DiPaolo Memorial Park planned for Galileo School
By Jean Lachowicz
A new park
honoring the late Mario and Dorothy DiPaolo, longtime owners of Mario’s
Italian Lemonade, will be created on the vacant land at the southwest corner
of Carpenter and Arthington Streets for the children of Galileo Scholastic
Academy, pending approval by the Chicago Department of Planning and
Development.
According to Maria DiPaolo, she and her husband, Mario “Skippy” DiPaolo, who is Mario and Dorothy’s son, offered the school a rent-free lease for the property for use as a park. Maria DiPaolo stated the school had wanted to plant a victory garden there several years ago and that this plan provides much needed green space to an area surrounded by so many buildings.
The property is zoned for condominiums, and the DiPaolos and the City planning department have engaged in ongoing discussions regarding its development. “We are very happy with the idea of the park,” Maria DiPaolo said. “We are not land developers. We are not into the profit of developing land. It will look nice to have a park there.”
Mario “Skippy” DiPaolo added, “They need a park. It will be nice in the neighborhood because the sound of kids playing is like hearing music. When we were kids, we were able to go out and run around twice a day to blow off a little steam. Now the kids sit by their computers all of the time, and they keep getting heavier.”
Galileo Principal Alfonso R. Valtierra confirmed the DiPaolos’ discussions with the Chicago Department of Planning but said there are no detailed specifications for the park at this time.
The park is “a great idea,” said Christopher T. Provenzano, University Village Association executive director. “The UVA supports the idea for the park at this site 100%.” He noted, however, that negotiations are in the hands of the school and the Department of Planning and offered the UVA’s assistance in facilitating the proposal with the City of Chicago and the Chicago Public Schools to see a “smooth and timely transition.”
Galileo Math and Science Academy is located near Sheridan Park, but the proposed DiPaolo Memorial Park would give students the opportunity to play in a space designated specifically for them, said Maria DiPaolo.
The park would memorialize Dorothy and Mario DiPaolo, whose Mario’s Italian Lemonade stand has been a Taylor Street institution since Mario first began selling the frozen treat out of a pushcart in 1951. Mario died in 1984, and Dorothy continued to work at the stand until about five years ago. She died Jan. 28, 2007.
