On Saturday, September 21, from 1 to 2 pm, Fernwood is hosting members of Friends of Sears Sunken Garden, who will share the garden's progress and future impact at the former headquarters of Sears, Roebuck & Co. in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago.
Established in 1907 as a peaceful space for Sears, Roebuck & Co. employees, the Sears Sunken Garden is significant in Chicago's history. Despite the company leaving the area in the 1970s, the garden remains a testament to the city's past.
North Lawndale has experienced declining investment over the past 50 years, but community members are working hard to reverse that trend. The revitalized garden will give more than 7,700 North Lawndale residents green space and attract visitors. Plantsman Piet Oudolf, world-renowned designer of Chicago’s Lurie Garden in Millennium Park, The High Line in New York City, and the Oudolf Garden Detroit on Belle Isle, and Roy Diblik, master garden designer of Northwind Perennial Farm, are helping to honor the garden’s history and will translate community ideas into the garden design. Oudolf and Diblik recently visited the Sears Sunken Garden at an informational event with North Lawndale community leaders and volunteers.
The Sears Sunken Garden project delves into the rise and fall of the economic retail giant and how the existing buildings, campus, and garden are once again becoming catalysts for economic growth and community cohesion.
Tickets for the panel discussion are available at fernwoodbotanical.org. Registration is $15 for non-members and $12 for Fernwood members.
The Friends of Sears Sunken Garden was established as a nonprofit organization in 2021 and is dedicated to restoring the historic Sears Sunken Garden, which is open during the current renovation project and located at 3312 West Arthington Street, Chicago.
