Douglas Wood (research associate)
Wicker’s Broom
Color photography collage
Charles G. Wicker helped developed one of Chicago’s West Side neighborhoods—Wicker Park. He believed that Americans are endowed with the freedom and ability to change things, but they must do it themselves and not wait for others to do it. Since 2002, I have been involved with fund-raising, designing, and maintaining 8,000 square feet of gardens in Wicker Park. This work required recruiting the support of neighborhood organizations, numerous volunteers, and the development of programming for the children and adults who visit our park from all over the city. We’ve helped to change our park from a drug dealer’s haven to a place where thousands come to play, create, and enjoy. Both Mayor Daley and Tim Mitchell, supervisor of the Chicago Park District, now call our park a “model” due to the fact that the neighbors “took charge’ and just “did it.” They have asked that we recreate this model in various parts of the city—if those other parks and communities are willing to hold the broom and “just do it.” In the past four years, I have discovered that Wicker was right. This photo collage comprises images from the restored fountain court, a new sculpture of Wicker—designed, funded, and installed this fall by his great-granddaughter Nancy Wicker, and a segment of a photo of the fountain court in 1895, courtesy of the Chicago Park District Special Collections.