The Lincoln Park Conservatory opened between 1890 and 1895. It's a Victorian glass house with four rooms: Palm House, Fern Room, Orchid House, and Show House.
The architect was Joseph Lyman Silsbee — the man who gave Frank Lloyd Wright his first job. So this glass house is, in a way, a prequel.
When this place opened, Chicagoans lost their minds. They could see tropical palms without dying of cholera on a steamship to the Pacific. In 1897, Egypt wrote to request seeds from Lincoln Park's water lilies. Egypt. Asked Chicago. For plants.
— From the tour: The Best Free Day in Chicago
