As Year of the Park continues, we will be documenting every park in Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy, Champaign County Forest Preserves, along with other odds and ends between July 2020 and more like August or September 2021. You can see what has been covered thus far by clicking here. If you have suggestions or ideas or feedback, feel free to contact us at info@smilepolitely.com.
NAME
Mullikan Park
LOCATION
Mullikan Dr. and Stonebridge Dr., Champaign
OR
4506 Stonebridge Dr, Champaign, IL 61822
HISTORY AND FEATURES
I can’t tell you the first thing about this Mullikan character, and that is a shame. I presume it is a human, but I suppose it might as well just be an old creek or something.
I know the park exists, as there is a sign. Here it be!
Photo by Seth Fein.
One wonders? Is there a playground? There is!
Photo by Seth Fein.
ASSESSMENT
Listen. I want these parks to be more interesting. That’s the bottom line. But that doesn’t mean I can’t assign any positive value to them. They are real parks, and they hold memories for many people. This is a good thing.
Today, my gripe is how little information we have on any of these parks. Seriously, after covering literally just about every park (done next week!) in CU-S, it is remarkable to me that there is literally almost nothing on the CPD website about each park’s history or about how or why it even exists.
Don’t make me go dumpster diving in the Google to learn about this. Don’t ruin my happy evening by asking me to click on weird links after typing in shit like “Mullikan Human Champaign IL Park Founding 1997” or some weird ish. The park district knows the history because they have the documentation. I don’t want to have to email you about it. This is not my job, in this case. It should be readily available.
Our parks are named after people, mostly — and at times, showcase a geographical or area space that holds history. Part of the role of a taxpayer funded organization — or any real non-profit as well — is to care for the people who brought you here, that gave you your job, by acknowledging their work, and showcasing their history.
There’s a Mullikan out there, all right. And that fucker has a park named after them. But we don’t know a thing about them. I am not a journalist, by the way. I am a scribbler, however — always have been. But that’s neither here nor there.
I am not gonna ask questions about things that I shouldn’t have to ask questions about.
Fix this. Thank you.