Fuller Park · Cook County · IL
Homes for sale in
Fuller Park.
- Active listings
- 1
- Median list
- $68K
- Avg time on market
- 112 days
- Sold · last year
- 0
Active listings
1 home on the market
About the community
Living in Fuller Park.
Fuller Park is Community Area 37, a narrow South Side Chicago neighborhood in Cook County (ZIP 60609) that sits about 5 miles south of the Loop. It is a strip of land bounded by Pershing Road to the north, Garfield Boulevard to the south, the Dan Ryan Expressway and the Rock Island Metra line to the east, and the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad to the west, with Bronzeville and Grand Boulevard and Washington Park nearby to the east and New City, Back of the Yards, and Englewood to the west and south. It is one of Chicago's smallest community areas, covering roughly 0.71 square miles with a 2023 population of about 2,221 residents. The neighborhood is physically split by the Dan Ryan Expressway, which carries the CTA Red Line through its median, and it lies due south of Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox. Its roots are working-class and industrial, since many Irish Americans who worked for the railroads or the Union Stock Yards settled here after the Civil War, and a railroad roundhouse was built in the area in 1871. Housing in this part of the South Side runs to older frame homes, two-flats, and worker cottages, much of it predating modern building codes. For buyers, the pitch is straightforward, since this is among the city's most affordable markets, with a recent Redfin median sale price near $170,000, paired with two Red Line stops, 47th and Garfield, for a direct rail ride downtown. It is a small, quiet, historically significant pocket rather than a high-amenity destination, and that honesty is part of the value story.
At a glance
Population
About 2,221 residents (2023), one of Chicago's smallest community areas.
Size
Roughly 0.71 square miles, Community Area 37 on the South Side.
Namesake park
Fuller (Melville) Park covers 11.41 acres at 331 W. 45th Street, with a historic fieldhouse and pool.
Transit
Two CTA Red Line stops, 47th and Garfield, sit in the Dan Ryan median for a direct ride to the Loop.
Home prices
The median sale price was recently near $170,000, among the city's most affordable markets.
Historic register
The Fuller Park fieldhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
History
The area was settled by Irish railroad and stockyard workers after the Civil War, and a rail roundhouse arrived in 1871.
Quick to downtown
Fuller Park sits about 5 miles south of the Loop with direct access to the Dan Ryan Expressway.
What it’s actually like to live here
Fuller Park is small and low-density, and its housing reflects its industrial-era origins, with older frame homes, two-flats, and worker cottages, much of it built before modern codes when the area drew railroad and stockyard families. The recreational heart of the neighborhood is the namesake Fuller (Melville) Park at 331 W. 45th Street, an 11.41-acre green space whose historic fieldhouse holds a fitness center, two gymnasiums, an auditorium, and meeting rooms, with a swimming pool, fountain and patio area, basketball and tennis courts, a baseball field, a playground, and a water spray feature outdoors. The fieldhouse hosts after-school programs, a six-week summer day camp, boxing, and family events through the year.
Getting around centers on the Dan Ryan corridor that bisects the neighborhood. The CTA Red Line runs in the expressway median with two Fuller Park stops, 47th and Garfield, putting a direct downtown rail ride within easy reach, and the 47th station is fully accessible with an elevator and escalators. Drivers have immediate access to the Dan Ryan itself for a quick run to the Loop, about 5 miles north. Walk Score rates the neighborhood as somewhat walkable, meaning some errands can be done on foot while a car or transit is useful for others. Just east, the Bronzeville and Washington Park areas add more dining, history, and green space within a short drive.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Fuller Park community pages coming soon.
Browse the listings above. Detailed neighborhood pages with market stats, school info, and lifestyle take-downs land here as we roll them out.
Around town
What there is to do in Fuller Park.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Parks
Fuller (Melville) Park
The neighborhood's 11.41-acre namesake park at 331 W. 45th St., with a historic fieldhouse, courts, fields, fountain, and playground.
- Recreation
Fuller Park Pool
The park's outdoor swimming pool, a summer staple for neighborhood families.
- Community
Fuller Fieldhouse
Historic Burnham-designed fieldhouse, on the National Register since 2002, with a fitness center, two gyms, and an auditorium.
