Arlington Heights Park District celebrates 100th anniversary with a giant chair
Editor’s note: The story has been updated to reflect a scheduling change regarding the chair’s location on Wednesday.
A giant Adirondack chair is traveling across Arlington Heights as part of the Arlington Heights Park District’s centennial celebration.
The giant blue chair — marked with the park district’s 100th anniversary logo — has appeared at a different location every week since April. The chair moved to Carriage Walk Park on Wednesday.
“People love it, and for us, it's so great to see so many families being able to make memories,” said Amy Lewandowski, chair of the district’s 100th anniversary committee.
The Adirondack chair was purchased to kick off the district’s yearlong centennial celebration, which has been 2⅟₂ years in the making. Members of the community can snap a photo with the chair and share it over social media using the #AHPD100 hashtag.
“We thought it would be a really fun amenity for park users to interact with,” park district Executive Director Carrie Fullerton said. “We have a QR code out there that they can send their photos in.”
The chair will visit 25 parks this summer and fall. The park district plans to create a collage of the photos at the end of its anniversary, Lewandowski said.
“We wanted something that people could take a cute picture in and keep it as a memory in honor of the anniversary,” she added. “The chair has been very well received by the community. We’ve been sent and tagged in dozens and dozens of pictures.”
There have also been pictures of families, kids, adults and seniors — even an American Girl doll — with the chair, Fullerton said.
Formed on June 9, 1925, the district has grown to encompass 58 parks and 700 acres featuring 44 playgrounds, five community centers, two golf courses and more.
“Our goal is to basically improve the quality of life in Arlington Heights through leisure activities, facilities and services,” Fullerton said. “Everybody’s view of recreation is different, and our goal is to try to meet as many needs as possible.”
The district’s centennial celebration will continue through May 2026.
“We really wanted to showcase everything that the park district has accomplished over the last 100 years, and really just making it truly the biggest celebration that Arlington Heights has seen,” Lewandowski said. “There’s only a few other park districts in Illinois that have even reached this milestone.”
Upcoming anniversary celebrations include Rec & Roll Back in Time on Aug. 10 at Recreation Park’s pool before it closes for renovations, Cheers to a Century on Sept. 26, with a Roaring ’20s theme, a coloring contest and a scavenger hunt.
“When people choose to live in a community, they look at it from the perspective of people like to live there, work there or play there,” Fullerton said. “I think the park district is an integral part, along with all of our other community partners, in why people choose to live in Arlington Heights.”