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All the United States Illinois Lisle Four Columns at Morton Arboretum

Four Columns at Morton Arboretum

A tribute to one granddaughter's old apartment which now represents the whims of each visitor.

Lisle, Illinois

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View of Columns from Hedge Garden   chris97655 / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
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Fall, 2018.   thatguyerik / Atlas Obscura User
Between the columns   kcarollo
Dolomite covering the outer surface of the columns   kcarollo
Four Columns at Morton Arboretum   kcarollo
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Along the main trail on the Morton Arboretum's East Side, near the end of a long clearing, sit four large white columns. There are no signs indicating what they are nor what they mean. Simply four large white columns.

According to the Arboretum, the columns were built in 1960 when the founder's granddaughter, Suzette Morton Davidson, requested that her father hire an architect to re-create four columns that had been in her downtown Chicago apartment. The columns were each built 19 feet high and made with dolomite taken from northern Michigan. Davidson later "invented" a meaning for the columns, stating they represented her grandfather and his brothers. However the arboretum's website also strongly suggests that one should create their own meaning.

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Natural Wonders Outsider Art Statues Nature

Know Before You Go

Four Columns is located on the east side of the arboretum, along the trail near the Visitors Center, Children's Garden, and Maze Garden

Community Contributors

Added By

kcarollo

Edited By

chris97655, Collector of Experiences, thatguyerik, DemonLlama02

  • chris97655
  • Collector of Experiences
  • thatguyerik
  • DemonLlama02

Published

July 26, 2013

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  • http://www.mortonarb.org/history/four-columns.html
Four Columns at Morton Arboretum
4100 Illinois
Route 53
Lisle, Illinois, 60532
United States
41.812607, -88.067306
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