Garfield Park Conservatory
Garfield Park Conservatory ranks 6th on the list of most beautiful gardens in Chicago. It goes without saying that the indoor greenhouse rooms at Garfield Park Conservatory are pretty spectacular. This garden is one of the largest and most stunning botanical conservatories in the nation. Come summer, though, you can't beat its 10 acres of outdoor garden area, which features a kid-friendly sensory garden, onyx-colored lily pools, and an artist's garden replete with the favorite flowers of famous painters. Plan to come for an entire afternoon to make sure you see all the highlights.
Garfield Park Conservatory is a tropical paradise. You almost feel as though you’ve been transported to a vivid, green rainforest away from the hustle and bustle of Chicago. The stages and installations change frequently, so you can visit again and again. In the late 19th century, each of the three large West Side parks had its own small conservatory and propagation greenhouses.
After 20 years of use, these conservatories had fallen into a state of disrepair and had become obsolete. In 1905, Chicago's West Park Commission's general superintendent and chief landscape architect, Jens Jensen, demolished the three smaller greenhouses in Humboldt, Douglass, and Garfield parks to create what was intended as "the largest publicly owned conservatory under one roof in the world" in Garfield Park.
Many of the original plantings came from the three smaller Westside conservatories. Constructed between 1906 and 1907, the Garfield Park Conservatory was designed by Jensen in collaboration with Prairie School architects Schmidt, Garden, and Martin and the New York engineering firm of Hitchings and Company. It represents a unique collaboration of architects, engineers, landscape architects, sculptors, and artisans.
DETAILED INFORMATION:
- Location: 300 N Central Park Ave, Chicago, IL 60624, USA
- Website: https://garfieldconservatory.org/
- Tel: 773-638-1766
- Hour: 10:00 AM - 20:00 PM
- Area: 4.5 acres
- Google Rating: 4.8/5
- Ticket Price: $5 per person
