"LPS 1921": An Abandoned Building at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve

What appears to be some kind of stone building from early in the 20th century, today is nothing more than a creepy and haunting part of an otherwise leisurely walk along the Waterfall Glen Trail near Lemont, IL. I first encountered this structure walking with friends in 2012, at the same time that I discovered the abandoned tracks that led into Argonne National Laboratory, which began a few hundred feet east of here along the trail. My initial thought that those two finds may be connected yielded no fruit at all, which led me to the obvious question: 

What exactly is this structure, and what does "LPS 1921" mean? 

It almost resembles a mausoleum with an open-air roof, although my guess is that it once had a roof that has been lost to time. 

This is case where the truth is rather benign, as it is the site of a former nursery, or more accurately, it is a former administration building; the nursery was along the land adjacent to the structure. This is where trees and plants grew, and given the location inside of a forest, this isn't too much of a stretch.

Unlike many dilapidated places, this one is easily accessible to the trail...which can partially explain why some of it is covered with graffiti, especially on the interior.

More interesting, however, is its impact to Chicago history, as the plants and trees grown in this area were used to create Lincoln Park, which was built following Lincoln's assassination, and sat on land that was once the Chicago City Cemetery. 

"In 1907, in accord with many landfill projects, 107 acres of Lemont land became a nursery that provided topsoil and plants for Lincoln Park. It was located on the bluff southeast of the present location of the Rocky Glen Waterfall, on the eastern side of Waterfall Glen." (Pat Camelliere)

Thanks to one of our readers, Alain, we know that LPS stands for "Lincoln Park System", which was one of the three original Chicago park commissions, along with the South and West systems. Thanks for the wonderful research!

A closeup of the structure. You can see the work of vandals inside. (FRRandP, 2019)

It's a shame that such a structure was not preserved. But in an update, thanks once again to my readers, I'm happy to report that the DuPage County Forest Preserve has created a post nearby that shows the history of this place!

"Transplanted History", showing the history of why this structure exists in the first place.

So what does this building look like on the inside? Well, it's left side wall has largely caved in and returned to nature, and the single room structure has, to put it mildly, seen better days.

Cave in on the left. FRRandP photo, 2021.

Returning to nature, after having been a place to grow plants. At least its usage has been consistent in its afterlife phase.

I would not suggest planning a trip to Waterfall Glen just to see this structure, as the rest of the Forest Preserve has a lot of other recreation and trails that are much more interesting. And its relatively small size means there isn't a whole lot of urban exploration opportunity here either, but all that said, it's nonetheless an interesting quirk and piece of abandoned history that tells the history of this place in its own small way.

Thanks as always for reading!