LINCOLN PARK LILY POOL DESIGNATED NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool in Chicago's Lincoln Park has been named a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, the nation's highest designation that can be conferred upon a property based on its historical significance.

 

            "Being named a National Historic Landmark is a rare and prestigious honor," said Robert Coomer, director of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA), which administers the National Historic Landmark program in Illinois.  "The Lily Pool is one of the nation's best examples of a Prairie style garden."

 

            The three-acre Lily Pool was designed by noted landscape architect Alfred Caldwell, and was built by the Chicago Park District between 1936 and 1938.  It is a contributing resource to Lincoln Park's National Register of Historic Places listing and was named a Landmark by the City of Chicago in 2003.

 

            Alfred Caldwell (1903 - 1998) was a close friend and disciple of renowned landscape designer and conservationist Jens Jensen.  The redesign of the late 1880s Victorian lily pool provided Caldwell with one of his greatest opportunities.  The project allowed him to create a quiet refuge for city dwellers that represented the natural history of the Chicago region.

 

            Caldwell designed a prairie river landscape in the center, a meandering lagoon with limestone edges, walls, paths and steps.  A cascading waterfall at the northwest edge of the lagoon represented the river's source; a council ring and circular stone bench provided a gathering place at a dramatic overlook.  Caldwell placed masses of native shrubs and trees along the edges of the landscape and planted wildflowers and vines between the stone crevices.  In the late 1930s, when the Chicago Park District cut the wildflowers from the budget, Caldwell cashed in an insurance policy he had recently taken out, bought the flowers himself, and planted them all during a long weekend.

 

            The Lincoln Park Zoo began exhibiting exotic birds in the Lily Pool in 1946, renaming it the Zoo Rookery.  The birds, erosion and invasive species gradually changed the area, causing it to depart from Caldwell's original intent.  In 1997, the Friends of Lincoln Park (now Lincoln Park Conservancy) began raising funds to restore the Lily Pool.  Five years and $2.5 million later, the Lily Pool was returned to its original 1930s design.  Free tours of the Lily Pool  provided by docents are offered on weekends from May through October.