Waveland Clock Tower

Waveland Clock Tower. . , Originally known as the Lincoln Park Fieldhouse and Carillon Tower, the Waveland Clock Tower was constructed in 1931. The English Gothic style building was designed by Edwin H. Clark and the chimes were from the Deagan Company of Chicago. , The Waveland area of Lincoln Park is part a landfill extension project which had begun in 1916, but progressed slowly. Completed in the late 1920s, the landfill enlarged the park from Cornelia Ave. northward to Montrose Ave., and included a golf course by the noted designer, E.B. Dearie. As the types of active recreation were growing in popularity at this time, tennis courts and athletic fields were also included in the extension. , The fieldhouse provided park patrons with shower, locker and rest rooms, club and craft rooms. A separate small refreshment stand building, also designed by Edwin H. Clark, was originally operated by the Brauer Co. While the field house was being designed, the Commissioners received a $50,000 bequest for the carillon towner from the estate of Mrs. Annie M. Wolforth, who died in 1926. The donation was made in memory of her husband, Jacob A. Wolforth, a member of the Chicago Board of Trade for forty years. The Wolforths had enjoyed the chimes of a bell tower in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and wanted Chicago to have a similar carillon. The seven story tower was incorporated into the fieldhouse design, and for several years the chimes were played daily at regular intervals. This proved to be disruptive to the surrounding community, however, and was eventually discontinued. In 1990, a group of volunteers worked with the Chicago Park District to restore the carillon.