- Transit
Garfield Red Line Station
A CTA Red Line stop in the Dan Ryan median, a direct ride downtown and a short hop to the South Side cultural corridor.
- Transit
47th Red Line Station
Fully accessible Red Line stop with elevator and escalators, decorated with images of the old Stock Yards L line.
- School
Jesse Sherwood Elementary (CPS)
A nearby Chicago Public Schools elementary option serving families in and around the Fuller Park area.
How Fuller Park got here
A bit of history.
Fuller Park was part of Lake Township until Chicago annexed it in 1889. After the Union Stock Yards opened on Christmas Day 1865, many Irish immigrants settled here, working the railroads and stockyards, and in 1871 the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway built a roundhouse in the area. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, developers evaded the city's new building codes by building just beyond the limits, including what is now Fuller Park, which drove population growth. German and Austrian immigrants arrived in the 1890s, and the neighborhood's namesake park opened in the early 1910s as part of the reform-era South Park Commission system, anchored by a fieldhouse designed by D. H. Burnham and Company. The park honors Melville W. Fuller, Chief Justice of the United States from 1888 to 1910 and a former South Park Commissioner.
The neighborhood's demographics shifted over the 20th century, going from 85 percent white in 1945 to 97 percent Black by 1970. The pivotal change to its physical form came with the Dan Ryan Expressway, built in the 1950s, which divided the neighborhood and displaced about a third of its residents. The Interstate construction also helped render the Union Stock Yards obsolete, and they declined through the 1960s and closed in 1971, eliminating many local jobs. Population fell dramatically over the following decades, since Fuller Park saw the largest decline of any Chicago neighborhood from the city's 1950 peak, dropping from about 17,000 residents in 1950 to under 3,000 by 2010. The Fuller Park fieldhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, and the community-built Eden Place Nature Center opened on former brownfield land in 2003.
The questions buyers actually ask
Fuller Park FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Fuller Park. If yours isn't here, text 815-355-0582, same-day reply.
- What schools serve Fuller Park?
- Fuller Park is served by Chicago Public Schools, the city's district system. Nearby CPS elementary options include Jesse Sherwood Elementary just south of the area. Families should confirm current attendance boundaries directly with CPS, since boundaries and programs change.
- What are property taxes like here?
- Fuller Park is in Cook County, so homes are subject to Cook County's property tax and assessment system administered through the County Assessor. Because assessed values here are low relative to wealthier parts of the city, dollar tax bills are often modest, but the rate structure is the county's standard, so verify any specific parcel with the Cook County Assessor before buying.
- Is Fuller Park affordable, and is there investor interest?
- Yes, it is among Chicago's most affordable markets. Redfin recently reported a median sale price near $170,000, well below citywide levels, which draws value-minded buyers and investors looking at lower entry prices. As with any low-priced market, condition and block-by-block differences matter a great deal.
- How is the commute to the Loop?
- Strong on transit. The CTA Red Line runs through Fuller Park in the Dan Ryan median with two stops, 47th and Garfield, for a direct train downtown, and the neighborhood sits about 5 miles south of the Loop. Drivers have direct access to the Dan Ryan Expressway.
- What can residents do at the namesake Fuller Park?
- A lot for a small neighborhood. The 11.41-acre Fuller (Melville) Park includes a swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, a baseball field, an athletic field, a playground, a water spray feature, and a historic fieldhouse with a fitness center, two gyms, and an auditorium, plus after-school programs and a summer day camp.
Your local agent
Joe knows Fuller Park
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the places I actually know, and the things that move value here don't show up in the MLS write-up: which streets and buildings hold demand, what the HOA or assessments really cover, how the comps read once you account for condition and location, and where buyers consistently want to be.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who has read the last 50 closed comps in this specific market, not a national average, and can tell you what they actually mean for your price. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Licensed Illinois broker
- Comp-driven pricing
- Fuller Park specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
Thinking of selling?
What's your home actually worth?
Not a Zestimate. A real CMA from someone who's sold this neighborhood, knows the floor plan premiums, and can tell you which upgrades the buyer pool here actually pays for.
- Pricing range with comp-by-comp logic
- Pre-list improvements that pay back, and the ones that don't
- No obligation, no spam, no auto-dialer