Anderson Park takes its name from attorney Louis B. Anderson (1870-1946), 2nd Ward alderman from 1917 to 1933. The Chicago City Council purchased the site of Anderson Park from the Olivet Baptist Church in 1926, and the city's Bureau of Parks began to develop the property the following year. In 1959, the city transferred Anderson Park to the Chicago Park District under a law that gave the park district oversight of many city parks. The park district replaced a small recreational building constructed by the city with a new fieldhouse in 1981.