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Eckhart Park
Rating Details »
- Nearest Transit:
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Chicago (Blue)
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
15 reviews for Eckhart Park
I just moved to the area at the end of June and decided to start swimming here to attempt to get into shape. For $22 for 3 months, I cannot complain.
So yeah it can get crowded, and yeah the locker room is a little nasty, but the pool itself is very clean and I enjoy swimming there.
The heater was broken and the water was freezing, but they fixed that and the water is awesome now.
I want to start getting up for morning swims, but I can't seem to drag my lazy self out of bed....maybe soon enough I will.
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You pay 70 dollars for ten weeks of gym use. They have maybe twelve stations to use and it's all out of date stuff but WHO CARES?! There aren't any orange, samsonite suitcases walking around badgering you into buying a tanning package and no mishapen personal trainers (HUGE GUNS, TINY CALVES) yelling at you and absolutely no pressure to look in shape because it is a gym and you are obviously there to get in shape, granted ROUND IS A SHAPE.
Watch out for the occasional troll that's, uh, trolling for ass.
CHECK OUT THE POOL.
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This place is an unintentionally funny place. Sometimes I don't even think it's real. My roommates and I moved into the area and looked up places to go exercise. Not immediately or anything- I don't want you to think I'm a gym rat. Anyhow, the Wicker Park gym was way too expensive and reminded me of Cheetah Gym which is one of (my many) personal hells. We then learned that Eckhart Park has a gym and without going in and actually looking at it, signed up online.
I thought this was an exclusive gym because the website said there were limited spots available. This place is far from it. We got to the gym and it's the size of my living room, possibly a little smaller. I walked in and looked at my roommates and said, "NOw what?"
It's got a handful of ellipticals, treadmills, one or two bench presses and a few really old weight lifting machines. I typically go to the gym to sit around and watch TV- and NONE of that was going to happen here.
I literally got so bored after a half an hour that I walked around to give myself a tour of the building. There is a library kiddy corner to the gym! Walked in and asked them their hours. The librarian looked me dead in the face and said:
Monday 10-6
Tuesday 12-8
Wednesday 10-6
Thursday 12-8
Friday and Saturday 9-5
Literally all in one breath. Me, sweaty, looked at her and asked if she had that in print.
Got back to the gym, had my roommate spot me on the bench- and then did some squats. Cuz, you know what, why not. There are some redeeming qualities for working out here. Some definitely not.
+1 it's so close to my apartment, and no one is ever there.
+1 very affordable, and not pretentious one bit. and they offer a few classes. like, boxing or something.
+1 the building is actually really cool. Especially the natatorium.
+1 because there are no distractions in the gym (besides the boom box in the corner), this might pose a good opportunity to actually get some real fitness in.
-1 because there is not enough equipment to actually do anything.
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I ventured down to Eckhart Pool today. It was only 65 or so outside and too cold for Chase Park so instead of going to my back up indoor pool of Gill I figured lets check out Eckhart. I biked there but I will make sure to take the el next time I go or make sure to go when I am already downtown for something. The locker room is pretty big and there are plenty of places to change for privacy compared to other park locker rooms that I have been in. The lifeguards are super friendly and warned me that the water was pretty warm. Warm is an understatement for the water of the pool today. I did notice that the temp leveled out as I got away from the shallow end. I enjoyed it especially after that long bike ride. The water was very clean and the lifeguards were rising off the pool deck so the deck was also clean. Most of the regulars kept there stuff off to the side. My stuff was in a different side of the pool where they were hosing but they made sure not to get my stuff wet. The pool seemed a little longer then Chase, Gill and Welles Pools but not as big as River and California Pools. I also liked the windows and the way the sun made the water light up.
Used the locker room to shower and change after the swim. I hardly noticed anyone in there because of the layout.
I will try to get back there on a Saturday after running errands downtown for the afternoon Adult Lap again for sure.
I swim here a several times a week from about 8-8:45am.
I gotta say the morning crowd is WAY better than the pm, Morgan C.!
I never have to wait for a lane.
I've been to the pm or saturday swims and always have to do crunches and push ups till something frees up. I don't like that. It makes me hurt more than necessary the next day.
