Paul Cornell

Civic leadership Cornell is considered the "father of the South Parks System" for his extensive efforts after the American Civil War to create a parks system south of Chicago. Cornell, as a real estate developer, presented a convincing case to city developers that a parks system would increase the value of land surrounding it. Cornell based his arguments on New York City's Central Park, which had substantially raised surrounding real estate values. As a civic leader he along with his peer William Le Baron Jenney, the West Parks commissioner, commissioned urban landscape designers such as Frederick Law Olmsted, Calvert Vaux, Ossian Simonds, H. W. S. Cleveland, and Jens Jensen to create landscaped cemeteries, to implement a coordinated parks and boulevard system and to design the railroad-served suburbs to complement urban civilization.

In 1869, the state passed the "Parks Law", which created the north, south and west parks district. The hotel was expanded in 1891. He had accumulated a total of land at one point. The reason that the name was changed was the pre-existence of Cornell, Illinois. Among his other ventures, Cornell founded Republic Life Insurance Company and the American Bronze Company. The Hyde Park Historical Society gives out annual Paul Cornell Awards.