Grant Park: The Evolution of Chicago's Front Yard

8. The Park Reenvisioned and Renewed

162 8 The Park Reenvisioned and Renewed During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Chicagoans sowed the seeds for significant change for Grant Park. Chicagoans looked to transform their city while the changing economy created urban challenges that were marked by depopulation and deindustrialization. At the same time, Americans were becoming energized by the environmental movement and gaining a greater appreciation of green space. Many people became more active, which brought them out to parks to jog, bike, or participate in team sports. Outdoor festivals began to fill Grant Park. As a result, Grant Park reclaimed a central place for the community. With activities ranging from music festivals to Fourth of July celebrations, Grant Park emerged as a park triumphant. Bringing People Back to the Park The late 1970s saw an increased demand for open space for sports. Within the ethos of environmentalism and physical fitness, people looked to the parks as not only green space within the city limits but also as a resource The Park Reenvisioned and Renewed 163 for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Park districts across the country met this demand. The Chicago Park District built tennis courts at the Daley Bicentennial Plaza, and enthusiasts jogged in Grant Park and played tennis. Inaugurated by Friends of the Park, the first Chicago Marathon was run in 1977, beginning and ending its 26.2-mile loop in Grant Park. Reversing a decades-long trend, the Chicago Park District garnered enough support to move forward with a new band shell in the park’s northern section in Butler Field (see fig. 8.1).1 In 1978, the park district constructed the new “demountable” Petrillo Music Shell directly east of the Art Institute of Chicago. This new performance venue was designed to be disassembled, but this proved expensive and time consuming, so it became a permanent structure. Although not as attractive as the art-deco band shell on the south end of the park, the new shell provided a significant step up from its worn-out predecessor.2 Critics decried the squat appearance of the band shell, with one reviewer commenting, “The park district’s shell design looks like a gigantic doorstop and is in sympathy with nothing near the site.”3 Critics notwithstanding, the new band shell reflected contemporary design, and its modernity reflected the recent additions to the School of the Art Institute and its Columbus Street entrance across the street from the band shell. Over time, the park district landscaped the area around the band shell with trees and shrubs, which served to shield the audience’s view of the street. The new venue offered additional amenities, including dressing rooms, locker rooms, Figure 8.1. Petrillo band shell, Grant Park, July 25, 1997. Chicago Park District Special Collections. The Park Reenvisioned and Renewed 164 restrooms, lounges, mechanical and electrical areas, and a sound room. The band shell featured a screen that could be closed for rehearsals during inclement weather.4 The Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, the resident orchestra, performed regularly in its new home. The design provided seating for 5,022 guests on removable benches, and the grassy area of Butler Field could accommodate 35,000 more.5 The new band shell’s location on the north end of the park reflected, at least in part, the increase in residential construction nearby. Developers built a number of high rises along Randolph Street, and downtown urban living had some significant successes, notably Bertrand Goldberg’s iconic Marina City at 300 North State Street. The southern end of the park remained in proximity to rail yards and light industry, but business leaders worked with the city and other interested parties to construct a new neighborhood there. Journalist Lois Wille notes, “[B]‍y 1997, the desolate south Loop of 1972 had blossomed into a thriving new town of 14,500.” Over the coming decades, developers rebuilt the South Loop into a desirable residential area, featuring the uniquely elegant renovations of Dearborn Park I and Central Station.6 A new era in Grant Park’s history was unfolding when the city selected Butler Field as the staging area for an outdoor Mass celebrated by the newly elected head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II, when he traveled to Chicago in October 1979. More than one million people attended the Mass, which was preceded by an ethnic festival featuring Hungarian, Irish, Cuban, Mexican, Korean, and German choirs...