From the Archives: 1989 – The Urbs in Horto Fund & The Chicago Botanic Garden

Green spaces within an urban environment help cool city temperatures, reduce traffic noise, provide a space for recreation, and have even been shown to increase human lifespans. Civic and philanthropic leaders in many major cities have long sought to capitalize on these benefits. Throughout the years, the Trust has played a role in Chicago’s quest to meet our city’s motto of becoming a “Urbs in Horto”: a city in a garden.  

The Urbs in Horto Fund was created in 1989 at the Trust in conjunction with Mayor Daley’s “GreenStreets” program, which was established to facilitate the planting of thousands of trees across Chicago. At the time, these initiatives represented the most ambitious urban forestry project undertaken by a major U.S. city. Mayor Daley made the initial gift to establish the fund and served as the campaign’s chairman.  

Today, the Urbs in Horto Fund has grown to support education around the importance of green spaces, urban greening projects, and collaborative work with stakeholders to restore public parks. It still exists as a Field of Interest Fund at the Trust with the aim of ensuring that all Chicago residents have access to green spaces.

But the Trust’s commitment to urban parks extends far beyond one fund. The Chicago Botanic Garden, one of Chicago’s largest cultural institutions, was created thanks to a longstanding relationship between James Brown IV, president and CEO of the Trust from 1949 to 1972, and philanthropist Mary Runnells. 

Brown and Runnells shared a vision of a garden in Chicago that would be a leading site of horticultural research and a place of beauty to rival London’s famous Kew Gardens or the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. In 1964, Brown encouraged the Trust to grant $250,000 – more than $2 million today – to the Chicago Horticultural Society to turn 300 acres of land in northern Cook County into a public garden. This funding was made possible by Runnells, who in 1972 established the Mary W. Runnells Fund at the Trust to support cultural and arts organizations in Chicago.  

After Brown died in 1982, Runnells approached the Trust’s executive committee with the request that a tribute to him be built within the garden.

In 1982, the Trust’s executive committee approved a $50,000 grant to the Chicago Botanic Garden to create a waterfall garden. This waterfall garden was dedicated to Brown in 1988 and remains as a tribute to his commitment to green spaces throughout the city.  

The Trust continues to fund the Chicago Botanic Garden and other initiatives aimed at providing green spaces for residents throughout the city. Other programs promoting best use of urban spaces include Our Great Rivers Chicago and the Trust’s Sustainability Fund.