The Garden’s Future
UPDATE:
Dear Community Gardeners --
We are sad to have to tell you that the University of Chicago has informed us they will not change their plans to demolish the garden, nor delay the demolition date, nor continue any further discussions. The stated reason is that the garden space is essential to the construction of the new Chicago Theological Seminary building at the southeast corner of 60th and Dorchester. They have said they intend to begin the demolition shortly after Halloween.
We had hoped to convince the University that the value of the garden outweighed the practical construction convenience. We argued that there are reasonable construction alternatives more gentle than demolition. In the end we were unable to persuade the University. The final decision was made at the highest administrative level.
Although we do not yet have other sites to relocate gardeners, we are working on a number of possibilities. In the meantime, we will be at the garden on Sunday, October 18 and 25, 10:00 to 4:00, with a pick-up truck to help gardeners relocate the hardware items (trellises, cold frames, etc.) and perennial plants they wish to save. And on Sunday, November 1, same hours, we will have the last garden BBQ and pot-luck.
We hope the 61st Street Community Garden has given you as much joy as it has given us,
-- Connie Spreen
-- Dan Peterman
-- Jamie Kalven
-- Jack Spicer
Dear 61st Street Community Gardeners --
The University of Chicago has officially notified us [pdf] that the site of our community garden will be cleared on October 30, 2009. They have declined to discuss any possibility of the 61st Street Community Garden remaining on its present site. (Letter from the University attached.)
Although we appreciate the U of C's right to do whatever it wishes with its private property, we feel that the garden is of great community value and that its demolition would be a great loss -- not only to the gardeners, but also to the University itself. Every year the garden significantly enriches the lives of the 134 families that garden there, many of whom are University faculty, students or staff. It offers something we all look for in a great urban community -- a safe, stimulating, beautiful place to be outdoors with our family and friends; a place to be productive and creative with our extra time; and a common space where we can get to know others we might never otherwise meet. These are important values not easily created by neighbors or by an institution. And they already exist on this site for the benefit of the community and the University.
Although we appreciate the University of Chicago's offer to relocate the 61st Street Garden to another site in Woodlawn, this is not a simple matter. The rich soil we have created over the years is not easily sorted, sifted and reinstalled at another location. Nor is the rich social fabric we have created likely to survive a transplant undamaged. The garden provides a unique space, exactly on the border between two communities, where neighbors from Woodlawn and Hyde Park have successfully grown to know one another for more than ten years. And the garden's current location, next to the 61st Street Farmers Market and the Experimental Station, makes it part of a rich, sustaining urban ecology.
Judging from our long waiting list for garden plots there is certainly need for more community gardens in the area, but the value provided by this particular community garden at this particular location is irreplaceable. And, of course, it is not to be presumed that another part of the Woodlawn neighborhood would gladly accept the University's discarded garden.
Although we appreciate the University of Chicago's need for an economical and safe construction environment for the new Chicago Theological Seminary building at 60th Street, one block away from the garden, we believe there is flexibility inherent in the situation and we will continue to ask the University to engage in an open conversation about the future of the 61st Street Community Garden.
The 61st Street Community Garden is a diverse community with many different views. We encourage gardeners, and friends, to write the Herald with your ideas and comments about the value of the garden and its future:
The Herald has agreed to publish all the letters they receive. Please also copy your letter to the 61st Street Community Garden website:
On Saturday, August 8, at 12:00 noon we will have our Mid-summer Garden Picnic. Please bring food and beverages to share -- there will be grills for cooking. Bring all your friends and others you think would enjoy sharing our garden, as well as the Farmers Market just next door (open til 2:00). The picnic will last through the afternoon, so come when you are able. At about 1:30 we will gather for a short community meeting to share the latest information about the future of the garden.
Thank you for the pleasure you have taken over the years in the Community Garden. We will keep you informed as the situation develops,
-- Jamie Kalven
-- Dan Peterman
-- Jack Spicer
-- Connie Spreen
Previous letters about the matter are included below.
The University’s response to a letter from Jack Spicer.
The University’s response to a letter from Jennifer Mosley.
A letter to the University from Shulamit Bien.
A letter from Jack Spicer to gardeners introducing Sonya Malunda's letter.
Additional information about the Garden's future is available via the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference website and this article in Chicago Weekly.