McCormick Place Rooftop Farm

Vegetables can grow in the most unexpected places, including the roof of the McCormick Place West Building. Architects planned a green roof to mitigate the environmental impact of the building and went a step further by creating a charming terrace event space with skyline views. In 2013, the Chicago Botanic Garden's Windy City Harvest program transformed the roof into the largest farm-to-fork rooftop garden in the Midwest. More than 8,000 pounds of produce are grown each year across the 0.75-acre rooftop. There are hundreds of crops varietals plus beehives and heirloom fruit trees. Though this is just a fraction of the food served to visitors to McCormick Place and the growing McCormick Square neighborhood, it reduces the need to transport produce to the convention center.