Buena Circle Park located right where Buena Avenue intersects Kenmore, is a tranquil oval shaped park with a large playground for children, decorative fence, and ornamental trees.

Challenger Park lies just on the opposite side of the CTA L Tracks from Buena Circle Park. Spanning from Irving Park to Montrose roads this long park features a Dog Friendly Area (affectionately known as "Challenger Bark"), a passive nature area with a worn path on the north side of the park, and a parking lot on the southern edge that is leased out to the Cubs for Wrigley events.

What is now Buena Circle and Challenger Parks have a complicated and fascinating history mixed with the formation of the neighborhood, Graceland Cemetery, freight and passenger rail, and civic engagement. The timeline below is just a snippet of this fascinating history!

1860 - Graceland Cemetery opens with an entrance on Buena Avenue. In the same year James B. Waller purchases land in Buena Park, including what would become Buena Circle Park

1885 - Train service to Graceland Cemetery begins as part of the Chicago - Milwaukee - St. Paul railroad route. There are two stations located at ground level on Buena Avenue

1900 - The Northwestern Line elevated train opens an elevated train station at Buena Avenue immediately above the eastern Graceland Cemetery ground train station

1904 - Buena Park Improvement Association forms

1908 - Buena Avenue Citizens Association bought what was to become Buena Circle Park. They donate the land to the City to be made into a park with a bird house, trees, and fountain. As part of this initial donation further development is restricted

1917 - Train service to the Graceland ground level train stations ceases. Stretch of ground level train track by Graceland Cemetery (now Challenger Park) was converted to "Buena Yard" a railyard with a gradual elevated ramp running north to allow freight trains to connect to the L at Wilson Yards (now the site of the Wilson Train Station and "Wilson Yards" development).