Garfield Park

What is Garfield Park?

The park was planned as a pleasure ground, a place for city residents to walk, relax and enjoy open green space. Its grounds cover 184 acres, and the great glass Garfield Park Conservatory stands inside it. It sits farther west than any other park in Chicago's historic park and boulevard system, the chain of parks linked by wide landscaped streets.

History of Garfield Park

In the 1870s, William Le Baron Jenney designed the park for the West Side park commission. It was one of three original parks the commission built under the city's park and boulevard plan, alongside Humboldt Park and Douglass Park, and Garfield came first of the three.

The park carries the name of James A. Garfield, the twentieth president, who served only a few months in 1881 before he was shot. It is recognized both as a Chicago Landmark and with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Visiting Garfield Park: tips

The park has restrooms. Allow time for a stroll plus an hour or more inside the conservatory, which sits right in the park. The Ukrainian National Museum is about 1.8 miles away and Hawthorne Works about 2.8 miles away. Coffee is available within about 0.1 mile, and EV charging is about 0.9 mile away.

The park is a large neighborhood green space rather than a formal attraction, so most visitors pair a short walk under the trees with time in the conservatory. As the westernmost park in the city's boulevard system, it also makes a sensible stop on the way out of Chicago toward the western suburbs and the open road.