Champaign Park District

[3] The 12.5 acres (51,000 m2) West Side Park is located in downtown Champaign, blocks away from the busy streets and within full view of City Hall.

Originally zoned for the city square and future county courthouse (which was later sited in Urbana), it became in 1859 the first park in the system.

Benjamin F. Johnson (1818–1894), an executive of the Illinois Central Railroad, donated $10,000 to the city for the building of a statue and bandstand in the commons.

The statue "A Prayer for Rain" was sculpted by Edward Kemeys (1843–1907) and placed atop Johnson fountain.

Other notable monuments in what is now known as West Side park include the Lincoln Monolith, and several statues and plaques commemorating the Indian War.