Navy Pier Chicago, Illinois
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Navy Pier Chicago, Illinois Project Type: Commercial/Industrial Case No: C028005 Year: 1998 SUMMARY Redevelopment and renovation of the historic Navy Pier on Chicago's lakefront. The project combines the restoration of historic structures with the development of new entertainment-oriented facilities and exhibition space. Developed by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, a city/state entity, Navy Pier remains true to its original intended use as a public promenade and gathering place while offering a variety of shopping and entertainment options. State resources combined with corporate sponsorships enable the redevelopment to avoid overcommercialization and allow the pier to offer free public entertainment year-round. FEATURES Waterfront development Historic preservation Use of corporate sponsorships to offset operating costs Year-round urban entertainment center Trade and exhibition space Navy Pier Chicago, Illinois Project Type: Special Use Volume 28 Number 05 January-March 1998 Case Number: C028005 PROJECT TYPE Redevelopment and renovation of the historic Navy Pier on Chicago's lakefront. The project combines the restoration of historic structures with the development of new entertainment-oriented facilities and exhibition space. Developed by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, a city/state entity, Navy Pier remains true to its original intended use as a public promenade and gathering place while offering a variety of shopping and entertainment options. State resources combined with corporate sponsorships enable the redevelopment to avoid overcommercialization and allow the pier to offer free public entertainment year-round. SPECIAL FEATURES Waterfront development Historic preservation Use of corporate sponsorships to offset operating costs Year-round urban entertainment center Trade and exhibition space DEVELOPER Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority 2301 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois 60616 312-791-6052 ARCHITECT VOA Associates, Inc. 224 South Michigan Avenue Suite 1400 Chicago, Illinois 60604-2595 312-554-1400 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Stretching 3,000 feet into Lake Michigan, the 50-acre Navy Pier represents the rebirth of a Chicago landmark. The project includes the painstaking restoration of historic structures combined with new construction, all designed to preserve skyline and lakefront views. The project offers a mix of commercial and public uses, providing residents and tourists with year-round entertainment, recreation, and meeting facilities. Major attractions on the pier include an IMAX theater, a children's museum, year-round and seasonal retailers, an indoor botanical garden, two outdoor parks, a 1,500-seat outdoor theater, a 150-foot-tall Ferris wheel, a musical carousel, a 170,000 square-foot exposition hall, and a beautifully restored grand ballroom. One of the principal objectives of the $200 million renovation was to ensure the pier's continued use as a public promenade. Earlier redevelopment plans failed in part because they either focused too greatly on private commercial development of the pier, abandoning its historically public nature (and thus failing to gain political or popular support); or they focused too heavily on public use of the pier, ignoring the fiscal realities of modern cities and the need for revenue generation. The redevelopment of Navy Pier exhibits a balance between commercial and public uses in much the same fashion as when it first opened more than 80 years ago. SITE HISTORY Municipal Pier, as it was then called, opened to the public in 1916, realizing in part architect Daniel Burnham's master plan for Chicago, which envisioned as many as five public pier facilities. A monumental brick headhouse served as the pier's formal entrance, while upper and lower sheds serving both passenger and freight lines extended along both sides. Unique in its time, the pier also included a recreational section featuring the Terminal Building, with a cafeteria and concessions, and the Shelter Building, with a pavilion, rooftop garden, and grand ballroom with observation towers. The pier was then the largest construction project of its type in the world, and it was the only to combine commercial and recreational uses. Following service as a barracks and Red Cross station during World War I, the pier became home to its own streetcar line, a theater, restaurants, and an emergency hospital, while continuing to serve both freight and passenger traffic. In 1926, annual attendance at the pier peaked at 3.2 million visitors. The following year the pier was officially renamed Navy Pier as a tribute to navy personnel who served during World War I. Cultural and recreational use of Navy Pier continued with the onset of the Great Depression, even while freight and passenger service declined. In 1941, the pier again was put into military service when the city of Chicago leased it to the U.S. Navy for use as a training center. More than 60,000 recruits from six countries were trained at the pier during World