Olson Rug Memorial Park, 1935-1970s

On hot Sunday afternoons, the McIntyres would often take a short ride to the Waterfalls and Rock Garden in Olson Park which surrounded the Olson Rug Factory at Diversey and Pulaski in Chicago. The 22 acre park was built in 1935 and had thousands of visitors every weekend. In the spring, it would come alive with more than 3,500 perennials along with junipers, spruces, pines and annuals. The waterfall was 35 feet high and the spray from the water would cool you as you climbed up the stone path on either side of the waterfall. It was an oasis in the middle of the west side of Chicago. In 1965, Olson sold its building to Marshall Fields who maintained the park for the next several years until it was dismantled to make way for a parking lot.
The McIntyres left the west side of Chicago for the lake front in 1967 but when they heard they were closing Olsen Park, they took a nostalgic trip back so they could have one more walk up near the waterfalls.