Bughouse Square

This is Washington Square Park, also known as Bughouse Square. The land for the park was donated to the city in 1842, making it one the oldest parks in Chicago. It was a favorite among soapbox orators in the early 1900's. In These Times featured an article detailing the early history of Bughouse Square, and how it became the locus of free speech in the city.

If you walk around the perimeter of the park, you'll see the Newberry Library, the Scottish Rite Cathedral, and as you walk a bit south on Dearborn you'll notice a cluster of masonry buildings that represent the largest group of dwellings still in existence built by some of Chicago's wealthy citizens in the immediate aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.