Carlson Cottage at Lincoln Park Zoo

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Carlson Cottage at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Park Zoo.

Carlson Cottage

Lincoln ParkZoo

2001 North Clark Street

Chicago, IL

Website:  Lincoln Park Zoo

The Treasure:  One of the oldest buildings in Lincoln Park, Carlson Cottage is a picturesque survivor of Victorian-era Chicago.

Accessibility:  The exterior of Carlson Cottage can be viewed every day at Lincoln Park Zoo, where it can be found near the historic Café Brauer.

Background:  With its charming architecture, its prime location in Lincoln Park, and even a tantalizing whiff of violence to flavor its past, Carlson Cottage is a small yet potent reminder of Chicago’s colorful past and undeniable ambition. This is a city where even the public restrooms can be architectural gems, resonating with stories!

Today, Carlson Cottage is a part of Chicago’s famous Lincoln Park Zoo. The zoo came first, starting small with the 1868 donation of a pair of swans from New York City’s Central Park. Two decades later, the zoo’s first director, Cyrus DeVry, was hired. And in that same year (1888), Carlson Cottage was built.

The historic restoration of Carlson Cottage was led by
preservation architect Paul Steinbrecher of
InterActive Design, Inc. in 2008.
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Park Zoo. 

The first public restroom facility in Lincoln Park, Carlson Cottage has a delightful Victorian design, courtesy of notable Chicagoarchitect Joseph Lyman Silsbee. This was a relatively minor commission for Silsbee, an architect who often worked on much grander projects — such as the Lincoln Park Conservatory — and served as a mentor to up-and-coming architects Frank Lloyd Wright, George Maher, and George Elmslie. Known simply as a Comfort Station in its early years, Carlson Cottage was constructed of brick and stone and capped with an attractive cedar shingle roof.

The restroom function of Carlson Cottage was abandoned long ago. In 1995, Lincoln Park Zoo began using the building as a center for its volunteer gardening program. Coinciding with the Save America’s Treasures restoration in 2008, the volunteers planted new gardens around Carlson Cottage to reinforce an appropriate late 19th-century ambience.

As for the whiff of violence mentioned above, here’s all we know:  During the restoration, a rusty 19th century pistol was discovered in a plumbing vent pipe. That’s not much to go on, but it’s sufficient to summon up an image of the Chicago underworld, already a potent force in the 1880s, dominated by shady figures like John “Mushmouth” Johnson and Giovanni “Johnny” Torrio. Unfortunately, imagination must take over at this point. With only a single artifact to go by, it’s highly unlikely that the real story behind the abandoned gun will ever come to light.

Other Recommended Sites:  For another impressive building by the architect of Carlson Cottage, visit the nearby Lincoln Park Conservatory which Joseph Lyman Silsbee designed in collaboration with fellow Chicago architect Mifflin E. Bell.  A docent program jointly sponsored by the Chicago Park District and the Lincoln Park Conservancy offers  free tours of the historic building and its important horticultural collections on weekends.

An 1888 historic engraving of Carlson Cottage by architect George Maher
provided significant information regarding the original appearance of the building.
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Park Zoo.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Monday’s (11/26) destination:  Glessner House Museum

© 2012 Lee Price