Naperville celebrates 50 years of promoting parks

When voters approved creation of the Naperville Park District on Dec. 17, 1966, the city had about 18,000 residents who were used to swimming at Centennial Beach but hadn't experienced a whole lot more in the way of recreation programming.

That soon changed. Two years later, they had the Barn youth center, a farm designated to become a golf course, garden plots, a historic mansion and church and 31 recreational programs and activities.

Fast-forward another 48 years and the 18,000 residents from 1966 would be less than 13 percent of the city's roughly 145,000 population. Park district residents now enjoy an agency with national accreditation that offers 2,400 acres of land among 137 parks that host more than 1,500 programs and special events a year.

Some remember the days without a park district.

But to those who've grown up since Naperville's population boom in the 1970s, '80s and beyond, the park district has been a mainstay. It's grown in partnerships, parks, opportunities and activities, and it's soon to expand even more with the opening of the Fort Hill Activity Center.

The facility begins its regular hours Tuesday, Aug. 23, and celebrates its grand opening Saturday, Aug. 27.

The occasion is both a time to reflect and a time to predict.

Reflecting, park leaders say they're grateful for the foresight and contributions of those who led the district before them, gobbling up green space as developers turned farm fields into subdivisions. Predicting, they say these first 50 years are only the start of a legacy of promoting recreation and socialization to build a strong quality of life.

"It's a great milestone, and I think we continue to serve the community and we continue to grow," parks Commissioner Marie Todd said. "It shows that the park district is a needed amenity to the community and that the community enjoys and utilizes it."

The early days

"I was born before there was a park district," says Ron Ory, a 74-year-old parks commissioner from 1995 to 2015.

He grew up without a park district, too, but he lived near Centennial Beach, which then was run by the city.

He and former parks Commissioner Mary Lou Wehrli, and many other lifelong Napervillians, have their first active memories at the beach, which early lifeguards would keep clean by dumping chlorine into the water from a boat, Wehrli said.

Shortly before the park district formed, a group of teenagers raised $50,000 to fund construction of the Barn. It was a teen center, concert venue, dance hall and later a gym and recreation space that became iconic until it was torn down last month.

The Barn was one of the first facilities of which the new park district gained control in 1969, along with Centennial Beach, Knoch Park, Goodrich Woods, Burlington Park and Pioneer Park.

Formed by voter approval on Dec. 17, 1966, the park district soon was looking to expand to mirror the growth of the city it served.

Growth mode

Naperville doesn't have 137 parks by accident. Many neighborhood open spaces are a result of the land dedication ordinance, approved in 1972. Harris Fawell, an Illinois state senator from 1963 to 1977, and later a U.S. congressman, helped push for the regulation that required developers to donate 5.5 acres (or an equivalent value in cash) for every 1,000 residents their construction would house. In 2001, the rule was updated to require 8.3 acres set aside per 1,000 residents.

"In hindsight, I think everyone agrees that was very beneficial, especially for Naperville," Ory said.

The ordinance let parks leaders in the 1970s and '80s have confidence the parks they built would be convenient for residents of their growing city.

"Most of what we were doing back then was trying to acquire park lands where the public was going to be and looking to the future. We were able to get a lot of the basics in place," said Glen Ekey, executive director from 1980 to 1996. "You can go around to most any part of the city and you'll find parks nearby. We pretty well accomplished what we were aiming for."

Turning to the river

The West Branch of the DuPage River that flows through Naperville had a rebirth in 1981, says Bob Schillerstrom, a former parks commissioner who now serves as chairman of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority Board. It was then when community volunteers and park leaders developed the Riverwalk to celebrate their city's 150th anniversary and help revitalize the downtown after the opening of Fox Valley Shopping center in Aurora.

"The river for much of that time was sort of a backyard of Naperville. It was in the '80s that there was a change and a renaissance," Schillerstrom said. "Starting to work on the river was one of those things that really transformed, or helped to transform, Naperville into the great city that it is today."

Park board Vice President Mike Reilly agrees. When he came to Naperville from the East Coast in the 1990s, one of the features that struck him the most was the 1.75-mile walking path and linear park.

"When I found out that was part of the park district and it was designed to be a park - not just a pedestrian walkway - that really gave me a different perspective on the community," he said.

Build out

Since Reilly and his peers and some of their predecessors took office on the park board, their work has been to develop all the lands acquired a generation before into popular parks with ball fields and basketball courts, tennis courts and sand volleyball pits, jogging trails and fitness stations, soccer fields and even cricket pitches.

