Navy Pier

Navy Pier

Navy Pier as seen from the 23rd floor of The Lake Point Tower
Location 600 E. Grand Avenue Chicago, Illinois, 60611
Coordinates 41°53′29″N 87°35′59″W / 41.89139°N 87.59972°W / 41.89139; -87.59972Coordinates: 41°53′29″N 87°35′59″W / 41.89139°N 87.59972°W / 41.89139; -87.59972
Built 1916 (1916)
Architect Charles S. Frost
E.C. Shankland
NRHP Reference # 79000825[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP September 13, 1979
Designated CL November 14, 1977

Navy Pier is a 3,300-foot-long (1,010 m) pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. The Navy Pier currently encompasses more than fifty acres of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, family attractions and exhibition facilities and is the top leisure destination in the Midwest, drawing nearly nine million visitors annually.[2] It is one of the most visited attractions in the entire Midwestern United States and is Chicago's number one tourist attraction.[3]

History

During construction, 1915 (Chicago Daily News)

The Navy Pier opened to the public on July 15, 1916.[4] It was originally named "Municipal Pier", the pier was built by Charles Sumner Frost, a nationally-known architect. The pier's design was based on Daniel Burham's, "Master Plan of Chicago."[5]

Originally the Navy Pier was to be a dock for freights, passenger traffic and a space for indoor and outdoor recreation for the public. Many events were held at the pier, such as expositions, pageants and other types of entertainment. In the summer of 1918 the pier was also used as a jail for draft dodgers.

In 1927, the pier was renamed Navy Pier to honor the naval veterans who served in the First World War.

In 1941, during World War II the pier became a training center for the Navy. About 10,000 people worked, trained and resided there. The pier contained a 2,500-seat theater, gym, 12-chair barber shop, tailor, cobbler shops, soda fountain and a vast kitchen and hospital.[6]

In 1946, as the Navy was winding down from its mission, the University of Illinois at Chicago held classes at the pier. Though the maximum capacity was exceeded the school outgrew the pier and the university relocated to Circle Campus.

After the university left, the Navy Pier became underutilized.

In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened and increased commercial shipping activity at the pier for a short amount of time, though business died down and left for more modern facilities at Lake Calumet.

In 1976 the East End buildings got renovated and for a brief period the pier was alive again and home to summer events, such as the Chicago fest.

Though the Navy Pier struggled to stay maintained and went into decline.

In 1989, the City of Chicago had the Urban Land Institute contrive uses for the pier. Then, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority was created, it’s responsibility was to manage and operate the Navy Pier as well as the McCormick Place. The MPEA undertook the redevelopment of the pier incorporating some of ULI’s recommendations.[7]

In 1995, the Navy Pier was redesigned and introduced to the public as the mixed-use retail, dining, entertainment, and cultural venue.

Today, the pier is undergoing another renovation. Starting in 2014, the redevelopment plan called The Centennial Vision was implemented. The purpose of this plan is to fulfill the mission to keep Navy Pier a world-class public space and to renovate the pier so it will have more evening and year-round entertainment, more compelling landscape and design features.[8]

Most construction is finished, yet The Centennial Vision should be completed by summer 2016.

Attractions

USS Chicago (CA-136/CG-11) anchor
Navy Pier Ferris Wheel

Navy Pier attractions include sightseeing tours from companies such as Seadog Ventures, Shoreline Sightseeing cruises and Water Taxi service, and the Tall Ship Windy. There are also dinner cruises by Entertainment Cruises, on their ships the Spirit of Chicago, The Odyssey II, and the Mystic Blue. The Pier has fireworks on Wednesday and Saturday nights during the summer and Saturday nights during the fall.[9]

Navy Pier hosts the PNC Bank Winter Wonderfest from December through January. There is an indoor ice skating rink, as well as shopping and dining in Festival Hall.

There are many outdoor attractions at the Navy Pier Park, such as the Pepsi Wave Swinger, Light Tower Ride, Remote Control Boats and the Carousel.[10]

Amazing Chicago's Funhouse Maze is also on the pier. It is a self-paced, full sensory maze experience where you navigate your way through 4,000 square feet of tunnels, mazes and fun.[11]

Crystal Gardens is a one acre, botanical garden inside the pier. It is a six story glass atrium with a 50 foot arched ceiling. Many events are held here.

The Chicago Children's Museum is a part of Navy Pier, with many different exhibits and activities for both children and adults to enjoy while visiting the museum.[9][12] The Pier also has an IMAX theater.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater, a theater that recreates Shakespeare's productions.

The Pepsi Skyline stage venue is also at the pier. It seats 1,500 and hosts a variety of live events including music, theater, comedy and acrobatic spectacles from summer through early fall.[13]

There is lots of outdoor art such as the anchor from the naval vessel USS Chicago (CA-136/CG-11) which is on display at the far end of the Pier.[14] Other art includes a statue of actor Bob Newhart on a couch as on The Bob Newhart Show,[15] the Captain On The Helm statue dedicated to maritime captains, and the Crack the Whip sculpture of eight children at play holding hands by J. Seward Johnson Jr.[16][17]

The Ferris Wheel is under construction and will reopen May 27, 2016. A new model was selected and purchased—the DW60—from Dutch Wheels, the Netherlands-based company that built the Pier’s current wheel. Considered the world’s top designer and manufacturer of Ferris wheels, Pier leadership was impressed with the company’s exemplary safety record and commitment to excellence.

