The Printers Row Park on Dearborn Street between Polk and Harrison Streets officially opened Nov. 7, with 2nd Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti and 5th District State Representative Ken Dunkin in attendance. More than 200 people came for the elaborate event, which featured several speakers and musical interludes.
Local resident Jack Scott played the lute, and the Rev. Christopher Coon, pastor of the Urban Village Church, which holds services at Grace Place across the street from the park, gave the invocation. Mary Ivory, Gail Merritt, and other members of the South Loop Neighbors (SLN) read poetry. Members of the Columbia College band and Jones College Prep student jazz ensemble performed.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Gazette Chicago's Coverage of the Printers Row Park Dedication
Not new news, but thought people would be interested in the link to the article:
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16 comments:
Cute park, but I can't believe they put a "No Dogs" sign on the lawn. Okay, I can believe it, but don't agree with it. This neighborhood is all about the dogs.
Yeah, I'm a little torn on this subject.
I don't doubt for two seconds that some inconsiderate dog owners have fowled this area already BUT the new little Pritzger Park just North of the library suffered from the same problem . . . they put up some much nicer (smaller/discreet) no dogs-feeding birds signs.
The big, in your face, ugly sign is for the dog owners who don't have the common sense to pick up after their dogs, allow their dogs to pee on and in front of restaurants and allow their dogs to jump on strangers because they can't imagine anyone not wanting dog hair or dog saliva on them not to mention allergies. In the summer, the stench of dog urine is putrid.
Before the sign was put up, I cringed every time I saw small kids play and roll on that small patch of grass knowing numerous dogs were using it as their toilet.
I'm not a fan of the sign but I appreciate that it reminds dog owners that this neighborhood is NOT for their dogs. Owning a dog is a privilege that requires respect for your neighbors and public space.
If you want to live in a place where you can allow your dog to do whatever it wants, please go buy a house with a private backyard where it can pee and poo all over it.
For the record, I grew up with dogs and have owned six of them in my lifetime.
I have to say, I was hoping for more green space here. Perhaps it will feel that way in the summer or many years when the trees grow larger.
I think the way this space was designed makes it much more manageable and flexible in general relation to use.
Prior to being a parking lot (and before the fountain) this particular spot had a couple really seedy little buildings on it. I'll take the current incarnation over the previous.
Too bad that some rude dog owners have already "fowled" this spot. Makes it hard on the rest of us that actually do attend to our pets waste.
I do feel it's more "square" or "plaza" than "park". There needs to be more green for "park." (Quotation mark quota for the day achieved.)
As happy as I am to have the "park" finished I am very disappointed at the missed opportunity. The Sloop, and particularly this area are incredibly short of green space. What do we get? Another paved area with a token swatch of grass, which is now ruined by an amazingly ugly "no dogs" sign sort of stuck into it. Beyond that, the entire park just strikes me as ham fisted, with very poor detailing. I understand what they were getting at, but I just have the feeling that any elegance was "value engineered" out. A true missed opportunity.
As a dog owner who tries to be responsible, I have to say that owners were using that spot since the city has provided absolutely no legal area anywhere within normal walking distance that we can use. The Grant Park area doesn't cut it at 6:00am or 11:00pm.
The signs are necessary because, while some may think the neighborhood is all about dogs, I say that it is all about the homeowners and their families. The dog owners living in the apartments at 14th and State destroyed the parkways leading into Dearborn Park II. I have watched them walk across the street and walk their dogs into a flower bed and then back to the apartment. Once the signs were put down, the visible evidence diminished but, of course, the apartment owners did not repair the damage. Now we are left with a muddy mess. Once the snow flies and the evidence is more easily hidden, I expect the mess to begin again. In Dearborn I or II, I often wonder about any parent that allows their child to play in any of the parks. I expect that dog urine would be found on every child's clothes that plays their. I seriously question when, if ever, these dog owners will put children first and allow them to have a park to play in that does not reek of dog urine and feces. But, apparely they do not care.
Hey Jim in South Loop,
If you can't find an appropriate place for your dog to use as a toilet than...guess what...don't own a dog.
Don't make excuses for being an irresponsible dog owner. Walking your dog to an appropriate place and cleaning up after them is the price for owning a dog. If you're not willing to do that, than get a goldfish.
As a dog owner, I can attest that the reason for the HUGE sign is because the vast majority of my fellow dog owners who are completely inconsiderate when it comes to clean-up. I am also a parent, and it sickens and saddens me that so many parks have been ruined by dog owners (most of whom are renters in this hood and do not care about things such as park sustainability).
I can name some neighborhoods that are "all about the dogs"... those are neighborhoods where there are homes with fenced-in backyards. Owning a dog and locking it up in a small apartment is cruel IMHO. I owned a dog when I had a yard, but choose not to because I can not offer that in Dearborn Park II. I also cringe when I see the kids play in the park at 15th Street, where all of the dog walkers are letting their dogs urinate.
I invite the dog owners of Printers Row to walk a couple blocks farther and go to the open prarie on Wells & Polk. Your dog will thank you.
The "no dogs" sign in this park is completely necessary. Take a look at the south corner of Polk and Financial. Financial was completely redone and freshly laid sod has been completely destroyed 3 times by dog owners who don't understand that if everyone lets their dogs pee in the same spot on the corner, the grass will die. How utterly clueless these people are. We are now left with dead grass on both sides of the street, not to mention the dog poo that litters the rest of the grass on Financial.
When the Printer's Row Park opened, I saw the same thing happening on that patch of grass. The grass is not for dogs...which is why the raised the grass above street level! Come on people!
I am a dog owner. I clean up after my dog. And I will never understand how many dog owners can be so completely oblivious to these issues.
To the last Dog Owner, who posted with common sense, curious what are the things that can be done to improve the dog feces/urine situation? Setaside bark areas for urination? Fines?
I doubt adding more Dog runs will help anything, as the issue of dog dumping in the neighborhood and dog runs are independent. Most dog owners are lazy and will not walk even a few blocks to let their dog wizz and poop at a Dog run, they need something right aroud their building.
We have a dog owner in our area that has three huge dogs. Instead of letting them do their business in his little yard or in his parkway, he walks them a few hundred yards to another association and messes up someone elses lawn and parkway.
The problem I have with the renovation of the "Park" is the lack of seating. I absolutely LOVED sitting in the benches around that little fountain on a nice day. and now they're gone...
Lack of seating? There's seating everywhere . . . the numerous blocks with the typography on them are for sitting on as well as the lip of the grassy hill, which is basically a giant bench.
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