Story of Grant Park–Chicago
When Chicago only had 3000 people—in 1837, when Abraham Lincoln was already 25 years old and the U.S. government was turning 50—people began to think about setting aside some land for public space. Everyone knew the city was going to grow, and real fast. Plans were being drawn up to sell parcels of land, build a canal, lay railroad track, set up businesses, and invite immigrants to do all the work.
The canal commissioners (the ones in charge of selling land and laying out growing city) decided to set aside a strip of land along Lake Michigan (a mile long and only 100 feet wide) for public use, “to remain forever open, clear, and free of any building or other obstruction whatsoever.”
At that time, Lake Michigan came all the way up to Michigan Avenue. Ulysses Grant was still a nobody—so it wasn’t named “Grant Park” yet. They called it “Lake Park,” built a boardwalk on the east side of Michigan Avenue, and it became a place for strolling, enjoying the lake, and getting some fresh air—away from the garbage and sewage that collected in the rest of the city.
The first problem Lake Park encountered was erosion and damage from waves off the lake. Since this also affected the wealthy home owners on the west side of Michigan Avenue, the Illinois Central Railroad came to the rescue. In exchange for the right to build a rail line 300 feet out in the lake (atop a trestle,) they would also build a breakwater (a stone wall even further out) to keep the water from destroying the shoreline and property near it.
And so Lake Park, and the expensive houses on the west side of Michigan Avenue were saved. But the view was no longer of Lake Michigan. It was now of a lagoon, a railroad trestle, and black smoke when the trains went by. But promenading (being seen in fancy clothes strolling up and down the boardwalk) became even more popular. Other than the boardwalk, the rest of Lake Park was a stony beach leading up to the lagoon.
Then two significant events occurred in Lake Park in the 1860s. The first was the 1864 Democratic political convention. The Democrats erected a “wigwam,” a temporary structure at the southern tip of the park, Park Row (11th Street) and Michigan Avenue. They nominated Union General George McClellan to run against Abraham Lincoln in his 1864 re-election bid. The temporary structure was a large circular building with a canvas roof. It was demolished at the end of the convention upon the insistence of the residents who lived across the street. Things were tense at the convention, as the Civil War was still going on and protesters were on hand advocating for a peace settlement. But the convention got its business done, and even the Republican newspapers in town noticed that the Democrats were relatively well behaved. (In Chicago, good behavior is most certainly “relative.)
The other big event in Lake Park occurred in April 1865. After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, his body was put on a train and taken around the country so people could pay respects. The last stop before his final resting place in Springfield was Chicago. The train entered Chicago at the south side of Lake Park, along Park Row. Soldiers carried the body off the car and opened the casket. Thousands passed by to see the corpse and pay their respects.
In 1871 (when Chicago was less than 40 years old—and already a city of 300,000 people,) a great fire swept through the heart of the city, killing 300 people and destroying thousands of buildings. The city needed someplace to sweep the rubble and debris from the fire—so they could rebuild—and the lagoon seemed the ideal place. As the lagoon filled in with burnt timbers, destroyed artifacts, and collapsed bricks, Lake Park got larger, and more things became possible within the area.
The park was used after the fire for temporary businesses—until they could rebuild in the city. In 1873, to show off how much Chicago had recovered from the fire, a grand palace was built in Lake Park, the current site of the Art Institute. The 23,000 square foot building was called the Interstate Industrial Exposition. It housed an annual state fair, an art museum, mechanical and engineering displays, trade shows, livestock shows, and an indoor garden. It featured a magnificent 60 foot in diameter glass dome.
That palace hosted three national conventions–the 1880 Republican convention and the 1884 conventions of both the Republicans and Democrats. It also housed a B&O railroad terminal, an indoor electric railway, an opera company, and the city’s symphonic orchestra.
Lake Park also became the home of the National League baseball team for several years. At the time they were called the Chicago White Stockings. But their name was soon changed to the “Chicago Cubs.” The baseball park could hold up to 10,000 people. Those who paid for “box” seats got to sit in stuffed chairs and draw curtains around themselves so the crowds wouldn’t gawk at them.
Lake Park also became home to the Illinois National Guard. They used a facility they built there for training, balls, and lectures.
But that first phase of Grant Park came to an end in the early 1890s—when Chicago was awarded the opportunity to host the next world’s fair.
To be continued
(One of my current jobs is as a tour guide to Chicago—with a focus on the history, the stories of its people and places. If you are interested in participating in a “bargain” trip with me, drop me a line and we’ll work something out.)
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