Chicago has a happy homecoming in green. The Fern Room at Garfield Park Conservatory — one of the most beloved rooms in the 1200 West Fulton Market conservatory, designed by landscape architect Jens Jensen and opened in 1908 — has been restored after a major hailstorm shattered its glass roof in 2015 and badly damaged the ferns inside.
That storm forced a full rebuild of the room. Crews installed a new protective glass ceiling, replanted the collection and carefully returned the Fern Room’s signature landscape: a lagoon-like pool, low fern-covered mounds and some of the oldest plants in the building, including sago palms that date to the Conservatory’s earliest years. Chicago Park District horticulturists describe the space as a living picture of what Illinois might have looked like eons ago.
Garfield Park Conservatory is one of the largest conservatories in the United States, covering 1.6 acres under glass plus outdoor gardens — and admission is always free, 365 days a year. For Chicago families, plant lovers and visitors, the Fern Room’s return restores the quiet, green heart of a true city treasure on the West Side.
Photo: Teemu008 via Wikimedia Commons
