Mary Bartelme Park

Formerly the site of an old infirmary, Mary Bartelme Park is a 2.71-acre park in the Near West Side Community Area that features elements combining a sense of history with modern, innovative design. Three strong, diagonal paths intersect in this one-block park to create distinct, programmed zones. These zones include a fountain plaza, a children’s play area, a sunken dog park, an open lawn area, a viewing hill, and an enclosed seating area.

The Chicago Park District acquired this land for parkland from the University of Illinois in 2006.  In 2010, the District officially named this new park in honor of Mary Bartelme (1866 – 1954), the first woman judge in Illinois, who devoted her life to reforming the treatment of children and women in the court system. Born near Fulton and Halsted Streets, Bartelme was a Chicago Public School teacher who decided to become one of the City’s first women lawyers.  Admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1894, Bartelme was appointed as Public Guardian of Cook County three years later, and helped establish America’s first juvenile court in 1899. Sixteen years later, she was chosen to assist the presiding judge, allowing girls in the juvenile court system the opportunity to appear before a female judge for this first time. She went on to be elected as a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1923.