Woodlawn

Mid-January my husband and I decided to walk from our Hyde Park home to the neighborhood just south of us—Woodlawn. Temperatures during the past fall had been unseasonably warm. This morning’s freezing drizzle was preferable to the arctic winter blast everyone promised would soon arrive.

We headed along the lake to Jackson Park. Not long after we first moved to Chicago Wooded Island, in the center of the park, was closed and fenced off for restoration. The Island features the Osaka Japanese Garden, constructed for the White City at the 1893 World’s Fair. A newspaper article promised the closed portion of the park would be available for a Saturday tour.

Despite all of the construction equipment I was surprised by the beautiful colors in the Bobolink Meadow in the park. Walking along the trail it was easy to forget we were in the middle of the city. We spent a while meandering along the trails. Too long, it turned out.

The rain increased as we finally reached the south gate entrance to Wooded Island. I thought we’d have another half hour for a self-guided tour. Instead, the gate was locked and cars were pulling out of the parking lot. Since we’d already walked this far we continued on our journey. We passed empty boat harbors. The golden statue of The Republic, a replica from the White City, glistened in the rain.

Heading back north along the western edge of Jackson Park we saw the old Hyde Park High School for the first time. I’ve heard local South Siders talk about attending school there. The building, like so many in the area, is a faded reminder of when the neighborhood used to cater to the city’s wealthier residents.

We reached the northern boundary of Woodlawn at a strip of park known as the Midway Plaisance. Another leftover from the World’s Fair, it once contained cheap thrills pushed to outside of the serious White City, such as amusement rides. The term “midway” is still used at modern fairs.

Wandering into the residential area of Woodlawn we stumbled into the end of the 61^st Street Farmers Market at Experimental Station. Originally I had planned to walk across Woodlawn to one of the oldest restaurants in the city, except we were wet and the temperature was dropping. We warmed up inside. While most of the vendors were already packing up I still found amazing fresh cinnamon swirl bread, poppy pastries, and the most delicious giant oatmeal cookies with chocolate filling to take home.

Once back outside we toured a bit more of the residences and the southern end of the University of Chicago campus. Soon the rain turned to heavy snow flakes. Already soaked from the morning walk it was time to head home.