, a Norwegian immigrant named Pehr Samuel Petersen built a tree nursery on the land. He provided trees for Lincoln Park and many of Chicago’s parkways as well as the 1893 World’s Fair.
In pre-vaccine days, according to the Chicago Park District website, tuberculosis was a frequently deadly disease, spread by droplets from infected individuals in the early 20th century. They needed a spot, and when Peterson died in 1903, his family gave the city 160 acres to build a tuberculosis sanitarium.
Doctors believed, according to Urban Explorer, that open spaces and fresh air were the best cure for patients. The Sanitarium’s Board of Directors hired landscape architect Ossian Cole Simonds (1855 – 1931) and architects Clark & Otis to design and lay out the facility. Portions of the land were changed into paths, gardens for growing food, fields to play and a pond for recreation. They designed a small brick cottage-like structure that would become the Nature Center. This originally served the Sanitarium’s dispensary, Patients were here from 1915 when Chicago’s Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium first opened until the mid-1970s, when the facility closed after TB had been largely eradicated.
Today…observing nature up close, celebrating the seasons every day
North Park Village borders Pulaski Road, Peterson Avenue, and Chicago Park District’s Peterson Park. The park is located adjacent to the neighborhoods of North Park, Sauganash, and Albany Park, and is open seven days a week (excluding holidays) from 9am–4pm.
Often, you can find a deer family walking deep in the forested areas as you walk along the winding trails..m through woodland, wetland, prairie, and savanna. In the Nature Center, there’s a discovery room, a hands-on table of natural objects, and interactive displays. In addition to the Nature Center and natural area, visitors can also enjoy exploration through Walking Stick Woods, a 12-acre woodland with trails and nodes designed for Nature Play.
“We’re doing a lot of work to restore a lot of the prairie and native plants and species,” Amaris Alanis-Ribeiro, North Park Village Nature Center’s director, told WTTW (which has offices nearby) in 2022. “Monarch butterflies this year were listed as endangered. Every year we host a festival called Monarch-palooza and this year we’re definitely going to continue to bring attention to the conservation of butterflies. We also want to uplift the indigenous and cultural connections with the monarch butterfly.”
There are programs for all ages, including preschoolers, school-age children, families, and adults. The Eco-Explorers summer day camp focuses on nature-based games and learning activities for children aged 5-14 years old. Neighborhood Naturalists is a special outreach program serving third graders in Chicago Public Schools. For adults, a their volunteer programs including helping lead field trips, assisting during festivals, greeting visitors at the reception desk, and participating in ecological cleanup events.
Winter Solstice Festival
On Saturday, December 14, from 5pm to 8pm, North Park Village Nature Center is welcoming winter with a free Winter Solstice Festival, featuring star gazing, a bonfire, nature walks, tasting chestnuts and more.
Maple Tree Event in March
In March, North Park Nature Center hosts a free celebration to honor their maple trees and “the special gift of sap.” They host family-friendly activities and offer abundant opportunities to observe and taste the maple syrup process.
For more information on the North Park Nature Center, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
