Eldridge+Park

media type="custom" key="75142" Eldridge Park is a neat place to go play soccer, tennis and probably any other sport you could think of. Through the middle of Eldridge Park runs a creek which is now called Salt Creek. It separates the east and west sides of the park. People used to go fishing in Salt Creek, but the creek is dirtier than it used to be.

In 1983, a bridge was built across Salt Creek to connect the east and west sides of the park. Now, people could walk across Salt Creek without having to go around the whole park.

The park has changed completely from what it used to be, but there is one thing that still remains: The Big Hill. In the Winter, people like to spend their spare time having fun in the snow. Eldridge park is a great place to go sledding because of its hilly landscape. The big hill is also very popular for people jogging in the summer.

In 1970, the Eldridge Park Lagoon was complete. It is a relaxing, swampy place with a variety of trees and many birds come to visit. In 1975, the recreational building near the lagoon was finished with construction. Now, it’s a great place to go and relax and possibly take a nap!

Eldridge Park is located on the corner of Butterfield Road and Commonwealth. It is used for soccer games mostly, but it can also be used for cross country meets, tennis matches, and just playing for fun.

When I was little I always went to my brother’s soccer games and played on the playground. I always loved to go and play on the tire swing with my friends. My all-time favorite memory of Eldridge Park was walking back and forth across the bridge and thinking I was on a treasure hunt.

Now, I like to spend time running with my sister up and down the hill and around the park.

Eldridge Park has been around for many years and shares memories with many people. It’s a great place to go have fun, relax, or workout. Adults enjoy it just as much as kids do!

In 1957, Elmhurst held a “Name the Park” contest, to choose a name for their newest park. The winner, a 7th grader from Immaculate Conception Grade School, chose the name Eldridge park, because of the early farmer who had planted crops in what is now Eldridge Park. Edward Eldridge also was the first supervisor of York Township.

For many years, Eldridge Park was a very swampy and wet place, nothing you could see being a park. So Elmhurst used it as a landfill, till about the 1950’s. During the years of 1956-1962 Elmhurst purchased both the east and west sides of Eldridge Park. After both purchases, Elmhurst now owned 42.79 more acres of land.

After all those years of construction (Preparing it to become a safer park), Eldridge park has turned into a great place for people of all ages. Eldridge now has 2 playgrounds (one on either side of Salt Creek), a recreation center, a lagoon, 4 soccer fields, a baseball field, a tennis court, street hockey court, a sled hill and a path that circles the park.

One of my best memories of Eldridge Park was it was there where I scored my first goal in AYSO Soccer. But whenever I go to Eldridge I also go on the bridge, with my little cousins, and watch the ducks swim and skip rocks across the creek.