Oak Park Conservatory

Founded in 1929 as a repository for exotic plants collected by Oak Park residents during their travels abroad, this curvilinear glass structure now showcases a botanical collection of over 3,000 specimens across its Mediterranean, Tropical, and Desert rooms. After falling into disrepair in the early 1970s, the community rallied to preserve and enhance the building and its surroundings, which today includes outdoor gardens representing Illinois native ecosystems, solar panels and a range of other new technologies to enhance the nearly century-old conservatory's sustainability.