Champaign Park District

West Side Park, Downtown Champaign

The Champaign Park District is the municipality association responsible for the award-winning parks in the city of Champaign, Illinois. With over 500 acres (2 km²) of parkland within the city limits, Champaign has one of the highest ratios of park land to developed land of any American city.

West Side Park

The 12.5 acre (51,000 m²) West Side Park is located in downtown Champaign, blocks away from the busy streets and within full view of City Hall. Originally zoned for the city square and future county courthouse (which was later sited in Urbana, Illinois), it became in 1859 the first park in the system. Known as the commons when it was first created, it was in 1861 designated as a public cow pasture where any citizen might graze their cow for a fee of $0.35 per month.

Benjamin F. Johnson (1818–1894), an executive of the Illinois Central Railroad, donated $10,000 to the city for the building of a statue and bandstand in the commons. Sadly this was not completed until five years after his death. The statue "A Prayer for Rain" was sculpted by Edward Kemeys (1843–1907) and placed atop Johnson fountain. Both were dedicated to the project's benefactor in 1899.

Other notable monuments in what is now known as West Side park include the Lincoln Monolith, and several statues and plaques commemorating the Indian War.

Dodds Park

Dodds Park is located in Northwestern Champaign near Parkland College. This 110 acre (445,000 m²) park (roughly one fifth of the total Park District holdings) is noted for the "Tribute to Olympic Athletes Monument" on its grounds. The park was purchased in 1969 for the sum of $298,495.

The "Tribute to Olympic Athletes" was created to honor those residents of Champaign County who have competed in the Olympics. To date nearly 30 athletes are commemorated on the monument, and the competitors from the 2000 and 2004 games have yet to be added. The monument consists of several rising plateaus forming a walkway leading to a large granite gateway. Beyond the gateway a pedestal overlooking the playing fields in Dodds Park is inscribed with the names of those who have represented Champaign County in the Olympics. A full list of athletes can be found at the official website.

Also located in Dodds park is the "Prairie Grid Sculpture", a 1978 sculpture by Barry Henemann that somewhat resembles a horse. Originally contracted to be displayed for one year, it has since become an odd landmark of the park.

The particular Champaign Park District operations division that maintains the sports facilities at Dodds is often considered to be the elite work force of the organization. In 2007 they were awarded the prestigious ILSTMA Field of the Year award under the leadership of Mick Tempel who left the Park District in 2008 to become the assistant superintendent of the Champaign Country Club. Other noteworthy recipients of the award include Timothy Hagley, a resident of Champaign, and Kyle Smith of Mattoon Illinois.

Centennial Park

Centennial Park can be found in West Champaign near Centennial High School. Centennial Park currently contains 134 acres (542,000 m²) of land, making it the largest park in the system. However this land is disjoint, with Centennial High School occupying the land between the original park and its 61 acre (247,000 m²) extension. The original park was founded in 1959 for $161,809 and contains a large public swimming pool with waterslides, picnic pavilions, two baseball fields, the Children's Prairie Farm, and an extensive network of trails through the wooded parkland. An extension to the park was made to include two public tennis courts and a volleyball court just north of the park and adjacent to Centennial High School. Later more land was added to the system north of Centennial High School which includes an additional baseball field, a softball field, and several administrative buildings for the Park District.

Minor parks

• Hessel Park, 26.9 acres (108,860.438 meters²) of land obtained by the city in 1918, contains a free children's water park run by the city as well as a perimeter path totaling 0.6 miles (0.97 km).

• Eisner Park, sandwiched between Church and University on the city's west side, boasts 2 age-appropriate playgrounds, ball courts, and a baseball diamond. A rec center building also sits on this property.

CLARK PARK, is Bound by S. McKinley Ave., W. Daniel St,, & W. Charles St. Obtained 1909 3.4 Acres Donors John S. Clark, Samuel P. Atkinson It is a great neighborhood park with a modern playground, tennis, basketball, memorial rock garden and water element.

Coordinates: 40°05′57″N 88°17′01″W / 40.099213°N 88.2837°W / 40.099213; -88.2837