Navy Pier ranks as one of Chicago’s most enduring landmarks. After a spectacular transformation, it emerged in July of 1995 as a multimillion dollar convention, cultural and recreational center. It is now the state’s most visited attraction.
Navy Pier is a direct descendent of Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan for Chicago, which included the famous phrase, “Make no little plans.” While Burnham recognized the importance of port and harbor facilities, he urged the development of Chicago’s lakefront as park space to the greatest extent possible. He envisioned what has now become the world’s finest lakefront park system, dotted with some of the top cultural attractions in the world.
Built in 1916, the Pier was unique because it not only served Lake Michigan freighters, it was also designed as a public recreation facility and meeting place.
In less than 10 years, the Pier was jammed with ships. Before the Great Depression, a person could board a package freighter and travel to nearly any city on the Great Lakes.
Intra-lake and inter-lake commercial activity was at its peak in the 1920’s. But, in the early 1930’s, the Great Depression and the advent of the motor truck signaled the beginning of the end of the package freighter business on the Great Lakes and at Navy Pier.
Caught in a squeeze between the economic impact of the Great Depression and the switch to motor freight delivery, the shipping lines vanished one by one. However, through the 1930’s, daily excursion boats and passenger-carrying side-wheelers still continued to use the facility.
In August 1941, the Pier officially closed to the public and was converted to military use. The U.S. Navy took over the entire facility, sub-dividing the Pier to serve as classrooms for a naval aircraft mechanics training school. In addition, two aircraft carriers operated from the Pier to train over 15,000 pilots. For all intents and purposes, the Pier belonged to the Navy during the entire course of World War II.
In late 1946, the University of Illinois established a Chicago campus at Navy Pier. The classrooms that had been constructed by the Navy for their mechanics school were adapted for the University. With numerous veterans recently discharged from the service and enrolling in colleges, a Chicago campus was greatly needed, and the University moved right in with minimal effort. Numerous Chicagoans received their college education on Navy Pier.
Many University of Illinois’ graduates who attended the Navy Pier campus still remember classes competing with construction improvements that were related to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. With the opening of this new link to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pier once again served Chicago as a world port.
However, as larger ships arrived, it soon became necessary to relocate the city’s port facilities to a deeper harbor area at Lake Calumet. Additionally, in 1964, the University of Illinois relocated its Chicago Campus to new facilities just west of Chicago’s downtown area.
While the Pier fell into disrepair during much of the 1970’s and early 1980’s, the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago developed a joint plan for its future. It was decided that ownership of the Pier would be transferred in 1989 to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), the same municipal organization which oversees Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center.
The Authority moved swiftly to redesign Navy Pier into one of the country’s most unique exposition and recreational facilities.
Designed by an architectural team comprised of VOA Associates (Chicago) and Benjamin Thompson Associates (Cambridge, MA), Navy Pier fills an important market in Chicago by accommodating smaller and mid-sized conventions and trade shows. It is a unique venue on the lakefront that offers a variety of recreational opportunities in addition to prime meeting space.