Grant Park (Chicago)
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| Grant Park | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Location: | Chicago |
| Area: | Downtown Chicago |
| Architect: | Burnham,D.H.; Bennett,Edward H. |
| Architectural style(s): | Beaux Arts, Art Deco |
| Added to NRHP: | July 21, 1993 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 92001075 |
| Governing body: | Local |
Grant Park (originally named Lake Park) is a large park (319 acres or 1.29 km²) in Chicago. The park's most notable features are Buckingham Fountain and the Art Institute of Chicago. Grant Park is frequently referred to as the city's front yard. It is bordered on the north by Randolph Street, on the south by Roosevelt Road, on the west by Columbus Drive and on the east by Lake Shore Drive.
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[edit] History
The original plan for the town of Chicago left the area east of Michigan Avenue unsubdivided and vacant, and purchasers of Michigan Avenue lots were promised that it would remain unoccupied. When the former Fort Dearborn became part of the townsite in 1839, the plat of the area east of Michigan Avenue south of Randolph was marked "Public ground. Forever to remain vacant of buildings."
The city officially designated the land as a park on April 29, 1844, naming it Lake Park. When the Illinois Central Railroad was built into Chicago in 1852, it was permitted to enter along the lakefront on a causeway built just offshore. The resulting lagoon became stagnant, and was largely filled in 1871 with debris from the Great Chicago Fire. In 1896 the city began extending Grant Park into the lake with landfill.[1] On October 9, 1901, it was renamed Grant Park in honor of Galena, Illinois resident, American Civil War General and United States President Ulysses S. Grant.
The legal restrictions prohibiting any buildings in the park were ignored in the 1800s, as various civic buildings were sited there. The Plan of Chicago proposed a cultural center, containing a library and two museums, as the centerpiece of the park. Chicago businessman Aaron Montgomery Ward ultimately fought four court battles, opposed by nearly every civic leader, to keep the park undeveloped. The one exception Ward consented to was for the Art Institute of Chicago, constructed in 1892. In the early 20th century, Grant Park was expanded with further landfill — much of it from the excavations of the Chicago Tunnel Company — and developed with a very formal landscape design by Edward Bennett. More landfill in the 1910s and 1920s provided sites for the Adler Planetarium, Field Museum of Natural History, and Shedd Aquarium, which were linked together as the Museum Campus in 1998. In 2004, a section of northern Grant Park, previously occupied by Illinois Central railyards and parking lots, was built over and redeveloped as Millennium Park.
The park has been the site of many large civic events, including the visit of Pope John Paul II and championship celebrations for the Chicago Bulls. It was the scene of clashes between Chicago Police and demonstrators during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. More recently, it has hosted some of Chicago's biggest festivals, such as the Taste of Chicago, the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Chicago Blues Festival, Venetian Night, and, most recently, the 2005, 2006, and 2007 incarnations of Lollapalooza. Lollapalooza is under contract to be staged at Grant Park through 2011. Grant Park is also the where the Chicago Marathon starts and ends.
[edit] Children's Museum
The Mayor Richard Daley-controlled Chicago Plan Commission approved (13-to-2 vote) on May 15, 2008 the mayor's plan to move the Children's Museum from its current home on Navy Pier Navy Pier and to build a new $100 million Children's Museum 1,000 yards away in open park land of Grant Park, laying the ground for a City Council showdown or court challenge. Residents of high-rises surrounding the Daley Bicentennial Plaza site near Millennium Park had their case, for despite 5 redesigns, the project allegedly violated 172 years of legal protections and 4 Supreme Court rulings that preserved Grant Park "forever open, clear and free" as Montgomery Ward sought.[2] Chicago alderman Brendan Reilly stated that the museum relocation to the lakefront park is a land grab.[3]
[edit] Features
[edit] Art Institute of Chicago
On the western edge of Grant Park is the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the premier art museums and art schools in the United States, known especially for the extensive collection of Impressionist and American art, such as Grant Wood's American Gothic.
[edit] Buckingham Fountain
Located in the middle of Grant Park is Buckingham Fountain, one of the world's largest fountains. The fountain was dedicated in 1927 as a gift to the city from Kate Sturges Buckingham in memory of her brother Clarence Buckingham. The fountain runs during warm-weather months with a light and water display from 21:00 to 22:00.
[edit] Museum campus
Chicago's Museum Campus is a 10-acre (40,000 m²) addition to the southern end of Grant Park. The Museum Campus is the site of the Adler Planetarium, Field Museum of Natural History, and Shedd Aquarium.
[edit] Children's Museum
Plans for a new $100 million Children's Museum that will move from Navy Pier to Grant Park were approved by Richard Daley. Some City Council members have opposed the project, and it may face obstacles there[4] [5].
[edit] Other facilities
Grant Park also features many shaded walking trails and Lake Shore Trail, a paved multi-use path running along Lake Michigan for the entire length of the park. In addition, there are 16 softball fields and 12 tennis courts, open to the general public, and Daley Bicentennial Plaza offers fitness, yoga, aerobics programs.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Cremin, Dennis H., Waterfront , pp. 864-6, Eds. Grossman, James R., Keating, Ann Durkin, and Reiff, Janice L., 2004 The Encyclopedia of Chicago. The University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-31015-9
- ^ suntimes.com, Commission votes 13-2 for Children's Museum
- ^ www.bnd.com, Planning board supports museum move
- ^ suntimes.com, Commission votes 13-2 for Children's Museum
- ^ www.bnd.com, Planning board supports museum move
- National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).
- Grant Park. Parks & Facilities. Chicago Park District. Retrieved on 2005-07-23.
- Grant Park. Chicago. A View On Cities. Retrieved on 2005-07-23.
- Grant Park. Chicago, IL, 60602. Citysearch. Retrieved on 2005-07-23.
[edit] External links
- Grant Park (Chicago) is at coordinates Coordinates:
- ForgottenChicago.com [Little known elements of Chicago’s infrastructure, architecture, neighborhoods and general cityscape, existing and historical]
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