The Museum of Science and Industry is the backdrop for the Jackson Park Lagoon. The Museum and the Japanese garden are pretty much the only remnants of 1893’s Columbian Expedition.
You can live in a big city for years and miss some of its gems. We’ve been in Chicago since 2003 and somehow, we’d never been to the Japanese Garden—The Garden of the Phoenix. Until this past Sunday, that is, when we climbed in the back seat of our friend’s sedan for a little urban adventure. The Garden is tucked away in Chicago’s Jackson Park, just a few miles south of our Printers Row neighborhood
A word about Jackson Park: Magnificent. It’s a Frederick Law Olmsted-Calvert Vaux (those Central Park guys) design, 552 acres of lush vegetation, trails, lagoons, birds—a beautiful oasis that has been part of South Side life for generations. Chicago’s North Siders are the worse for not venturing down to Jackson Park—it’s in the shadow of the Museum of Science and Industry and a quick hop from The University of Chicago. It’s worth an afternoon with or without a visit to the Garden of the Phoenix.
The ducks and koi live in peace.
Back to the Japanese garden: It’s been there (mostly) since 1893. Japan gifted it to Chicago for thestoried Columbian Exhibition (of The Devil in the White City fame), but it’s had a craggy history since then. It remained intact after the Columbian Exhibition, even after a fire destroyed most other Exhibition buildings. Over the years it fell in and out of disrepair. The worst of it came when it was vandalized after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. (The more things change….) It actually disappeared for all practical purposes during the 1950s, but in 1981, the garden was replanted and rededicated after Chicago and Osaka became sister cities.
Today it’s a perfectly manicured respite from the city’s concrete jungle, complete with colorful Koi and the sounds of a waterfall. And, just outside the perimeter of the Garden of the Phoenix, you’ll find a fascinating piece of sculpture called Sky Landing. Dedicated in 2016, Yoko Ono was the sculptor, and it was inspired by the lotus flower. It’s meant to be healing, and after having experienced it, I think she hit the mark.
Chicago peeps, check it out if you haven’t. For you visitors (now that it looks like you may be able to visit), add it to your list of things to do.
Thanks Mike. Donna has already suggested that we go there which means we’re going there. My grandfather taught Botany and Zoology at Hyde Park High School, a short walk away. He would take his classes into Jackson Park to identify birds and plants.
Good find!
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