The state-of-the-art DW60 will be the first and only one of its kind in the U.S. with similar wheels currently in operation in Hong Kong and Baku, Azerbaijan. Significant features include two-sided cars that allow for easy loading and unloading, a fortified structure to withstand winds of 115 miles per hour, and safety glass capable of weathering intense storms.[18]

Plans for renovation

This is the iconic Navy Pier wheel which was put to retirement on 27th September 2015
Navy Pier logo as of 2008
Musical carousel

Efforts to update Navy Pier for the twenty-first century began, on January 13, 2006, when the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority released a proposal for a major renovation of the Pier, which including a monorail, a 260-foot (79 m) spokeless Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, floating hotel, and a water park with a Great Lakes theme. The plan would have included nearly double the current parking and a replacement theater with a greater capacity. At the time of the announcement, a price tag of $2 billion was announced.[19][20]

Subsequently, following the reorganization of the agency that runs Navy Pier and McCormick Place, a new study was commissioned to reinvigorate the upgrade process. The new study, by the Urban Land Institute, was released on November 11, 2010, and recommended a more modest set of enhancements aimed at retaining the Pier's role as a public space, rather than turning it into a theme park. Suggested elements include a concert venue, an enlarged Chicago Shakespeare Theater space, new restaurants, a renovated commercial area around the Pier's entrance, and additional park-like features to bring people closer to the lake. More grandiose possibilities, including the enlarged Ferris wheel and a hotel, are mentioned as more remote possibilities.[21]

In March 2012, a competition led to selection of a design concept presented by a team led by James Corner of James Corner Field Operations that focuses on the Pier's role as a waterfront promenade. In 2013 the Authority announced plans to carry out the first elements of a streamlined version of that concept, with reworked streetscape and a wider pedestrian space, moving tour-boat moorings to improve the view from a new central stairway centered on the Ferris wheel. Work began during the winter of 2013–2014, with completion expected by Summer 2015.[22][23]

A new Ferris wheel for the pier was announced on June 23, 2015. It will be 196 feet (60 m) tall, 46 feet (14 m) taller than its predecessor. Rides will be twelve minutes instead of seven and feature three revolutions. The new wheel will have brighter lights and is expected to open in May 2016.[24]

In Popular Culture

The halls were used to represent Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the 1986 movie The Color of Money for the 9-Ball Championship.

In the film Divergent, the pier and Ferris wheel are shown abandoned and decayed in a future Chicago.[25]

Bus connections

CTA

See also

References

  1. ↑ Staff (July 9, 2010). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Navy Pier | A Chicago Landmark". Navy Pier. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  3. ↑ "Crain's List Largest Tourist Attractions (Sightseeing): Ranked by 2007 Attendance". Crain's Chicago Business. June 23, 2008. p. 22.
  4. ↑ Bentle, Kyle (April 28, 2016). "Navy Pier at 100: How the Chicago icon will be changing". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ "PDF of Navy Pier" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "Chicago history, Chicago Flashback: Navy Pier". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  7. ↑ "Encyclopedia of Chicago". www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  8. ↑ "Navy Pier | A Chicago Landmark". Navy Pier. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  9. 1 2 "Historic Navy Pier: Things to Do". Navy Pier Chicago.
  10. ↑ "Ferris Wheel and Pier Park Rides | Navy Pier". Navy Pier. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  11. ↑ "Amazing Chicago's | Navy Pier". Navy Pier. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  12. ↑ "Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier". Chicago Children's Museum.
  13. ↑ "Pepsi® Skyline Stage® | Navy Pier". Navy Pier. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  14. ↑ "Sculpture & Art". Navy Pier. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Chicago dedicates Bob Newhart statue Comedian honored with bronze likeness". Today. July 27, 2004. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  16. ↑ "Sculpture & Art". Navy Pier. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "Navy Pier: [Crack the Whip - by J.Seward Johnson Jr.]". Public Art In Chicago blog. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  18. ↑ "You searched for ferris wheel | Navy Pier". Navy Pier. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  19. ↑ Rummana, Hussain (January 14, 2006). "More Flash Proposed for Navy Pier: Water Park, Hotel that Floats, Monorail Part of Master Plan". Chicago Sun Times. p. 4.
  20. ↑ Rhys, Steven (February 25, 2006). "Forrec Develops Strategic Vision for Chicago's Navy Pier" (Press release). Retrieved July 21, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Second Crack at Navy Pier Upgrade". Chicago Tribune. November 11, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  22. ↑ "Navy Pier Redesign Walks the Line between Populist and Classy". Chicago Tribune. August 12, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Navy Pier Renovation Begins this Week". Time Out Chicago. September 25, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Chicago to replace Navy Pier Ferris wheel with taller one". Chicago Tribune. June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  25. ↑ Sacks, Ethan (March 16, 2014). "Shailene Woodley Jumps into Big-Budget Territory with 'Divergent'". Daily News (New York). Retrieved March 27, 2014.

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