Washington Square Park (Bughouse Square)
901 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60610
Parks
Bughouse Square, across from the Newberry Library, was Chicago’s famed free-speech park. From the 1910s–1960s, poets, preachers, and radicals drew crowds with passionate, unscripted soapbox debates.
Bughouse Square—slang for a mental health facility—was the nickname for Washington Square Park, Chicago’s most famous outdoor free-speech venue from the 1910s to the mid-1960s. Located across from the Newberry Library, it drew crowds and tourists alike for its lively, unscripted debates.
At its peak in the 1920s and ’30s, speakers ranged from poets to preachers, though the revolutionary left dominated the soapboxes with fiery, impassioned discourse.
Illinois 250
How to find us?
What's happening nearby...
Christkindlmarket Chicago
Under the Picasso • Nov 21 – Dec 24
The smell of roasted nuts, fresh pretzels, bratwurst, and hot spiced wine, the sound of music, and the glimmer of sparkling Christmas ornaments, all in a…
Read more about Christkindlmarket Chicago
The Nutcracker at the Joffrey Ballet
Auditorium Theatre at Roosevelt University • Dec 05 – Dec 28
Experience magic this holiday season with two-time Tony Award®-winner Christopher Wheeldon's 'The Nutcracker'.
Read more about The Nutcracker at the Joffrey Ballet
Lincoln Park ZooLights
Lincoln Park Zoo • Nov 21 – Jan 04 @ 4:30PM
Enter a winter wonderland illuminated by the laughter of children and more than one million lights at Lincoln Park Zoo’s annual ZooLights.
Read more about Lincoln Park ZooLightsYou might also be interested...
Garfield Park Conservatory and Gardens
Chicago
Colorful tropical flowers, palm trees, and more await visitors of this indoor oasis that feels like a world away from Chicago's bustling sidewalks.
Read more about Garfield Park Conservatory and Gardens