I first heard of it from my friend Pam. But after accidently wandering to it one day, she was unable to find it again. Today my playground expert friend, AKA Playground Pointers, showed me the way to the park that is such a secret that it doesn’t even have a name.

The Park with No Name

It seemed like it was in a valley, surrounded by tall residential buildings on all sides. It was not far from Millennium Park, where we jogged to this morning to see Mr. Singer. Again. That makes for 4 shows in 2 weeks.

Mr Singer Groupies

Back to the no name park. It had sprinklers in the center, a pirate shaped play structure, swings, and another boat-like structure that actually rocked back and forth. Soft surface. Surprisingly comfortable benches with shade and nice shrubbery. During our visit a Mom blew bubbles for all the kids. Another Dad filled water balloons for the whole park.

Jack pretends we are sailing to the Cayman Islands

Besides the park itself, right outside of the gate there is a great open lawn area. But the best bit was copious amounts of fountains. I think we spent as much time playing in the fountains as the actual park.

Jack, Josephine, and Lillian

No bathrooms nearby, so I found myself in a porta potty on a construction site. Crouching in that smelly cell while holding both of Ben’s hands so he didn’t touch anything was the low point of the day for sure. The good news is the construction site is building a Fresh Market and other stores so I’m sure there will be a bathroom there soon.

Surprisingly the highlight of my day had nothing to do with finding a park that I’ve wanted to see for years. It was a tense moment when I was yelling at Ben to sit in the stroller on the L platform. Jack looked over, saw him crying and gave him his Elmo. He stopped crying immediately. I couldn’t have been prouder of Jack for that display of empathy and problem solving ability.