Prairie Style in the Parks – Julia Bachrach Lecture Series
Presented by Wicker Park Garden Club in Partnership with Julia Bachrach Consulting & Chicago Park District
Three weeks – 3 Part Series
March 11, 18, 25 at 7PM – 8:30PM
Julia Bachrach is a consulting historian, planner, and preservationist. She is the author of several books including The City in a Garden: A History of Chicago’s Parks. A full biography and her blog posts are available on her website: www.JBachrach.com
Visit Julia Bachrach Consulting’s Website Blog
***Fundraiser for the 10,000 sq. ft of Wicker Park Gardens Maintained by Wicker Park Garden Club.
Registration Required & Pre-payment requested – Click here to register & to pay online
FEE: $15/Lecture or $35 for the Entire 3-Part Series
Please arrive at 6:30 to SignIN and Socialize with Others – BRING FOOD to Share!
For more information: Contact Us
Description
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, landscape architect Jens Jensen, architect Dwight H. Perkins and other Progressive Chicagoans were concerned about the impact of industrialization on urban dwellers. They believed that by creating lushly-planted parks and saving scenic lands from development, the rapidly growing city would become healthier and more livable. Jensen and Perkins and other talented Chicago designers created landscapes and works of architecture that celebrated the natural characteristics of the Midwest. Many of these noteworthy projects were produced in Chicago’s parks. This series explores the development of Prairie style landscapes and buildings within as Wicker, Union, Lincoln, Humboldt, Garfield, Douglas, and Columbus Parks, and the Cook County Forest Preserves.
SESSION 1 3/11/19 – Chicago’s Early Parks: From Small Squares to Boulevard System
This session will explore Chicago’s early parks such as Washington Square, Wicker Park and Union Park as well as the movement to create a unified park and boulevard system that included Humboldt, Garfield and Douglas Parks. Jens Jensen’s beginnings in the West Park System and Ossian Cole Simonds’ work in Lincoln Park will be examined. The contributions of social reformers such as Jane Addams and organizations like the Special Parks Commission will be highlighted.
SESSION 2 3/18/19 – Progressive Era Parks: Innovative Plans and Designs by Jensen, Perkins and Others
In 1905, an era of social and political reform helped spur ambitious park improvements. Jens Jensen became General Superintendent and Chief Landscape Designer for the entire West Park System. He often worked closely with talented architects such as Dwight H. Perkins, Schmidt, Garden & Martin and William Carbys Zimmerman. This session will explore the iconic designs that resulted, such as the Garfield Park Conservatory and Humboldt Park’s Prairie River and Formal Garden. Jensen and Perkins’s efforts to create the Cook County Forest Preserves will be included.
SESSION 3 3/25/19– Masterworks of Park Design: Columbus Park, Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, Promontory Point and More
By the late 1910s and early 1920s, as Jensen’s ideas and style became fully developed, he created his masterpiece, Columbus Park. But the political winds shifted again and his West Parks position was terminated. But Jensen continued working in private practice, and in the late 1920s, he had a disciple, Alfred Caldwell. A decade later, Caldwell worked for the newly-consolidated Chicago Park District. This session examines Jensen’s later work as well as Caldwell’s contributions to the development of Lincoln