Does anyone have any photos of Olson Park? This was a park developed at Diversey and Pulaski in 1935 by the Olson Rug Company, and featured a rock garden, duck pond, bird sanctuary, and a 35-foot waterfall. It closed in the late 1970s to make way for a parking lot.
I'm currently co-authoring a book on Avondale and Chicago's Polish village, and we're planning to devote an entire chapter to this park. We have several photos already, but we know there must be more/better photos out there. Any photos and/or leads would be greatly appreciated!
Rob, I believe if you do a search on this forum you will find some photos. Additionally, go to the Forgotten Chicago facebook group archives, several photos there. And of course, should be lots out there on the internet.
I used to live at Diversey and Neva and it seemed there was always a billboard at Diversey and Harlem with a picture of the park on it advertisiing Olson Rug. This was in the early 1950s.
Going down to the waterfall was a big deal when we were kids. My older cousin found out that you could walk behind the waterfall and he found a valve where you could shut off the water. He got banned from the place after that.