Chicago's Next Great Park

Come join us this Saturday!

Don't forget to join us this Saturday, 10 A.M. at Churchill Park on Damen Ave. for a day of exploration, as we walk, bike, run the Bloomingdale Trail! 

Bike the corridor. Run beneath its viaducts. Stroll along the mural-covered walls. Visit the new Albany-Whipple Park with its sod sofa and future trail access. Finish up with family friendly activities and a picnic back at Churchill Park. All ages are welcome. $5 suggested donation for adults benefits FBT.

Spread the word

We need your help getting the word out about the event. If you have a Twitter account, please tweet this message. If you have a Facebook account, please share this event.

Let's use the tag bloomingdaletrail on Flickr afterwards for any photos we take of the event. Also, check out our Flickr group and consider adding your pics to it.

One week to go!

We're just a week away from our big Walk, Bike, Run the Bloomingdale Trail! event, starting 10 A.M. next Saturday at Churchill Park.

We are looking for Friends of the Trail to help with set-up, check-in, water distribution, signage, and safety along the tour route. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Ben at helphand@gmail.com. To thank you, our friends over at Weegee’s Lounge (3659 W Armitage Ave) will have an open bar (draught beer and well drinks) from 3:00 to 5:00 for all event volunteers.

You can also download the flyer for the event by clicking here.

See you next Saturday!

Great Trib article on the Trail project

The Chicago Tribune featured the Bloomingdale Trail today on the front page of its Chicagoland Extra section.

The article touches on many important aspects of the project, including providing more green space to Logan Square, connecting Humboldt Park, Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Logan Square neighborhoods, addressing childhood obesity through greater outdoor activity and mobility, concerns about gentrification and crime, and the Trail’s context within the Burnham Plan Centennial.

Be sure to check out a print copy of the article which features photos of FBT’s own Ben Helphand and TPL’s Beth White.

The High Line opens!

What an exciting day. Congratulations to our friends to the northeast in New York City today on the opening of the High Line!

The High Line is a fantastic project that's already captured the imagination of New Yorkers and so many others. We at Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail commend Friends of the High Line for their diligent efforts over the past decade bringing this spectacular urban park to life.

BT on cover of Chicago Life

If you live in Chicago and get the Sunday edition of the New York Times, you get a copy of the local interest magazine Chicago Life as an insert with your paper.

The cover photo of this week’s issue delivered earlier today is a nighttime vista from up on top of the Bloomingdale Trail, taken by Chicago’s own David Schalliol. Some of you may already be familiar with David’s work through his acclaimed “Isolated Building Studies.” If you haven’t already, do check out that link to his Flickr set, it’s worth your time.

This is a good opportunity to remind everyone of the Bloomingdale Trail group on Flickr. It’s open to anyone, so if you’ve been up or around the Trail and have taken digital photos, you can share them easily with the community. There’s over 400 images there already, some terrific stuff. Feel free to add yours, and we’ll be featuring some of the best on this site coming soon.

Walk, Bike, Run the Bloomingdale Trail!

Save the date! Saturday, June 20^th, 10 A.M. to 2 P.M., starting at Churchill Park.

Join the Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail for a day of exploration. Bike the corridor. Run beneath its viaducts. Stroll along the mural-covered walls. Visit the new Albany-Whipple Park with its sod sofa and future trail access. Finish up with family friendly activities and a picnic back at Churchill Park. All ages are welcome. $5 suggested donation for adults benefits FBT.

Produced in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, Bucktown Community Organization, Chicago Area Runners Association, Wicker Park Bucktown SSA, Goose Island Brewery. For more information, contact Andrew Vesselinovitch, (312) 427-1979.