Going for Gold: Chicago’s History with Winter Sports

by JohannaAttention: This post is over 3 years old and the information may be out of date.February 1, 2018

Cover: Winter Activities, Chicago Park District, circa 1937Cover: Winter Activities, Chicago Park District, circa 1937. Source: Special Collections

Ice Skaters at Garfield Park Lagoon, 1896Ice Skaters at Garfield Park Lagoon, 1896. Source: East Garfield Park Community Collection, Special Collections, Photograph 1.72.

Dog Show, Gompers Park, 1939Dog Show, Gompers Park, 1939. Source: Chicago Park District Records: Photographs, Special Collections, Image 030_032_001.

Ice Boat Race, Wolf Lake, circa 1935Ice Boat Race, Wolf Lake, circa 1935. Source: Chicago Park District Records: Photographs, Special Collections, Image 113_003_008.

Nestor Johnson Manufacturing Company catalog, [1923?]Nestor Johnson Manufacturing Company catalog, [1923?]. Source: Trade Catalog Collection, Special Collections

Sledge Hockey, 1993Sledge Hockey, 1993. Source: Chicago Park District Records: Photographs, Special Collections, Image 113_008_006

Brochure for Central Arena (skating rink at Broadway and Thorndale), circa 1925A brochure for Central Arena (skating rink, Broadway and Thorndale), circa 1925. Source: Chicago City-Wide Collection, Special Collections, Box 67, Folder 28

Ice Skating Show, McFetridge Sports Arena, California Park, 1982Ice Skating Show, McFetridge Sports Arena, California Park, 1982. Source: Chicago Park District Records: Photographs, Special Collections, Image 012_009_002.

Ski Jump, Soldier’s Field, circa 1957Ski Jump, Soldier’s Field, circa 1957. Source: Chicago Park District Records: Photographs, Special Collections, Image 009_002_003

Speed Skating, McFetridge Sports Arena, California Park, undatedSpeed Skating, McFetridge Sports Arena, California Park, undated. Source: Chicago Park District Records: Photographs, Special Collections, Image 012_006_008

Looking to get into the Olympic spirit? Check out our recommendations for remembering 1980's Miracle on Ice, exploring different sports and events with the kids in your life, memoirs of famous athletes and winter sports movies.

But maybe you want even more? Well, look no further than Chicago's past to get more Olympic vibes. Chicago has hosted several international sporting competitions, from the Pan American Games in 1959 to the Special Olympics beginning in 1968 to the Gay Games in 2006. And while spectating is the closest most of us will get to a real gold medal, that hasn't stopped amateur athletes here in Chicago from embracing our wintery climate throughout the city's history to enjoy a variety of winter sports.

You can visit Special Collections at Harold Washington Library Center to read how Chicago's park administrators encouraged Chicagoans to get active in winter. The 1917 publication Playgrounds and Recreation Centers of the West Chicago Park Commissioners explains how in each park, "the play field is flooded in the winter time, in order that people may enjoy the invigorating sport of ice skating."

You can also view a brochure in our Chicago City-Wide Collection that promotes a state-of-the-art indoor ice skating rink at Broadway and Thorndale that was ultimately turned into a National Guard Armory.

Find out what kind of ice skates you could have bought in the 1920s from Chicago-based Nestor Johnson Manufacturing Company in our Trade Catalog Collection. The catalogs also list results of speed skating competitions.

And visit our Neighborhood History Research Collection and our Chicago Park District Collections to see photographs of people enjoying such winter sports as cross-country skiing, ice skating and speed skating, ski jumping (yes, really!), sledding and dog sledding, ice boat racing, sledge hockey and more.

What's your favorite winter sport?