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...
Chicago Architecture Biennial - SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change
Sep 19 – Feb 28
The Chicago Architecture Biennial will be the largest international survey of contemporary architecture in North America.
Read more about Chicago Architecture Biennial - SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change
Chicago Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade
Mar 01 @ 1PM
Parade will feature traditional dragon and lion dancing teams, colorful floats, marching bands and marching groups.
Read more about Chicago Chinatown Lunar New Year ParadeYou might also be interested...
The 606
Chicago
Running along the former Bloomingdale Line, The 606 is an elevated, 2.7 mile landscaped trail that draws runners and bikers from Chicago and afar.
Read more about The 606