Lagoon, Bridge, and Comfort Station Predate the Fair

Continuing the theme of “things that survive the Fair”--

Most of Jackson Park was still a series of beaches, dunes, ridges with burr oaks, and swales with moisture-loving wildflowers when it was chosen for the Fair. There was one section that had been developed and was ready for the early use of the states and countries to stake out territory. 

Most of the park was undeveloped because it was miserable for farming and so was relatively cheap to buy up when Paul Cornell and friends decided to launch the South Parks Commission and create two large parks connected by boulevards that would hook up into the park and boulevard system surrounding the city on the West and North. And it was still undeveloped because they had the bad luck to draw up a plan in 1871, just in time for the great fire. There was no money for parks. Then, in 1879, John Sherman, founder of the Union Stockyards, joined the board of the South Parks Commission. His son-in-law had just set up an architecture practice with a partner and they were struggling to find work, so Sherman had the commission toss a small part of the project their way. 

They developed the stretch of Jackson Park that was north of 59^th Street. They created two oblong lakes running north and south along Stony Island Avenue and added in paths and a carriageway. A bridge carried the paths over the ponds.

Further south, a natural inlet and swale was dug out to become the “North Pond,” the lagoon that’s now south of the Museum of Science and Industry. They leveled off the rest for lawns and landscaping (1879). To make the beach nice for strolling, granite pavers were laid into the water from 56^th to 59^th (1884). A limestone picnic shelter and concession stand was built near 56^th, a small limestone “comfort station” was built east of the North Pond (1888), and a bridge was built over the inlet to the North Pond for a circular carriage drive (1884).

 

John Sherman’s son-in-law was Daniel Burnham, and it wasn't long before his fortunes improved immensely, but he remembered Jackson Park. Olmsted recycled the Burnham and Root features already in the park into the plan for the Fair. Three of them still survive (though barely)-- a bridge, a lagoon, and a limestone bathroom.