Sears Sunken Garden

The Sears, Roebuck and Co. Park, commonly referred to as the "sunken garden," occupies a rectangular plot just north of the former Sears Administration Building. The sunken garden was completed around 1907 shortly after Sears' North Lawndale complex opened. It received Historic Landmark status from the City of Chicago in 2014 and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The centerpiece of the garden is its classically inspired pergola, located along the north edge and symmetrically aligned with the Administration Building's main entrance just south of the garden. The pergola was designed by Nimmons & Fellows as part of the Sears campus. Its wood beams are supported by colonnades of Doric columns and balanced at each end by two Doric temple pavilions clad in white stucco and topped with red clay-tile roofs. The pergola remains intact, as do the garden's original concrete planting urns that mark entries to the garden. Though the garden's original fountains and ponds have been filled in, surviving concrete walks and flower bed locations still express the garden's original design, which Nimmons thought important to the quality of life of Sears, Roebuck and Co. employees. The Sears Sunken Garden is managed by the Foundation for Homan Square.