La Grange Community Center

Current

Vision

History

In the 1930s, the current location of the Community Center was once a baseball field and playlot for the community. The Play School was where young children went to nursery school and local churches were where the community held social gatherings and club/organization meetings.

During the 1930s and 1940s, the Eastside Community Center was sponsored by the Community Nurse and Services Association. In the 1950s “The Center” was part of the Red Feather Agency that received funds from the Community Chest and provided health and scouting programs to the community.

In the early 1940s, the Emmanuel Episcopal Church donated their 17-year-old barrack style annex building to the Community Nurse and Service Association who then donated and moved the building to the Eastside. The property was owned by the Village of La Grange. The building was physically moved to where the basketball courts are currently located on Washington and Lincoln.

In 1964, the current Community Center was built for $85,000. In May of 1964, Cynthia Brown led 35 pickets in protest at the official opening of the new (current) Eastside Community Center building. See the CDG African Americans in Early La Grange: A Self-Guided Walking Tour for more information.

In 2022, the property was transferred from the Village to the Park District of La Grange, which now owns and manages the property.