Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool

Begin your life together in Chicago's Lincoln Park, surrounded by the natural beauty and tranquility of a unique National Historic Landmark. The Lily Pool features an aesthetically important pavilion, a cascading waterfall, and native vegetation, and was designed by Alfred Caldwell in 1936. The Chicago Park District and the Lincoln Park Conservancy restored the Lily Pool to Caldwell's original design from 1998 to 2002, after decades of erosion and deterioration. The Conservancy is pleased to offer this natural haven as a location for your small wedding ceremony, proposal, or photos. The Lincoln Park Conservancy requires that all wedding, engagement, family, and other professional photos get a permit in advance. From May through mid-October, the Lily Pool holds seasonal events. During the Air and Water Show, it is also closed on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Enter a hidden garden of unparalleled beauty through the Prairie-style Fullerton gate. Only the sound of birdsong and a soothing waterfall breaks the peaceful silence. Discover a pavilion, council ring, and different native flora along the stone walk around the lily pool. A hidden garden for the people of Chicago, created to resemble a river meandering over a vast Midwestern plain, is landscape architect Alfred Caldwell's concept. The Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool was originally part of a Victorian garden that included tropical lilies and other water plants and was created in 1889. The Lily Pool and its surrounding area fell into ruin after the Victorian-style garden fell out of favor, until Alfred Caldwell rebuilt the pool and its surroundings in 1936.