Garfield Park Conservatory

Named one of Chicago's top ten event venues, this rental space sparkles with holiday lights and blooms with festive flowers and greenery. This room houses bistro tables for the public to sit and enjoy the greenery around them or have a snack.

Horticulture Hall is open during Conservatory Hours 9 am – 5 pm daily; Wednesdays till 8 pm.

In 1924 the Conservatory’s annual attendance swelled to more than 500,000 and it became clear that the facilities needed to expand. The following year the West Park Commission built this major new exhibition hall that not only protected plants from the cold as they were moved from the back greenhouses to the public display houses, but also provided a large public space for use by garden clubs, plant societies, and the general public. Horticulture Hall has been updated twice in its history, once in the 1950s and again during the 1990’s. Today, this room with its own botanical display serves as a multipurpose space for community events, concerts, and weddings, as well as a relaxed seating area for general visitors.

In the late 1920’s, with the advent of Horticulture Hall, the Garfield Park Conservatory’s role in educating the visiting public was growing stronger. Conservatory staff began labeling plants for the first time, provided free guidebooks about the Conservatory, and even offered the public an opportunity to bring in their own plants for expert identification. By 1931, the Conservatory’s role as an important educational institution was recognized by Chicago’s Board of Commissioners, who, at that time, added "Museum of Botany" to the Conservatory’s name.

Horticultural education was not only on the rise in Chicago, but throughout the rest of the country as well. In fact, in 1932, a year after Museum of Botany came into the Chicago vernacular, W. Ray Hastings, president of an Atlanta seed association, proposed the idea of a national education plan called the All-American Selection Project. This national network venture would have skilled, impartial judges assess new flower and vegetable varieties being grown around the country. The yearly winners, now known as All-American Selections, would be a way for home gardeners to learn about the best new and improved plant varieties.

Zellij Fountain

The mosaic fountain at the center of Horticulture Hall was constructed on-site in the summer of 2003 by three Moroccan artists. This intricate piece of art was built using hand-cut terra-cotta tiles shipped from the Moroccan city of Fez. A gift from Chicago’s sister city of Casablanca, the ever-flowing spring is an important man-made addition to the Conservatory’s living plant collection.

Special Events

For that special occasion — weddings, reunions, business meetings — rent one of several Conservatory rooms or the entire Conservatory! Horticulture Hall presents an opportunity for your guests to enjoy a seated dinner or mingling with passed hors d’oeuvres in a lush setting full of plants and flowers, regardless of the weather outside. Horticulture Hall alone can fit a banquet of 300 people, or a cocktail party of 400 people. Visit our Room Rental Information page for more details about choosing the Garfield Park Conservatory for your next private event.