Grant Park (Chicago)

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The Taste of Chicago is held in Grant Park annually around Independence Day.

Grant 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 (although the Museum Campus extends a bit south of Roosevelt), on the west by Michigan Avenue, and on the east by Lake Michigan.

1 History
2 Features
3 Facts
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Grant Park's history began in 1835 when concerned residents of the Town of Chicago sought to protect an area of land along Lake Michigan from commercial development. The city officially designated the land as a park on April 29, 1844, naming it Lake Park. In 1871 much of the remains from the Great Chicago Fire were pushed into Lake Michigan, creating more real estate for the park. 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. In an odd twist of fate, A statue of Abraham Lincoln was installed in Grant Park, and a statue of Grant was installed in Lincoln Park. To this day, the statues are mismatched. City ordinance has always prohibited building in the park; yet, in the late 1800s, developers wanted to construct museums and civic buildings in the park. A Chicago citizen, Aaron Montgomery Ward, filed a lawsuit to keep the park undeveloped, and in 1911, the Illinois Supreme Court found in favor of Ward. The city made one exception to the ordinance in 1892 in order to construct the Art Institute of Chicago. After completion of a multi-million dollar renovation of Chicago's Museum Campus in 1998, Grant Park now includes the Adler Planetarium, Field Museum of Natural History, and Shedd Aquarium. In 2004, a section of northern Grant Park was redeveloped and named Millennium Park.

Grant Park is perhaps most famous as 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 and 2006 incarnation of Lollapalooza. It is now the official home of Lollapalooza and will continue to be until further notice, because of its large space and acoustics.

[edit] Features

Buckingham Fountain is located in the middle of Grant Park

Chicago's Museum Campus is the site of the Field Museum

[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 in its many galleries, namely 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 from Memorial Day to Labor Day from 11:30 to 21:00 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] 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.

[edit] Facts

Much of the landfill that was used to fill in Lake Michigan to create Grant Park came from the excavations of the Chicago Tunnel Company.

This park is also known for hosting the Chicago Bulls championship celebration each time the Bulls won the NBA title (6 in total).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Grant Park. Parks & Facilities. Chicago Park District. Retrieved on July 23, 2005.
Grant Park. Chicago. A View On Cities. Retrieved on July 23, 2005.
Grant Park. Chicago, IL, 60602. Citysearch. Retrieved on July 23, 2005.