The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, 10 boat docking harbors, two botanic conservatories, a zoo, and 11 museums, along with one stadium. The Chicago Park District also has more than over 230 field houses, 78 public pools, and dozens of sports and recreational facilities, with year-round programming. It also owns and operates the lakefront stadium, Soldier Field, which the Chicago Bears and Chicago Fire FC lease. The district is an independent taxing authority as defined by Illinois State Statute and is considered a separate agency of the City of Chicago. The district's headquarters are located in the Brighton Park neighborhood.
A footpath in Portage Park
The riverfront pavilion in Ping Tom Memorial Park
Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park
Flagstone steps in Portage Park
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since 1971, as well as Chicago Fire FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) from 1998 to 2005 and since 2020. It also regularly hosts stadium concerts and other large crowd events. The stadium has a football capacity of 62,500, making it the smallest stadium in the NFL. Soldier Field is also the oldest stadium established in both the NFL and MLS.
Soldier Field in 2022
Sculpture of a sailor and his family, gazing eastward over Lake Michigan
The 1961 Chicago Bears practicing for the Armed Forces exhibition game at Soldier Field. The team would later move into the stadium full-time in 1971.
Soldier Field aerial view (1988) before interior redesign