Champaign Park District

Scott Park, Champaign

The Champaign Park District is the municipality association responsible for the parks in the city of Champaign, Illinois. There are just over 650 acres (2 km²) of parkland within the city limits.^[1] As of the fiscal year 2011-2012, the park district had an operating budget of almost $11.5 million.^[2] Furthermore, the park district employees about 65 full-time staff and over 400 part-time and seasonal workers.^[3]

Notable Parks

Centennial Park

Main article: Centennial Park (Champaign)

Dodds Park

Main article: Dodds Park

West Side Park

West Side Park

The 12.5 acre (51,000 m²) West Side Park is located in downtown Champaign, blocks away from the busy streets and within full view of City Hall. Originally zoned for the city square and future county courthouse (which was later sited in Urbana, Illinois), it became in 1859 the first park in the system. Known as the commons when it was first created, it was in 1861 designated as a public cow pasture where any citizen might graze their cow for a fee of $0.35 per month.

Benjamin F. Johnson (1818–1894), an executive of the Illinois Central Railroad, donated $10,000 to the city for the building of a statue and bandstand in the commons. Sadly this was not completed until five years after his death. The statue "A Prayer for Rain" was sculpted by Edward Kemeys (1843–1907) and placed atop Johnson fountain. Both were dedicated to the project's benefactor in 1899.

Other notable monuments in what is now known as West Side park include the Lincoln Monolith, and several statues and plaques commemorating the Indian War.

Minor parks

Hessel Park, 26.9 acres (108,860.438 meters²) of land obtained by the city in 1918, contains a free children's water park run by the city as well as a perimeter path totaling 0.6 miles (0.97 km).
Eisner Park, sandwiched between Church and University on the city's west side, boasts 2 age-appropriate playgrounds, ball courts, and a baseball diamond. A rec center building also sits on this property.

References

↑ http://www.champaignparkdistrict.com/general/faq.htm
↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2013-07-24.

Coordinates: 40°05′57″N 88°17′01″W / 40.099213°N 88.2837°W / 40.099213; -88.2837

City of Champaign

People	List of people from Champaign

History and government	Burnham Athenaeum Cattle Bank Champaign City Building Champaign Public Library Construction of Assembly Hall First Presbyterian Church Illinois Traction Building Inman Hotel Lincoln Building Orpheum Theatre Stone Arch Bridge U.S. Post Office Vriner's Confectionery

Education	Centennial High School Champaign Central High School Judah Christian School St. Thomas More High School Parkland College University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

Cultural places and events	Boneyard Creek Campustown Champaign Park District Centennial Park Dodds Park Champaign Swarm (MPBA) Ebertfest: Roger Ebert's Film Festival Illinois Marathon JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana Krannert Art Museum Market Place Mall Orpheum Children's Science Museum Staerkel Planetarium State Farm Center Virginia Theatre The Rare Book & Manuscript Library (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Public transportation	Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Illinois Terminal University of Illinois Willard Airport

Interstates and highways	Interstate 57 Interstate 72 Interstate 74 U.S. Route 45 U.S. Route 150 Illinois Route 10

Category Commons

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