Ping Tom Memorial Park — Arrival
A riverside Chinese garden welcoming you to Chinatown.
Key facts
- Opened 1999
- Named for civic leader Ping Tom
- Features a Chinese-style pavilion & pagoda
- Built on a former railroad yard
- Has a boathouse, playground & riverfront paths
Narration transcript
We have arrived. Welcome to Ping Tom Memorial Park, our journey's end and the gateway into Chicago's Chinatown. All around you, notice the beautiful Chinese-inspired design, including a graceful red-and-green pavilion and pagoda-style structures decorated with traditional colors and patterns. The park opened in 1999 and is named after Ping Tom, a beloved and important leader in Chicago's Chinese-American community who worked for years to give this neighborhood a beautiful green space of its own along the water. Here is something remarkable: this peaceful, garden-like park was built on land that used to be a busy, gritty railroad yard, transformed into a place for families to play and relax by the river. Today it has a boathouse where you can rent kayaks, a playground for the kids, and lovely paths with views back toward the skyline we just cruised past. Chinatown itself, just beyond the park, is more than a century old and one of the liveliest in the country. Family tip: as you step off the boat, let the kids stretch their legs at the playground before heading into Chinatown for dumplings, bakeries, and that grand welcoming gate.