Garfield Park Conservatory
Chicago is home to some outstanding, internationally acclaimed landmarks and destinations. But one that may have fallen off the must see list (even for the local set), is the Garfield Park Conservatory. As one of the largest greenhouse conservatories in the United States, it has quite a storied history.
The project was led by Danish-American landscape architect, Jens Jensen and commenced in 1905. He led the movement of prairie style landscape architecture and was an integral part of conserving natural areas within parks, estates and campuses in urban areas. Although Garfield Park Conservatory was heavily led by Jensen, it was a true collaboration of architects, engineers and artists.
Jensen designed the structure of the Conservatory to emulate haystacks of the Midwest and is made of glass. It is often described as “landscape art under glass”.
The Conservatory officially opened in 1908 and was considered quite revolutionary for its time.
However, as decades passed, the Conservatory began to deteriorate. In 1994, the Chicago Park District undertook a multi-million renovation to restore the facility. In 2011, the building suffered catastrophic damage after a hailstorm, where renovations took place in stages so as to keep the landmark open for the public to still enjoy.
We recently explored the many offerings of the Conservatory and took in the stillness and quiet of nature within a bustling city. Watching the elegant koi fish in the “Persian Pond” gracefully swimming around the sixteen giant yellow glass lily pads by iconic glass artist Chihuly was just the beginning of a restful, almost meditative afternoon. We weaved through from room to room and took in the variety of horticulture the Conservatory had to offer. The “Desert House” had a gorgeous array of cacti and succulents both miniature and large. The “Fern Room” almost transported you to a jungle like environment and we wouldn’t have been surprised if a big cat walked our path.
We highly recommend a visit to this wonderfully, in some ways hidden secret. It’s a secret definitely worth sharing.
Senior Designer
A native of Washington, DC, Michelle says the “mall” where she and her friends hung out during her teenage years was the Smithsonian Mall – which perhaps accounts for her love of exploring all facets of the world around her. Also, she says, “If you ever want to learn how to catch, cook, and eat a blue crab, I’m your gal!"