Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool

Step through the Prairie-style Fullerton gate and enter a hidden garden of unmatched beauty. Only bird songs and the sound of a gentle waterfall break the restful silence. Follow the stone walk encircling the lily pool and discover a pavilion, council ring, and a diverse palette of native midwestern plants. This is the vision of landscape architect Alfred Caldwell: a hidden garden for the people of Chicago designed to resemble a river meandering through a great midwestern prairie. The Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool is now a National Historic Landmark and a Chicago Historical Landmark thanks to the restoration efforts of the Lincoln Park Conservancy and Chicago Park District. Completed in spring 2002, the restoration returned this public park site to Alfred Caldwell's original 1936 design, a design inspired by the works of Jens Jensen and Frank Lloyd Wright. The site of the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool was originally part of a Victorian garden built in 1889 that displayed tropical lilies and other aquatic plants. When the Victorian-style garden fell out of popularity, the lily pool fell into disrepair until 1936 when Alfred Caldwell redesigned the pool and its surrounding area.