A Park In Lost Chicago

This is a story that manages to mix Native Americans, the Great Depression, a rug company and families in one location, that unfortunately, in the eyes of many, was lost, then remembered and now is duly noted in Chicago History.
My grandfather was taciturn, reserved and a very formal man who yet, was warm, gracious and charitable. In this mix of traits, there was a side of him that somehow escaped my notice. This was the creative side of my grandfather, that somehow mixed the promotional skill of a P.T Barnum with commerce,inserting this activity purposefully with the timing of an event in conjunction with competing for notice in what now are called news cycles, the media by capturing the public's attention. All of this from a man I knew as a child perfectly content to puff on a cigar, while tinkering with household repairs.

All of this story revolves around a lost Park. The Olson manufacturing mill was located in Chicago at Diversey Ave. and Pulaski. During the war era, when raw material was scarce, people would send in their old wool rugs, rags, clothing etc. and Olson Rug would turn them into a beautiful area rug. The family owned business was "the place" to buy rugs for many years. Alongside the factory was the renowned Olson Memorial Park. Walter E. Olson built the 22 acre park in 1935. The project took nearly six months to complete. About 800 tons of stone and 800 yards of soil were used for it's construction. Approximately 3,500 perennials were used along with numerous species of junipers, spruces, pines, arbor-vitaes and annuals. The park consisted of a stunning rock garden, duck pond and 35-foot waterfall. Olson Park became a popular spot for family outings. During the first Sunday after it's dedication Olson Park attracted as many as 600 visitors per hour. In 1965, Olson Rug sold it's building to Marshall Fields. In the 1970's the waterfall was turned off and regrettably in the eyes of many, the park dismantled and demolished to make room for, of all things, a parking lot.

Here is the portion of an article entitled "Chicago's Seven Lost Wonders"

The Olson Waterfall

"It wasn't Kublai Khan but the Olson Rug Co. that decreed a mighty pleasure dome on the Northwest Side. In 1935 Walter E. Olson created a park next to his carpet factory at Diversey and Pulaski. The centerpiece was an ersatz mountain with an equally artificial 35-foot waterfall. It took a pharaoh's army of 200 workers six months to fashion the thing out of 800 tons of stone and 800 yards of soil. The Olson Waterfall was saluted in a contemporary newspaper account as "the most pretentious undertaking of its kind in the country."

In those Depression years, Olson Park was as close to nature's wonders as most Chicagoans could get. Until it closed in 1971, myriad families picnicked on the grounds, watching visiting American Indian chiefs do war dances in full MGM regalia. It was also a venue for saying "Let's let bygones be bygones": The park's opening corresponded with the 100th anniversary of the expulsion of Native American tribes from Chicago. As a small measure of amends, the Olson Waterfall was symbolically deeded back to the Indians."

The park opening was in the hands of my grandfather.


My grandfather Oscar was one generation removed from the family farm in Crete, Illinois and in that same entrepreneurial spirit we saw in Henry, his uncle,who manufactured soda pop, we now follow him, in retrospect into the past. He owned a public relation's firm and consequently was responsible for making Olson Park, as it came to be called, a success, when it came to fruition.

Of course there had to be souvenirs printed for the occasion, many detail's to be attended to. Here is one that remains, a post card.


The park was originally conceived and developed beginning in 1935 by Walter E Olson, son of the original founder of the company, who subsequently retained my grandfather to insure it's success. It had a Native American theme displayed here in the pictures and when it was originally dedicated on September 27th, 1935 on American-Indian Day (not sure if this still exists) was attended by members of various tribes native to the area including Potawatomi, Winnebago, Chippewa and Ottawa. All arranged by one O.F Duensing.