Evergreen Park

The City of Chicago acquired this property in 1958 and transferred it to the Chicago Park District the following year. Officially designated Evergreen Park in 1973, the site was one of several parks named for trees and plants at this time. The name “evergreen” is a general term used to describe trees that keep their foliage year round. Evergreens are commonly thought to be synonymous with conifers (cone-bearing trees). In fact, some conifers lose their leaves in winter, and many tropical trees, including palms, are evergreens. Among the most fabled of the evergreens are the coastal and sierra redwoods. The coastal redwood, which grows in the fog belt along the Pacific coast from southern Oregon to Central California, can grow to a towering height of 360 feet. The slightly shorter sierra redwood or giant sequoia can live to be 3,000 years old. The earth’s largest living thing is a giant sequoia known as General Sherman. The massive California evergreen stands 295 feet tall and measures 110 feet in diameter.