The Chicago Park District created tiny Aster Park in 1970 to provide the densely-populated Uptown neighborhood with much-needed recreational facilities. Officially designated Aster Park in 1975, the site was one of a number of park properties named for trees and plants at this time. The word aster is Latin for "star," a reference to the flower's star-like shape. Originally a North American plant, the aster's range spread to Europe when botanist John Tradescant the younger brought it back across the Atlantic ocean from Virginia in 1637.