Malinalli is a community garden located at 28th & Ridgeway (across the street from our old home at the Boy & Girls Club).

In 2017, our Street Art class worked with artist Sentrock to paint a mural in the abandoned lot across the street from our old home, entitled Las Flores de las Almas Muertas.

In 2018, Yollocalli staff led the charge to reclaim and remediate the once vacant and debris-filled lot. Alongside community members and volunteers, the lot was cleared of trash and brought back to life with native plants.

In 2023, Yollocalli was awarded the LISC Chicago 2023 Chicago Neighborhood Development – the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Creative Placemaking Award for the beautiful Malinalli Garden.

In 2023, Openlands, recognized as one of the country’s foremost metropolitan conservation organizations, chose Malinalli Garden as the location for its 10,000th tree planting. We were proud to accept the gift of a Northern Catalpa tree as a symbol of our commitment to expanding the tree canopy in Chicago and nurturing a vibrant community that sustains it.

Through regenerative gardening and lots of love, the space is now a beautiful, thriving community asset filled with rich soil and native plants, surrounded by colorful murals, and visited by people and pollinators alike. 

We welcome you to come & enjoy our garden at:
2800 S Ridgeway, Chicago, IL 60623