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Midway Plaisance, Chicago, IL

Photo: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & OutdoorsHistory BuffLocal Gem

Midway Plaisance

Walk the mile-long park where the 1893 World's Fair put the first Ferris wheel, then see Lorado Taft's Fountain of Time at the west end.

1130 Midway Plaisance North, Chicago, IL 60637 · Chicago, IL

About Midway Plaisance

This mile-long strip of green between Washington and Jackson parks runs along the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. During the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition it held the fair's amusements, including the first Ferris wheel, which gave the word midway to fairs everywhere. Today the sunken lawn where Olmsted planned a canal holds sports fields and, in winter, an ice rink that sits on the exact spot of that wheel. At the west end, Lorado Taft's Fountain of Time shows Father Time watching 100 human figures pass.

  • #park
  • #world's fair
  • #ice skating
  • #sculpture
  • #university of chicago

What's around here?

The closest stops to Midway Plaisance, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Frederick C. Robie House

    Under $25

    Tour Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie style house in Hyde Park, with its cantilevered roofs and art glass.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums

    Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia & North Africa

    Under $25

    University of Chicago museum and research institute devoted to the ancient past of West Asia and North Africa.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Museums
    Iconic

    Barack Obama Presidential Center

    $25–$50

    Tour four floors of exhibits on the Obama family, including an Oval Office replica, then walk the free campus in Jackson Park.

    0.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Garden of the Phoenix

    Check prices

    A Japanese stroll garden on the Wooded Island in Chicago's Jackson Park, created as a gift between the United States and Japan.

    0.6 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Jackson Park

    Check prices

    Stroll the lagoons and Japanese garden on Wooded Island, swim at two Lake Michigan beaches and find relics of the 1893 World's Fair.

    0.7 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    History Buff

    Washington Park

    Check prices

    Stroll an Olmsted and Vaux park on Chicago's South Side to see Lorado Taft's Fountain of Time and visit the DuSable Museum.

    1.2 mi awayMore like this

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