Tucked along the southern edge of Lincoln Park Zoo, at 125 W. Fullerton Parkway, the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool is one of Chicago’s loveliest surprises: a three-acre hidden garden that feels like a quiet Midwestern river valley in the middle of the city.
The Chicago Park District explains that the pool was originally built in 1889 to raise tropical water lilies, and that landscape architect Alfred Caldwell redesigned it in the 1930s in the Prairie style. Caldwell shaped it as a tribute to the natural ecology of the Midwest, meant to mimic a river formed by a melting glacier as it cuts through rock. Limestone bluff-like stonework, winding paths and a small waterfall at the north end mark the source of that imagined glacial river.
Today the Lily Pool is a haven for wildlife, providing food, water and shelter for birds, dragonflies, butterflies, frogs and turtles, and it is especially popular with birders, who can watch from pathways above the water. A careful restoration begun in 2001 replaced invasive plants with native prairie and woodland wildflowers and restored the pavilion, council ring and waterfall, with further pavilion repairs in 2024.
It is open seasonally from mid-April to mid-November, so an autumn visit is perfectly timed: fall colour over still water, migrating birds overhead and a peaceful stroll just steps from the zoo. Go soon, breathe deep, and discover Chicago at its gentlest.
Photo: Alanscottwalker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
