Last week, we offered a clue that described a haven of tranquility beneath the rumble of a passing train. We hinted that this location sits alongside a river, and the smell of char siu is around the corner.
And for reality-show geeks, this might have been a dead giveaway: a cabbie got lost trying to get to this location during one show’s season finale.
That place–the third destination in At Play’s “Find It!” contest– is Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chicago’s Chinatown. The rumble above comes from the CTA Orange Line train, the river is the south branch of the Chicago River, char siu is Chinese barbecue pork and the park made an appearance during the sixth season of the hit CBS-TV show, “The Amazing Race.”
Several landmarks set Ping Tom Memorial Park apart from others in the Chicago Park District. A massive lift bridge anchors the park’s south end, towering over the nearby Bridgeport neighborhood. A Chinese pagoda offers shade on hot summer days and four ornate dragon pillars highlight the circular terrace near the park’s entrance.
On most mornings at the park, area residents can be spotted performing tai chi, the Chinese art of meditation notable for its slow-moving, fluid movements. Boaters often use Ping Tom Memorial Park as a start and end point, and there is also a children’s play area. The park is in the midst of a multi-year, $36 million renovation with hopes of adding an athletic field house, a baseball field and doubling its land area.
“It’s so rare in this area to have so many buildings and have a park that’s peaceful and hidden away,” said Jimmy Lee, executive director of the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. “We try to make it similar to what China is like.”
The park is named for Ping Tom, a prominent civic leader in Chinatown. Tom, who died in 1995, was instrumental in creating Chinatown Square, the nearby $100 million residential and retail center in the heart of Chicago’s Chinese community.
http://bancodeprofissionais.com/media/flash/2005-07/18566672.swf
In 1991, the Chicago Park District acquired the land of a former Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad yard near West 19th Street and Wentworth Avenue. That land was converted into Ping Tom Memorial Park in 1998 and has since played host to community events such as outdoor film screenings.
Today, the park is perhaps best known as home to the annual Dragon Boat Race. In its fourth year, the race this past Saturday drew 5,000 people to Ping Tom Memorial Park. Organizers say 22 teams–comprised of 18 paddlers and a drummer riding a long boat shaped like a dragon–took part in the festivities.
(Audio clue from Chicagoan Jimmy Lee)
