How Chicago's Oz Park got its name

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Did you know Chicago has a "Wizard of Oz"-themed park? Jesse Kirsch walks us through the neighborhood favorite!

Author L. Frank Baum wrote the children's book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" in 1900 while he was living in Chicago. More than a century later, Oz Park in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood pays tribute to the magical world he created.

Statues of Dorothy and Toto, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow preside over their own corners of the park. Visitors can also explore "The Emerald Garden" and "Dorothy's Playlot," named for Baum's character and Dorothy Melamerson, a retired local school teacher who helped pay for park improvements.

The park is open to the public from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 2021 North Burling Street.

Historical information is from the Chicago Park District.