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Donovan Park is one of three Chicago parks named in honor of a group of firemen who perished in a disastrous fire on March 1, 1957. Engine 29 Captain George L. Donovan (1916--1957), along with fellow firefighters Howard J. Strohacker (1909--1957) and Sylvester L. Pietrowski (1920--1957), perished when the factory of the Lawrence Corporation, a shortening manufacturer, exploded, burying the three in tons of debris. An old friend and neighbor of Mayor Richard J. Daley, Donovan lived just three blocks east of the Bridgeport Park now bearing his name.

Initially known as Sangamon Park, this playlot was established by the City of Chicago's Bureau of Parks and Recreation on Board of Education property just two years before Donovan's death. In 1959, the City turned over management of the park to the ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ.

In 1991, the ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ acquired this park site from the Chicago Board of Education.  By the time the Park District assumed full ownership in 1991, the park included a playground, a small recreational building, and various ball fields and courts. Shortly thereafter, the District rehabilitated the Donovan Park playground as part of its soft surface playground program. In 2021, the Park District acquired additional property for the expansion of the park.