However, the pool itself is VERY clean. I've yet to see a snot/hair tumbleweed blow through my lane as I have in other CPD pools.
Yeah the locker rooms are a little grimey and it sucks when the hand dryer (aka hairdryer) goes out in the winter.
There's also this little cone duct taped over a hole in the floor in the girls locker room w/ a sign over it that says "Caution...hazardous materials underneath". wtf? hope it's not gas...
Still. The kids that work there are super cool and I wouldn't trade me morning sessions there for anything....except maybe a shower stall that doesn't have random hairs all over it. :D
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So I am reviewing the pool section of Eckhart Park. It is okay but not grand. I know, what do I expect from a public free pool with teenage life guards,but there are other public free pools that are much better. First off, the pool during free times have a large group of adolescents who don't respect anyone. For work, I take a group of 15+ five and six year olds there once a week. The other children are not weel supervised and the teenage life guards just don't take enough control. Secondly, we went there for three weeks and the water kept getting colder and colder. We finally found out that the heater had been broken for weeks. Thanks for the heads up. One good thing though, one of the teenage lifegaurds took the time to find Pulaski Park for us. He was very nice to do this. Thanks.
I've been swimming here 2 to 3 times a week ever since my 2009 resolution to. I am writing this review solely based on adult lap swim from 7:30 to 8:45pm.
I really like this type of Chicago Park District pool. It has all windows on two sides which make it feel less cramped and dimly lit than other pools I have been in. The staff at this pool is friendly and actually seems to be paying some attention to what is going on in the water. The locker room is gross, the bathroom stalls always smell like pee and I cringe when I have forgotten to bring my sandals.
For lap swim, this place can get pretty crowded. Earlier in the week is usually busier than later. Once I had to wait until 8:10 to get started. I also feel that on slower nights they are early in asking you to leave. If lap swim is scheduled til 8:45 than I want to swim until 8:44.
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My dog likes to poop here, play frisbee here, and watch company softball games here.
OH YEAH, so do crazy homeless people.
I haven't been inside the rec center, but I hear its nice.
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Decent park and the pool is nice and big but there are some problems.
If you use the pool do not use the lockers. I made this mistake and had mine broken into. Luckily only my cell phone was stolen. It is better to leave your stuff by the side of the pool.
The playground is pretty good but one of the slides is broken and they never seem to clean out the water fountain - it has alot of debris. On the plus side they did fix the broken swings.
There are also some strange people around sometimes but usually its an interesting mix of people from different walks of life.
I haven't used the baseball fields but they are used alot at night - seems to be a very busy league that plays here.
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This is my gym when it's cold. The workout room is basic, but if you work it right, you get a good workout. No frills. Basic. Best of all for me, cheap and a hop skip and a jump from my place. The only downside is that I've noticed alot more people using the workout room now.
I need to start utilizing the pool like I do the bathroom when I can't quite wait to get home...
Wait.. that sounds WRONG!!!
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Very big, spacious park in West Town. Located at Chicago Avenue and Noble. Ample street parking, two decent baseball/softball/kickball fields. Giant fieldhouse. Bball hoops, lots of big trees for shade...plently of doggies running around making the world happy, a big playground for the kiddies...really a great spot to waste a day being in the sun :)
Neighborhood is getting better. Swim Cafe nearby, West Town Tavern...
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Loved the park. Got to come here for the Eckhart sound experiment this last June, and I was blown away by how nice this place was. Great place to sit down, listen to some music, bring your dog, walk around, run around, play sports, etc etc.
I'd come here way more often if I actually lived in this area. Very nice place to walk through though.
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I find it hard to believe that we are all talking about the same park here. The turf and fatalities are at best O.K. at worst unsettling with the occasional crack-head wandering about. This is not any place I would choose to hang out. I like and live in the neighborhood but eckhart park is suspect.
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This is my hangout park. I like to visit in the summer and lay out in the sun. The grass is bad, but it's not too crowded. I stay on the east side of the park. Some strange characters hang out on the west side. There's some kind of housing there for marginal people on the west side, so that's where they hang. Nice place. They have a library branch inside the park house, and summer programs for kids.
They have an indoor pool that is used year round. The park itself is a nice easy jog-around. It's a small park, but packs a lot to do. As others have said, great fieldhouse.
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