The Oak Park Conservatory began as a community effort to house exotic plants residents collected during their travels abroad. The Edwardian-style glass structure was built in 1929 but fell into neglect until 1970 when a group of concerned residents preserved it.
Free to the public, the Conservatory is one of the top three historical sites in Oak Park welcoming over 50,000 visitors annually. In 2005, the Conservatory was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Conservatory offers a rich atmosphere throughout three indoor showrooms featuring more than 3,000 plants, some of which date back to 1914.
The Conservatory provides 8,000 square feet of growing areas, making it the third-largest conservatory in the Chicago area.
There are three primary showrooms: the Mediterranean, Tropical, and Desert rooms. Each showroom is intended to support the different climatic requirements of the individual plants. In 2011, the Herbert M. Rubinstein Memorial Garden was opened. This new garden space is framed by a pergola, enhanced by a water feature, and serves as a quiet space for reflection as well as special events.
In 2015 the Elsie Jacobsen Discovery Garden opened as a result of The Friend’s vision of having an outdoor demonstration/education garden. The Discovery Garden serves as an outside expansion of the showrooms, highlighting Illinois native ecosystems and water conservation.
In recent years the Conservatory installed solar panels to lower electricity costs, cisterns to collect rainwater and beehives for pollination. In addition to its collections, the Conservatory grows about 20,000 bedding plants annually for planting in public parks and sites throughout Oak Park.
Mediterranean climates are marked by warm (even hot) dry summers and mild wet winters, with about 24 inches of rain yearly. They can be found in the lower middle latitudes of every continent, often on the west coasts. Ecosystems in this climate are typically located near large bodies of water, appropriate since the name is from the Mediterranean Sea “between the lands” of Europe and Africa.
Our Tropical Room contains plants that thrive in the warmth and light of the ecosystems that straddle the earth’s equator – from the Tropic of Capricorn (latitude 23.4 degrees south) to the Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23.4 degrees north). These are the most biodiverse zones on land on our planet, not only for plants but also for animals.
The Desert Room contains about 300 species of cacti and succulent plants from all over the world. (There actually are about 28,000 species in total!) Although not all of them originate in year-round arid environments, they have in common the ability to store water in their leaves, stems, and/or roots and limit their evaporative loss. These properties enable them to survive and even thrive despite prolonged periods of drought and heat.
Phone: (708) 725-2460
615 Garfield
PO Box 1096
Oak Park, IL 60304
© Copyright 2009-2022 Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory, All Rights Reserved.
The Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to promote community interest in the Oak Park Conservatory,
offer educational and recreational opportunities and support projects that benefit the Oak Park Conservatory.
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