This six-way intersection in the heart of Lincoln Park is relatively quiet, but is home to a fantastic gem: Oz Park.

Established in 1974, the park was not officially named Oz Park until 1976, in honor of Lyman Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other Oz books. He settled in Chicago in 1891, a few miles west of the park’s location.

Although there is no statue of Dorothy in the park, there is an important Dorothy in the story of Oz Park. Dorothy Melamerson, a former fitness enthusiast, elementary school gym teacher, and Lincoln Park resident, bequeathed nearly $600,000 of her estate to the 1996-1997 renovation of the park’s athletic field and playlot.