Esser Plaza Park, South Side Flats: 1201 E. Carson Street
I visited Esser Plaza Park on a sunny weekday around noon, settling on a park bench with a coffee and savory treat from Delanie’s. As the city birds looked for fallen crumbs, I looked at the flowers artfully arranged in raised beds and planters. The activity level was everything one expects from a bustling urban environment: people walking around, drivers stopping and moving, sounds of construction, music from open windows, and snippets of conversations from passersby.
Adjacent to Armstrong Park and across from the Healthy Active Living Center at the South Side Market House, Esser Plaza recently received some safety and visibility improvements. Looking at Google StreetView, with its roadside captures dating back to 2007, it’s fascinating to see almost 20 years unfold. From yesterday’s coin-operated parking meters to today’s POGOH e-bike rentals, much more than the landscaping has changed over the years.
Despite the march of time, the presence of people has stayed constant. Twelve years ago, a man in a dress shirt is eating lunch from a paper bag. Seven years ago, a woman sits on a bench, talking on a phone. Three years ago, a road crew worker in neon yellow rests at a picnic table. Last year, a couple are renting bikes. And around them are more people: crossing the street, waiting at the corner, standing at the bus stop in front of Esser’s Floral. The family business that Cindy Esser, for whom the plaza is now named, owned and loved for many years. Perhaps it is in her memory that the flowers in the park are so well cared for.
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