Smile Politely

Year of the Park, A to Z: Hallbeck Park, Champaign

NAME

Hallbeck Park 

LOCATION

2748 S. Duncan Rd., Champaign 

A wooden sign that states Hallbeck Park

Photo by Maddie Rice. 

HISTORY AND FEATURES

This elongated park was donated to the park district by a fella named Josef Hallbeck in 1990 and it serves a good purpose for the folks living nearby. There’s a nice gazebo situated on north end of it, and its best feature is really the massive amount of sun it gets, as it faces the west, and gets the maximum amount of exposure. 

There is a bike path that runs alongside of it off Duncan Rd. and at the most southern tip of the park, you can actually still look into the vast expanse of Illinois farmland. 

A gazebo sits in a sunny park with benches and a garbage can next to it

Photo by Maddie Rice. 

ASSESSMENT

This land is begging for a sunflower patch, or some type of perennial wildflower walking path. It’s a really nice space, even with the traffic off Duncan, honestly. The little gazebo is a nice spot to relax, and the hill on site makes for a good place for the kiddos to run up and roll, if that is your thing. Someone loved this other fella Anthony Maggio enough to leave a stone in his honor. I think that is a very nice thing. It is good to be loved. After all, he was a Man of the Birds, and I feel that deserves reverance and, indeed, love. 

A memorial stone that honors a man named Anthony Maggio who died in 1996

Photo by Maddie Rice. 

The sheer length of the park it lends itself well to more than a few opportunities that are ripe for the pickin’. 

And say, speaking of picking, didn’t you know Curtis Orchard is just up the road? It’s almost that time again, indeed. But please, I’d appreciate it if you would wait to go. Which is to say, I don’t know who you derelicts are trying to slug pumpkin spice in the dog days of summer, pretending like it’s even remotely OK to try to find space inside of a bucolic, autumnal setting in this sort of heat. These are the limits of your life, and it has a profound affect on all of us. One day, you will learn, I hope. Honestly, you have to stop. 

Top Image by Maddie Rice. 

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