Entry No. 35 — the Chicago file — filed under: outdoor-weird

Garden of the Phoenix & Yoko Ono's Sky Landing

On a wooded island in the middle of Jackson Park sits a traditional Japanese garden whose roots trace to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, where a Phoenix Pavilion once stood until arson destroyed it in 1946. In 2016 Yoko Ono installed Sky Landing here, twelve twelve-foot lotus petals rising from the spot of the lost pavilion, her first permanent public artwork in the Americas. Reaching it means crossing footbridges into a hushed, easy-to-miss pocket far from the lakefront crowds.

The move: Cross the footbridge to the Wooded Island and sit among Yoko Ono's lotus petals where a vanished Japanese pavilion once stood.

• 📍 Jackson Park, South Side
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: Wooded Island, Jackson Park, Chicago, IL 60637

Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-23