About Us

Since our founding in 1984, the Lincoln Park Conservancy has engaged in historic conservation, ecological restoration, and park programming. We were the first public-private partnership in the Chicago Park District and the first park conservancy in the City of Chicago. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, we operate under a formal agreement with the Park District to restore and maintain our donor-restored park sites and improve Lincoln Park.

Working with 1,214 acres of the most highly used park land in Chicago means Lincoln Park will always be in need of our assistance. We have privately funded projects of every size, from antiquated play lots to crumbling running paths, leaking historic buildings to weed-infested gardens. We seek to fill the gap between government budget cuts and the needs of the peoples’ park, committing to the long-term care of restored park sites and protecting the financial and emotional investments of donors. Through our focused and expert efforts, we are successfully creating a better park, one project at a time.

Our staff are in the park every day caring for our park site, maintaining native plants, educating the public, and managing volunteer programs. We also offer volunteer opportunities for people to get involved in the park through programs, tours, and events.

Formerly known as Friends of Lincoln Park, we changed our name in 2003 to reflect our expanded role in the long term maintenance and programming of our donor-restored park sites.