mini park independence day

Fourth of July on a Friday is like having two Saturdays. We rarely have a real Saturday like most people - you know, cut the grass, throw a barbecue, play a round of golf, or maybe even set up the canopy, put out the nylon lawn chairs, fill the one-use styrofoam cooler with your favorite beverage, set up the slip 'n slide in the backyard, and go topless for the afternoon like our neighbors - you know real Saturday kind of stuff. Since our neighbor ripped the slip 'n slide belly-flopping with his keys in his pocket, we decided to use the first Saturday of the weekend to get out and enjoy more of Champaign's mini parks. We had such a good time at McCollum Park and Mini Park II on Memorial Day, we couldn't pass up the opportunity for another holiday visit. 

The first stop of the day was Mini Park V at 909 W. Church Street. Obtained through a lease from the Carle Foundation in 1988, the luscious .01 acres located just west of The Pavilion - Champaign's premier mental health institute - provides park goers with ample space for playing frisbee, engaging in a fierce game of bocce ball, or even setting up the croquet wickets. Biff and Zoe managed to get a spot right in front of the sign! We were the only visitors.

Everyone must have been at a 4th of July barbecue or maybe staking out places for the fireworks at Dodds Park. It's possible, however, that most of the park regulars were visiting the cows at Prairie Farm. No matter, we had the place to ourselves! 

Because 98% of the park is asphalt, Mini Park V is the destination for Champaign's rollerbladers, rollerskaters, and street hockey enthusiasts. In our excitement to get out of the door, we forgot the rollerskates, but Biff said we could probably return next week. We did, however, make it over to the Pavilion for a look at their top-rate facilities. We might leave the rollerskates at home every time we visit Mini Park V.

Convenient parking is located in the park. Parking is free as is admission. Long-term parking is provided for friends and family of Pavilion patients. Validation can be obtained at the front desk. 

Some recent photos of friends enjoying the tropical paradise of Hawaii's pristine coastline have given us a hankerin' for our own island-hopping adventure. We packed up our things and headed to one of Champaign's Flower Islands. Located on the southeast corner of Prospect and Devonshire, this flower island can satisfy any floraphile's addiction.

Its beautiful arrangement of pansies and its exotic palm-like center piece attract heavy traffic during the summer months, so we advise an early morning or late evening visit. None of the cars stopped this Independence Day, though nearly everyone came to a complete stop at the intersection to gaze at all the flowers in all their summer loveliness. Again we suspect everyone was en route to some kind of patriotic party, too busy for what really makes this country great.

  

Convenient parking is located across the street at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Admission to the island is free. 

Stay tuned to Bunna and Biff for more about Champaign's mini parks and for your chance to vote for your favorite mini park and much, much more!

mini park memorial day

The CU Sightings crew is finally back from sabbatical! The time away from the CU area really made us homesick and we were eager to get out and enjoy all that the metropolis has to offer this Memorial Day. So we packed up Zoe and headed for Champaign's mini parks, the subject of what will be a multi-part expose on this particularly quaint feature of the Twin Cities.

Our first stop was McCollum Park (originally named Mini Park VII) at 1060 S. Neil Street. This charming park, obtained by the Champaign Park District in 1990, stretches nearly two-tenths of a mile along the east side of south Neil Street between Honorary Tim Nugent Way and the attractive vacant lot to its north.

 

Given its proximity to the railway, the train, which makes frequent visits, makes this park a favorite with children who love to count the cars. Today's drizzle must have kept the other families away, but we enjoyed watching the Canadian National Railway cars bustling down the tracks. The capacious .9 acres allow plenty of space for football or picnics and with the other features the park has to offer, such as the billowing factory smokestacks, the entertaining playground rides for kids (like this adorable chicken),

or the medium-voltage electrical substation,

there's no end to the fun at McCollum Park. Convenient parking is located south of the park at the corner of Neil St. and Honorary Tim Nugent Way, just north of the Verizon Wireless warehouse. Admission is free.

Our tour of Mini Parks took us next to Mini Park II. Located at 3 E. Greet Street, this .2055 acre park, acquired by the Champaign Park District in 1972, stands at the gateway to Campus Town. Verdant, well-manicured lawn makes Mini Park II the perfect spot for spreading out a blanket and reading the novel you keep meaning to read or enjoying a candlelight dinner with that special someone. 

Zoe and Bunna really enjoyed the playground.

When we asked today's only other park visitor (well, he was more under the MTD shelter than a park visitor per se) what he enjoyed about the park he said, "People don't come to this park for the recreation, they come for the art." And so it is. Mini Park II is home to Champaign's only large-scale building mural. Painted in 2002 to commemorate the park's 30 year anniversary, this beautiful depiction of CU's diversity and commitment to the three BIG A's (academics, agriculture, and animal rights), "really puts the 'you' in CU," says our bus-riding park goer. "You can really see yourself in that painting!" Can you see us?

Convenient parking is located just north of the park at Hollywood Video or east of the park at CVS Pharmacy. Admission is free.

Stayed tuned to Bunna and Biff for the rest of the Mini Park expose and for your chance to vote on your favorite Champaign Mini Park.