Horace William Shaler Cleveland executed the plans within the limitations of the financial setbacks from the fire ( including the loss of tax rolls ) and the 1873 depression . Olmsted 's vision for Washington Park was generally realized . However , since spending for the park was diverted after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 . The loss of financial backing and difficulty in levying taxes after the fire meant that a water park could not be built on the property . From 1897 until the 1930s the park housed an impressive conservatory and ornate sunken garden designed by D. H. Burnham & Co. at 56th Street and Cottage Grove . The Washington Park Conservatory , like those of other city parks such as Humboldt and Douglas Parks , was torn down in the 1930s due to limited resources as a result of the Great Depression . This left Lincoln Park and Garfield Park as Chicago 's main Conservatories . One of the earliest improvements was the " South Open Green , " a pastoral meadow with grazing sheep , also used as a ball field . Architect Daniel H. Burnham 's firm designed the 1880 limestone round stables , the 1881 refectory , and the 1910 administrative headquarters for the South Park Commission . Other early attractions to the park included riding stables , cricket grounds , baseball fields , a toboggan slide , archery ranges , a golf course , Swimming pool , bicycle paths , row boats , horseshoe pits , greenhouses , a rose garden , a bandstand , a small zoo featuring six alligators , and a lily pond . The lily pond ( pictured left ) was a particularly enticing attraction because few had seen such a site . Today , the administrative building houses DuSable Museum of African American History . The park has retained its environmental appeal with continuing visionary support of the Burnham Plan which supported the maintenance of a park system
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Washington Park (Chicago park)