Columbus Park Lagoon & Woodland

As a tribute to the natural ecology of the Midwest, Columbus Park is considered the masterpiece work of landscape architect, Jens Jensen. When the West Park Commission first acquired the former farmland in 1912 the site included traces of original sand dune, fields, and wooded areas. Jensen was inspired by the site’s natural history and created a series of rolling hills evocative of glacial ridges in the park, landscaped the park with a palate of native plants, and created a meandering lagoon with waterfalls and limestone outcroppings to resemble a natural prairie river. In the early 1990s the Chicago Park Disitrct Now, the lagoon is stocked with blue gills, catfish, bullheads, crappies and bass and is a great place for fishing, bird watching, and observing aquatic life.