User:Buster7/Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool

Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, also known as Lincoln Park Lily Pool, is an example of Prairie School landscape architecture designed by Alfred Caldwell and located at 125 W. Fullerton Parkway (between Stockton and Cannon Drives) in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on November 6, 2002. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a National Historic Landmark on February 17, 2006.

History
The lily pool had originally been built to cultivate tropical water lilies in 1889. In the 1930s, landscape architect Alfred Caldwell was hired by the Works Progress Administration to redesign the pool. He cashed in his life insurance policy and raised additional funds to realize his vision. Later for a time, the pool was used by the Zoo as a waterfowl rookery, and came to be known as The Rookery. From 1998 to 2002, the Lily Pool underwent a major restoration by the Chicago Park District and the Lincoln Park Conservancy.

Location
The Lily Pool's main gate is on the south side of Fullerton Parkway between Stockton and Cannon Drives (125 W Fullerton Parkway). An accessible entrance and parking space is located at the Lily Pool's east entrance on Cannon Drive. Parking is available at the Lincoln Park Conservatory self-park lot located directly behind the Conservatory; enter on Stockton Drive just south of Fullerton.

The Lily Pool is open seasonally from mid-April to mid-November from 7:30 a.m. to the earlier of dusk or 7:30 p.m. It is maintained by the Chicago Park District and Lincoln Park Conservancy.

Free docent tours are available from May to October from 1-4 p.m. Fridays, Saturday, and Sundays, and from 9 - Noon on Saturdays.

Flyway

 * Migrating birds are guided along the natural sight line of Lake Michigans north and south shoreline. Ornithologists and birdwatchers consider Chicagoland's lakefront as one of the most important flyways in the US.
 * Rich feeding and nesting opportunities.
 * Stop overs to feed and rest.
 * see Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History

Bird habitat
"Some of the most productive bird habitats in the country are the inland lakes, sloughs, and marsh areas around the Chicagoland region"

=April242015=

History
A Victorian-style artificially heated lily pool had originally been built in 1889 at the behest of Lincoln Park Commission Superintendent John Pettigrew to cultivate tropical water lilies. The lilies proved hard to cultivate and maintain in the northern climate of Illinois and the pools became unsightly and were often considered "Pettigrew's frog ponds". (Park and Cemetery, vol-X:7, 1895, pg.129). By the 1930s the hour-glass shaped pond and its environs had fallen into ruin and...........landscape architect Alfred Caldwell was hired by the Works Progress Administration to completely redesign this area of Lincoln Park. . Caldwell realized that the Lily Pool presented him with the unique opportunity to realize his poetic symbolism and design theories and philosophies (pg 22) In 1938 the project was nearing completion when the park district decide to cut a major expenditure for wildflower plantings. Caldwell cashed in his $5000 life insurance policy for $250, bought thousands of plants and transported them from Sauk County, Wisconsin, and the next day planted them all around the lily pools with the help of four others. Later for a time, the pool was used by the Zoo as a waterfowl rookery, and came to be known as The Rookery. From 1998 to 2002, the Lily Pool underwent a major restoration by the Chicago Park District and the Lincoln Park Conservancy.

=Alfred Caldwell Illuminates Nature's Way by Richard Guy Wilson= An artist and a poet

Eagle Point
Caldwell quit Dubuque over criticism of his over-spending the WPA budget. Lily Pool (1937 and 1938) is the logical continuation of the concepts expressed in Eagle Point Park......he returned to Chi in 1936 and worked on various projects till 1941.

Around the remains of an old canal Caldwell constructed an enclave that continued his theme of man renewed by nature first expressed in Dubuque, Iowa's 1935 Eagle Point Park...Caldwell described it as 'nature helping"...golden slabs of limestone lie underfoot everywhere...the organic principles of architecture (Wright).

Prairie in the City by Julia Sniderman, Chicago Park Disrtict
After consolidation of the Chgo Park District in 1934, Caldwell, a disciple of Jens Jensen, was hired for a large-scale project in Lincoln Park
 * Bringing the Prairie Vision into Focus

Obit

 * Works:Lincoln Park, softened austere Ill Inst of Tech, beautified Lake Point Tower, died at age of 95 in Bristol, WI.