Ellis Park Apartments (Chicago, Illinois)
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Product Details
Nicely engraved antique bond certificate from Ellis Park Apartments dating back to the 1920's. This document was printed by the Corporation Supply Co. and measures approximately 10" (w) by 15" (h).
This certificate's vignette features an eagle atop a shield.
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You will receive the exact certificate pictured.
Historical Context
This bond was issued to help fund the building of apartments at the northeast corner of 37th Street and Ellis Park in Chicago.
One of Chicago’s oldest green spaces, Ellis Park honors Samuel Ellis for whom Ellis Avenue is also named. Having arrived in Chicago from Massachusetts in 1831, Samuel Ellis (1790 - 1856) helped defend Chicago during the 1832 Black Hawk War.
Ellis purchased more than 135 acres of South Side lakefront property. He owned and ran the Ellis Inn, farmed the land, and served as the area’s milkman. In 1855, Ellis subdivided his land holdings between 31st and 39th Streets, from Lake Michigan to South Park Boulevard (now Martin Luther King Drive), and donated a wedge-shaped parcel to the city for use as a public park.
The area surrounding Ellis Park, known as the Oakland community, had first developed as a fashionable neighborhood, fell into decline at the turn of the twentieth century. At that time, as wealthy residents move out, their homes were divided into apartments and rooming houses. Ellis Park had also been impacted. Its landscape was carved up by adjacent residents who extended sidewalks from their homes and planted trees and shrubs on either side. A decaying bandstand added to the sense of disorder.
In the early 1900s, the Special Park Commission reclaimed Ellis Park from the encroaching property owners. Acclaimed landscape architect Jens Jensen (1860- 1951), then serving as a Special Park Commission member, redesigned the 3-acre park. His 1906 plan included two ornamental fountains and a circular, tree-edged lawn.
Decades later, the surrounding neighborhood changed again, and the federal government erected the Ida B. Wells housing project. To accommodate the area’s larger population, the city’s Bureau of Parks and Recreation (successor to the Special Park Commission) installed two new wading pools which drew more than 14,000 children the first summer.
The City of Chicago transferred Ellis Park to the Chicago Park District in 1959. Several years later, the park district purchased additional land east, west, and north of the original park, more than tripling its size. Improvements to the enlarged park included ball fields, tennis courts, as well as trees, lawns, and walkways.
Additional Information
Certificates carry no value on any of today's financial indexes and no transfer of ownership is implied. All items offered are collectible in nature only. So, you can frame them, but you can't cash them in!
All of our pieces are original - we do not sell reproductions. If you ever find out that one of our pieces is not authentic, you may return it for a full refund of the purchase price and any associated shipping charges.