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At one point during the late 50s, the Unity Playlot area was covered with two- and three-flat frame buildings, and on the corner of Drummond and Kimball stood a very large dark gray stucco mansion with a coach house in the rear. The city of Chicago purchased all of these properties for demolition in order to build a city parking lot to accommodate the burgeoning automobile population that was in steady growth in this part of the city. There was one holdout: at the other end of the block at Kimball and Schubert was a two-story frame home with a one-story brick storefront. This property was never part of the original demolition and stands to this day. The balance of the land was transformed into an unmanned city of Chicago metered parking lot.
In the 70s this area went through dramatic changes with much of the Scandinavian, German, and Polish population moving out and other ethnic groups moving in. In the mid-70s the city thought enough to install a sandbox and some swings for the new local young parents and their children. The city fathers also assigned a playlot number to this lot at this time. This initial concession covered only the southeasternmost portion of the lot. Eventually city planners came to their senses and the idea of a city parking lot on this parcel of land was finally scrapped. Thus was born the Unity Playlot. The current hot button is the issue regarding the installation of basketball hoops. This is met with strong opposition from the current alderperson.
W. Warwick