War II. Following the navy's departure after the war, Navy Pier became home to the University of Illinois, which transformed the facility into a two-year undergraduate branch campus with 52 classrooms, 21 labs, and four large lecture halls. The navy's main mess hall was converted to a library billed as the largest reading room in Illinois. The university remained at the pier until 1965. Through the 1950s and 1960s, Navy Pier served as a location for major trade shows and exhibitions, but in 1960 it was supplanted by McCormick Place as Chicago's major exhibition hall. It continued, however, to handle smaller shows. In 1959 the pier was widened by 100 feet and, with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, became the focal point of the Chicago World Port. In 1964 Navy Pier was billed as the greatest inland port in the world, handling as many as 250 oversized vessels annually. In the 1970s the pier entered a period of general decline and disuse. City officials briefly turned their attention toward the pier as the historic East End Ballroom underwent a painstaking renovation as part of the country's bicentennial celebration. Successive city administrations attempted various redevelopment plans for the pier, none of which came to fruition. Even during its commercial decline, however, Navy Pier continued to function as a public gathering place, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to ChicagoFest celebrations with music, food, and entertainment. These celebrations highlighted both the affection that Chicagoans had for the pier and the need for its redevelopment. It was not until 1989, following the recommendations of an Urban Land Institute advisory services panel, that concrete measures for Navy Pier's redevelopment began to take shape. Acting on one of the panel's most important suggestions, the state legislature established the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), composed of city and state appointees, to manage and operate both Navy Pier and McCormick Place, the country's largest convention facility. PLANNING Plans to redevelop Navy Pier began in earnest in 1979, when Jane Byrne was mayor. Recognizing the appeal of Navy Pier as a recreation and entertainment destination during ChicagoFest celebrations, Byrne entered into discussions with officials from the Rouse Company, which had successfully redeveloped Fanueil Hall in Boston and Harborplace in Baltimore into waterfront entertainment and retail projects. In 1982, the city council gave preliminary approval to Rouse for a $277 million redevelopment plan for the pier. The plan included retail uses, a hotel, an art center, a 400-slip marina, a maritime museum, and a 2,500-car parking garage. The Rouse plan suffered a setback, however, when Byrne failed to win reelection, losing in 1983 to Harold Washington. While Washington wanted the pier to be redeveloped, he was more interested in linking any development efforts to Chicago's neighborhoods. He also was a political reformer, which put him at odds with the city council. In 1984 the city council voted to end lease negotiations with Rouse. Mayor Washington then appointed his own task force to consider new redevelopment options for Navy Pier. The task force recommended redevelopment of Navy Pier into an urban park featuring cultural, educational, and community activities, along with limited retailing. Reflecting Washington's emphasis on neighborhoods, the plan focused on the community-wide appeal of the pier and its potential to reflect Chicago's diversity. The sudden death of Harold Washington in 1987, however, once again put redevelopment plans for Navy Pier in limbo. In 1988, Mayor Eugene Sawyer created the Navy Pier Redevelopment Authority, which requested the Urban Land Institute to send an advisory services panel to Chicago to generate plans for the pier's future redevelopment. The establishment of the authority and the introduction of an advisory services panel were the first steps toward depoliticizing the redevelopment process. The panel was asked to consider the highest and best use of the pier for the city as whole, not simply for private interests. The panel presented its findings in May 1989. The panel proposed a balance of public/private and commercial/noncommercial uses. The most important recommendation was for the formation of a city/state master development authority that would work both to depoliticize the project and to tap the state's funding capacity. Heeding the panel's advice, later in 1989 the city and state established the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority as an independent municipal corporation. The MPEA board would be composed of an equal number of state and city appointees and would manage both the pier and McCormick Place. Plans for the redevelopment of Navy Pier were aided by allies in political office at the city and state level. In 1989 Richard M. Daley was elected mayor of Chicago. In addition to having memories of visiting the pier as a boy, Daley believed in the ability of large-scale projects to promote economic growth. And at the state level, the governor's mansion now was occupied by Chicagoan James R.