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G
arfield Park Conservatory opened in 1908 in Chicago replacing three small Victorian glass houses
built in the 1880s and quickly became known as "landscape art under glass."
One of the largest in the world it was unlike any other nineteenth century conservatory.
Architect Jens Jensen designed it to resemble the form of a Midwestern haystack and
worked with a New York firm that specialized in building greenhouses. Inside the greenhouse plants
were displayed on the ground with pipes installed behind stonework walls that created
lovely views across the landscape. The aquatic or fern house serves as the Conservatory's
centerpiece that includes some of the designer's loveliest stone and water elements; a
waterfall looked so natural that many guests assumed the conservatory was constructed
around it.
By the end of the 1920s attendance had climbed to half a million visitors per year. Horticulture
Hall and a new propagating house were constructed in 1928. During the next several decades
the structure deteriorated and the Chicago Park District directed construction on new projects
that included demolishing the Palm House and replacing it with a fiberglass (vs. glass) structure.
Attendance continued to wane but today this botanical conservatory is being restored to its glory days
due to a multi-million dollar plan that raised millions for educational programs, visitor services
and community relations. Garfield Conservatory is again one of Chicago's prominent cultural
institutions.
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