Oz Park

Oz Park — Lincoln Park’s yellow brick corner

A Tin Man welded from chrome car bumpers on one corner, a bronze Cowardly Lion on another, a Scarecrow standing among the perennials and Dorothy with Toto beside the playground. Underneath the theme this is an ordinary, hard-working neighborhood park of about fourteen acres — ballfields, tennis courts, a fieldhouse — given a second identity by four sculptures and by a Chicago author who wrote the book several miles away.

Highlights

• Tin Man — John Kearney’s first Oz statue, installed in October 1995 and built from welded chrome automobile bumpers, the sculptor’s signature material.
• Cowardly Lion — added in June 2001 at the park’s southeastern corner, cast in bronze from wax forms.
• Scarecrow — installed in June 2005, standing in the Emerald Garden behind the Tin Man.
• Dorothy and Toto — the last of the four, added in May 2007 on the western side, right by the playlot.
• Dorothy’s Playlot — named for both the character and the donor Dorothy Melamerson, resurfaced in 2007 with rubberized safety surfacing and new equipment.
• Emerald Garden — flowering and perennial beds planted and maintained by the volunteer Oz Park Advisory Council.

What you’ll find

The park is compact and busy, laid out as a working local green rather than an attraction: the statues stand at its corners and edges, so you walk past sports, gardens and playgrounds to reach all four.

• Melamerson Athletic Field, rebuilt in 1996–97 and named for the donor who paid for it.
• Tennis courts, basketball courts and baseball diamonds in near-constant use.
• A fieldhouse with a gymnasium running youth and adult programs all year.
• A walking and cycling path of roughly six tenths of a mile looping the grounds.
• Mature shade trees and lawn that works for picnics and reading.
• Benches and open corners that make the park a daily through-route for the neighborhood.

Things to do — and who it’s for

• Families with small children — the playlot is the center of gravity, with Dorothy and Toto standing directly beside it.
• Oz enthusiasts — the four statues sit far enough apart to make a genuine hunt of it, and each is a different material or method.
• Casual athletes — tennis, pickleball, basketball, soccer and cross-country programs, all within walking distance for locals.
• Gardeners and photographers — the Emerald Garden peaks in high summer and frames the Scarecrow beautifully.
• Runners — a short loop that links straight into the wider Lincoln Park street grid.
• Dog walkers and residents — this is a daily-use park first and a photo stop second.

Getting there & practical

Oz Park lies in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on the North Side, a short distance inland from the lakefront parks. The Brown and Purple lines stop at Armitage, roughly half a mile away, and Fullerton — served by the Red, Brown and Purple lines — is a similar walk from the northern side; several bus routes come closer than either. There is no gate, no ticket and no admission charge for anything outdoors: statues, gardens, courts and playlot are all free, and only registered fieldhouse classes and sports programs are paid. The grounds open at six in the morning and close at eleven at night, while the fieldhouse runs afternoons and evenings on weekdays and closes at weekends. Forty-five minutes is enough to find all four statues and walk the garden — considerably longer once children reach the playlot.

When to visit

Summer is the peak: the playlot full from morning, the Emerald Garden in flower, ball games on the field and the annual Oz Festival drawing costumed crowds. Autumn is the prettiest season, with the bronzes standing against turning trees and the park quiet on weekday mornings. Winter strips it back to bare structure, but the statues photograph beautifully under snow and the Tin Man’s chrome catches whatever light there is. Spring brings the beds back and the tennis courts into use, and is the easiest time of year to have the four characters entirely to yourself.

Good to know

The land came out of the Lincoln Park Urban Renewal Area, the 1960s clearance program pushed through by the Lincoln Park Conservation Association after a decade of neighborhood decline. The Chicago Park District acquired the site in 1974 and named it Oz Park in 1976 for Lyman Frank Baum (1856–1919), who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1899 while living in a house facing Humboldt Park, several miles to the west; the book was published in 1900. The statues came much later and were never part of the original plan. An elderly neighbor first proposed them, and died before the idea won approval four years on; in the early 1990s the Oz Park Advisory Council commissioned the Chicago sculptor John Kearney. He delivered the Tin Man in October 1995 in his trademark welded chrome bumpers, then the Cowardly Lion in June 2001, the Scarecrow in June 2005 and Dorothy with Toto in May 2007 — the last three cast in bronze from wax forms. Dorothy Melamerson, a retired Chicago gym teacher who cared about children’s physical well-being, funded courts and a field in 1994 and left roughly 900,000 dollars to the park; two thirds of it rebuilt the athletic field in 1996–97, which now carries her name. Further improvements followed in 2006 with support from State Representative John Fritchey and Alderman Vi Daley, and the playlot was resurfaced in 2007.

Visitor tips

• The statues are spread across four different corners and edges — walk the perimeter, or you will certainly miss one.
• The fieldhouse is closed at weekends, so plan restroom stops around that if you are bringing children.
• Pair it with the lakefront parkland to the east; the two are an easy walk apart and make a much fuller half-day.

Questions & answers

Why is it called Oz Park? The Chicago Park District named it in 1976 for L. Frank Baum, who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in Chicago in 1899. He never lived beside this park — his house faced Humboldt Park, several miles west.

How many statues are there? Four: the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and Dorothy with Toto. All are by John Kearney, installed between October 1995 and May 2007.

What is the Tin Man made of? Welded chrome automobile bumpers, the material Kearney was known for. The other three were cast in bronze using wax forms.

Is it good for young children? Yes. Dorothy’s Playlot is the heart of the park, resurfaced in 2007 with a rubberized safety surface and new equipment, and Dorothy and Toto stand right next to it.

Is there an entrance fee? No. The park, gardens, courts, playlot and statues are all free. Only registered fieldhouse classes and sports programs are charged.

How long does a visit take? Three quarters of an hour to find all four statues and walk the Emerald Garden. Families whose children discover the playlot should budget a good deal more.