In 1929, the City of Chicago built a new pumping station east of the channelized North Branch of the Chicago River to meet the increasing need for water in the neighboring Lincoln Square and Albany Park communities. Just over thirty years later, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and the Chicago Park District began working together to create recreational space adjoining the pumping station. The park district soon signed a lease for 7.5 acres of water district land, and by the mid-1960s, playgrounds and greenspaces lined both sides of the North Shore Channel. In the 1990s, the park district began leasing additional water district land, bringing the park's total acreage to nearly 13 acres. The entire park was rehabilitated, and a bike path added as part of a larger plan to create a recreational corridor along the river.

Ronan Park honors Ensign George Ronan (--1812), who died in the Fort Dearborn Massacre on August 15, 1812, when Potowatomi warriors routed the Federal forces at Chicago. Ronan was the first West Point graduate to fall in battle.


Ronan Park features a walking path - 0.28 miles.