Encyclopedia o f Chicago
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Garfield Park

Garfield Park, c.1885
Garfield Park, known originally as Central Park, was one of three large parks in Chicago's West Park System. The park was first formally laid out by William Le Baron Jenney in 1870 as an integral part of the city's emerging system of parks linked together by wide grassy boulevards, from which commercial traffic was excluded. As the residential population in the West Side increased through the late nineteenth century, there was increased demand for better facilities. With the retention of Jens Jensen as chief landscape architect for the West Park System, Garfield Park saw several major elements added within a short time. In 1907, the massive Garfield Park Conservatory was completed according to Jensen's rigorous specifications. Shortly thereafter a pavilion, boat landing, refectory, and golf course were added, reflecting a distinct change in American leisure pursuits.

Max Grinnell

Bibliography
Chicago Park Commissioners. The West Parks and Boulevards of Chicago. 1914.
Grese, Robert E. Jens Jensen: Maker of Natural Parks and Gardens. 1992.
Prairie in the City: Naturalism in Chicago's Parks, 1870–1940. 1991.

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