Open space projects approved by City Council today will honor a Morgan Park community activist, a Near South Side saxophonist, and survivors of the Vietnam War.

“Chicago needs to maximize all of its open space assets, no matter how big or small,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. “City financial assistance will improve these sites for public use while preserving the memories of people and events that should not be forgotten.”

Edna White Garden

Improvements to Edna White Garden at 1816-1830 W. Monterey Avenue will be supported with $70,000 in Open Space Impact fees.  Plans for site, which is owned by the NeighborSpace land trust and managed by nearby residents, include the addition of a pergola, benches and landscaping.  White promoted human relations, gardening, animal welfare, and youth programming in the Morgan Park community until she was murdered in her home in 1993.

Open Space Impact Fees are used to fund open space projects within each of Chicago’s 77 community areas.

Vietnam Survivors Memorial

A 3,800-square-foot parcel of City-owned land at 817 S. Oakley Boulevard will be sold for $1 to the Vietnam Survivors Memorial Foundation for public open space. The site, adjacent to the existing Vietnam Survivors Memorial on the Near West Side, will provide additional space for the park and memorial.

The memorial was established by Near West Side veteran William Lavicka in 1987.

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