Garfield Park is located on Chicago's West Side, between Chicago Avenue and the Eisenhower Expressway and Western and Kilbourn Avenues. It features quiet streets with single-family homes and is home to the Garfield Park Conservatory, one of the largest conservatories in the nation. Located in the Garfield Park neighborhood since 1908, the Conservatory covers 4.5 acres, and consists of six greenhouses and two large exhibition halls.
Once described as a work of "landscape art under glass," the Conservatory was designed by renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen. Though the structure began to deteriorate beginning in the 1930s, the Chicago Park District responded with major construction projects. Still, attendance figures continued to decline until about 1994, when the Chicago Park District embarked on a multi-million dollar restoration plan that brought vast new improvements to the facility.
In 1995, the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance was created; that organization has raised millions of dollars for educational programming, community relations and visitor services. As a result, the historic facility has once again regained its popularity, and attracts thousands of visitors each year. The Garfield Park Conservatory is situated in Garfield Park (the park), which is adjacent to the CTA Green Line elevated train line.
Originally known as Central Park, the 187-acre park was formally laid out in 1869 by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York's Central Park and the Chicago suburb of Riverside. The Park first opened to the public in 1874; historic features include architectural landscaping such as flower gardens, a water court, bridges, lagoons and the Conservatory; and notable architecture including the "Golden Dome" fieldhouse and a bandshell, or gazebo as it is often referred to.
There are also a number of historic statues and sculptures located in Garfield Park. Both the Park and the Conservatory are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In terms of recreational activities, Garfield Park (the park) contains a wealth of leisure-time facilities. These include a play lot for children, several baseball diamonds, three football-soccer fields, numerous basketball courts, 14 tennis courts, an outdoor swimming pool, three spray pools, a lagoon, a bicycle path, six horseshoe pits, and two sandboxes.
The park also offers opportunities for jogging, cycling or just taking a walk, and cross country skiing and ice skating are winter possibilities. The two-story fieldhouse features a gymnastics room, a gym, a senior citizens activity center, an assembly hall, and other amenities. The communities of East and West Garfield Park surround Garfield Park (the park).
In recent years, East Garfield Park has seen some revitalization, and has been referred to by some as the next up and coming neighborhood. It offers a central location, proximity to downtown Chicago, vintage housing stock, and access to mass transit. West Garfield Park has also undergone some gentrification in recent years, but not nearly to the extent as East Garfield Park. Housing in West Garfield Park is very modestly priced.
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