This week i’ll be talking about Allerton park and retreat center. Allerton is located in southern Illinois near Monticello and it used to be the home of Mr. Robert Henry Allerton, Robert Allerton was a avid art collector, and major benefactor to the Art Institute of Chicago (donating over 6,600 pieces of art over the years) 

In 1946 the Allertons moved to Hawaii and started a new home, and had no use for his house + gardens in Illinois so he gave it to the University of Illinois to be used as a educational center, forest, plantlife + wildlife preserve.

Allerton park is named one of the seven wonders of Illinois, and rightfully. It consists of 100+ outdoor sculptures and garden ornaments, fourteen miles of hiking trails, parts of the Sagamon River, flood plains, lowland + upland forests, a huge meadow, and 30 acres of prairie, Because of all this land there are about 100,000 visitors each year. Best of all, it’s free to visit !

with the following pictures you can see how wonderful Allerton Park is, even in the late winter !

fu dogs | a hiking path | allerton mansion | one of the many gardens | sunken gardens