Members of the George School community met in Chicago on May 22 to tour and learn about three of the city's newest parks in the company of Ernie Wong '77, the internationally acclaimed award-winning landscape architect who brought them to life.
"The Chicago parks tour excursion was simply superb. Ernie Wong is a jewel," enthused David Binder '49 after the event. "It was a remarkable experience for us and a delightful way to reconnect with George School. I came away with a memory of what George School meant to me."
One of the parks visited by the group was the Park at Lakeshore East, a six-acre modern park that serves as the focal point of this twenty acre urban infill development. Winner of the 2002 AIA Urban Design Award and the 2008 FIABCI Prix D’Excellence International award, the park space defines the new neighborhood as a “green oasis” at the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. The park is designed with sweeping water features that frame the great lawn and gardens. Playgrounds with interactive water play and a special dog friendly area serve the neighborhood residents.
The second park visited was Stearns Quarry Environmental Park, a twenty-seven acre landfill site that is a joint project between three Chicago city agencies. Formerly a working limestone quarry, it has been transformed into an educational wetland retention area and a active recreation park with recreational areas, nature trails, and native plantings.
The final stop of the tour was the Ping Tom Memorial Park, the first of several planned riverfront parks south of Chicago’s Loop. It is a community enclave of beautiful rolling green spaces, safe play areas for the community’s children, and a cultural facility for the Chinatown community.
"The park tours were a wonderful way for members of the George School community to reconnect," Alumni Relations Director Karen Hallowell commented. "We'd like to thank the Chicago planning group members Bob Bloom '56, Barry Coppock, Dottie Coppock, Eva Eves '67, Jen Parker Holtz '89, Herb Sharpless '66, Ernie Wong ‘77, and Tina Villapando from Site Design Group, Ltd. for all of their work."