Chicago's lakefront history is shaped largely by the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. While much of Grant Park was created using rubble from the Great Fire of 1871, which filled in water between Lake Park and an Illinois Central Railroad causeway just offshore, the World's Fair in Jackson Park along the lake ushered in the American Renaissance. Landfill from other events, such as tunnel excavations, added to Grant Park and pushed the shoreline eastward to create more park space. Today, Chicago's lakefront is a vital resource, used for both recreational and utilitarian purposes.
The Lake Point Tower, on Lake Shore Drive. The highrise is the only skyscraper in downtown Chicago that is east of Lake Shore Drive. Despite skyscrapers not being allowed to to be constructed on the lake side of Lake Shore Drive, developers found a loophole in the law. As construction began, the city confronted the developers, who pointed out that the law prohibiting construction of highrises east of Lake Shore Drive applied only to land, and that the new tower was being built on landfill. The developers continued with construction as the city then changed its law.
The Navy Pier head house, which is home to the Chicago Children's Museum. The glass section on the right is the Crystal Gardens. Navy Pier was built in 1916 as a cargo facility for lake freighters, and was used during World Wars I and II for Naval purposes. Originally named the Chicago Municipal Pier, it was renamed Navy Pier in 1927 after the Naval personnel that used the pier during World War I.
A ferris wheel on Navy Pier. The wheel is 150 feet tall and is part of Pier Park.
Navy Pier and its grand ballroom at the end of the pier. In the foreground are the remnants of Dime Pier, which was named for the fare needed for a boat ride to the pier for fishing back in the 1930s.
The Chicago Marine Safety Station, on the north end of the main inner breakwater at the south side of the Chicago River entrance. The structure was built in 1936 as the Old Chicago Lifeboat Station, part of the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard turned the building over to the Chicago Police Marine Unit in 1969, and later the Illinois Conservation Police also moved in. The U.S. Coast Guard moved back in with the other two agencies in 2005.
The Chicago Harbor Southeast Guidewall Lighthouse, on the north end of the main inner breakwall at the locks for the Chicago River. The lighthouse was built in 1938.
The Chicago Harbor Lighthouse, on the end of the northern breakwater near the mouth of the Chicago River. The lighthouse was built in 1893 and was moved to this location from the site of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1919.
A light tower at the southern end of the Chicago Harbor breakwall.
The Harrison-Dever Intake Crib, located about 2 miles offshore from the city. The Carter H. Harrison Crib, on the left, was built in 1900 and was taken out of service in 1997. The William E. Dever Crib, to the right, was built in 1935.
The William E. Dever Crib is the intake for much of Chicago's water supply.
The skyline from the entrance to the Chicago River. The tallest building in the picture, at center, is the Aon Center, built in 1974 and 1,136 feet tall.
The Streeterville skyline from the Chicago River Lock.
The city's skyline from Chicago Harbor.
Streeterville from near Navy Pier.
The Streeterville skyline. The tallest building is the John Hancock Center, completed in 1970 and 1,127 feet tall, or 1,500 feet tall including the antennae.
Navy Pier and its grand ballroom from Chicago Harbor.
The end of Navy Pier, with Chicago in the background.
The Chicago skyline, from Chicago Harbor.
Highrises along Michigan Avenue and in the Loop neighborhood. The building to the left of the center, with the pyramid on top, is the Metropolitan Tower, built in 1924. The Railway Exchange Building, with the "Santa Fe" signage on top, was built in 1904.
The Willis Tower is in the center and more commonly known by its old name of "Sears Tower". The skyscraper is 1,451 feet tall, or 1,730 feet including the antennae, and is the tallest building in Chicago and in the United States.
The Michigan Avenue "cliff", where highrises face Grant Park, is very noticable from on Lake Michigan.
Skyscrapers of the Loop near Millennium Park. The building in the center with the diamond is the Smurfit-Stone Building, built in 1984 across from the northwest corner of Grant Park at Michigan Avenue & Randolph Street. To the left is the Jay Pritzger Pavilion, built in 2004.
The New Eastside section of Chicago's Downtown. The Aon Center, in the middle of the picture, is the tallest building in this area of Downtown.
Institutional buildings of Grant Park. On the left is Soldier Field, and on the right is the John G. Shedd Aquarium, with the Field Museum of Natural History behind it.
Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears of the NFL. The stadium was built in 1924. The Chicago Bears moved into the stadium in 1971 from Wrigley Field.
Soldier Field's distinctive characteristic is its two sets of colonnades. The colonnades were dwarfed by the inside of the stadium in 2003 after renovations to expand seating an amenities were finished.
The Field Museum of Natural History, in Grant Park. The museum was opened in 1893 as part of the World's Columbian Exposition, and was known as the Columbian Museum of Chicago until being renamed in 1905 for chief benefactor Marshall Field. The Field Museum moved into its present building in 1921.
The Field Museum is known for having an extensive collection of dinosaur fossils, gems, taxidermied animals, and Native American artifacts.
The Michigan Avenue entrance to the Grant Park Formal Gardens.
The General John Logan Memorial, in Grant Park. The statue was dedicated in 1897 to John Logan, who served in the Civil War, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate. Logan also helped form Rememberance Day as a national holiday, which is now known as Memorial Day.
Highrises near Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard. The Columbian, a brick-clad building that was completed in 2007 and is 517 feet tall, is on the right.
The Blackstone Hotel, located on Michigan Avenue at Balbo Street. The hotel, with its distinctive green roof, was built in 1910.
The Hilton Chicago Hotel, on Michigan Avenue. The hotel was originally the Stevens Hotel after being built by the family of Chief Justice John Paul Stevens in 1927, and was the largest hotel in the world when completed.
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