Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool
If you’re the sort of Chicagoan who sometimes asks themselves why you’re here, given that there are warmer and cheaper places to live, then there’s a small spot along the council ring at the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool that’s just for you. Call it the best place to meditate outdoors in safe seclusion, surrounded by the pulsing city. The stones that make up the council ring should be uncomfortable to sit on but aren’t. The sun shines from between two buildings until six o’clock. And, even though both Fullerton and Lake Shore Drive are within walking distance, the traffic noise never penetrates the quiet here. Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, designed by Caldwell in the late 1930s in the Prairie School landscape style, is a visual and sensory treasure of its own, and its meandering pathways make arriving to the council ring sun-spot a daily gift.
Cannon Drive and Fullerton Parkway
Best of Chicago 2015