The district began developing the DuPage River Trail in 2000 and Frontier Sports Complex in 2001. It opened its first cricket pitch at Commissioners Park in 2008 and completed a 20-acre expansion of Nike Sports Complex in 2011, when it also opened Seager Park Interpretive Center and supporters formed the Naperville Parks Foundation.

The district opened Knoch Knolls Nature Center in 2014 and Sportsman's Park reopened after major soil cleanup in 2015. Next up is the Fort Hill Activity Center featuring a walking track, fitness center, indoor playground, basketball courts, cafe and multipurpose rooms that all fulfill unmet needs. And then comes a breather to form a new strategic plan, assess community needs and determine what's next.

Forward thinking

Certainly the park district will continue to maintain its open spaces, organize sports leagues, host concerts and performances in parks, offer connections to nature and plan programs for seniors. But as technology, workplaces and lifestyles change, so could the mission of the organization now celebrating a half century of service.

Parks Commissioner Kirsten Young says fulfilling the human need to interact in person might become more of a park district activity in the future as working from home becomes more common and alone time increases.

"Some of our focus is going to be a little bit more on how is our world changing and what opportunities can we give to enhance quality of life as social media takes over," Young said.

The park district's success does come back to people - people who wanted places to get outside, to introduce their kids to sports, to swim and socialize, walk and wonder and be a part of the world around them.

"What's allowed it to grow?" Ekey said. "The real simple answer to that is the people in the community. They saw the value of parks and open space and were very supportive."

50 years of Naperville parks

Naperville Park District was formed by voter approval on Dec. 17, 1966, when the city's population was roughly 18,000. Here's a look at the highlights from the 50 years since then.

1968: Park district begins its first year of recreational programming with 31 programs and 3,000 participants

1968: Park district buys Fraley Farm as future site of Springbrook Golf Course

1968: Park district leases and begins operating Martin-Mitchell Mansion

1969: Centennial Beach, the Barn, Knoch Park, Goodrich Woods, Burlington Park and Pioneer Park come under park district control

1970: First garden plots offered at Fraley Outdoor Recreation Area at future site of Springbrook Golf Course

1972: Land dedication ordinance passes, requiring housing developers to donate 5.5 acres for parkland per 1,000 residents

1972: Park district wins National Gold Medal from National Recreation and Park Association

1974: Springbrook Golf Course opens on 170-acre former Fraley Farm

1976: Western DuPage Special Recreation Association created by Naperville, Glen Ellyn and West Chicago park districts

1977: Centennial Beach is renovated with a new water circulation and chlorination system, entrance and parking lot improvements; city population reaches 36,000 and park land totals 621 acres

1977: Zero Population Growth, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, ranks Naperville the No. 1 "kid-friendly city"

1979: Naper Settlement historic village takes over operations of the Martin-Mitchell Mansion

1980: Knoch family donates 13 acres and park district acquires 102 more to form Knoch Knolls park

1981: Community assembles Riverwalk as part of city's sesquicentennial celebration

1983: Halloween Happening starts as alternative to trick-or-treating in wake of Tylenol scare of 1982

1987: Ribfest begins at Rotary Hill

1988: Ribfest moves to Knoch Park

1991: Naperbrook Golf Course opens

1991: Alfred Rubin Riverwalk Community center opens for senior activities on former site of Naperville electric department

1997: The Concert Dance Ensemble forms, now known as Elan Dance Company

2000: DuPage River Trail begins

2000: Phase I of Millennium Carillon is built

2001: Park district begins development of Frontier Park

2001: Land dedication ordinance is amended, increasing the required donation to 8.6 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents

2002: Santa House opens on the Riverwalk

2003: Concerts in Your Park launches

2004: Centennial Skate Park opens

2007: Millennium Carillon tours begin

2008: First cricket pitch opens at Commissioners Park

2009: Park district hosts Naperville's first Healing Field of Honor at Rotary Hill

2011: Nike Sports Complex opens 20-acre expansion

2011: Seager Park Interpretive Center opens

2011: Naperville Parks Foundation forms

2012: 95th Street Center opens

2013: Park district buys 5.2 acres at Quincy Avenue and Fort Hill Drive for indoor activity center

2014: Knoch Knolls Nature Center opens

2015: Sportsman's Park reopens after soil remediation to remove lead contamination

2016: Fort Hill Activity Center opens in late August