Museum Campus
Museum Campus is a 57-acre (23 ha) park in Chicago along Lake Michigan. It encompasses five of the city's major attractions: the Adler Planetarium, America's first planetarium; the Shedd Aquarium; the Field Museum of Natural History; Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League; and the Lakeside Center of McCormick Place.[1] Spanning from Roosevelt Road in the north to the terminus of the Stevenson Expressway at Lake Shore Drive in the south, the Museum Campus consists of the southeastern portion of Grant Park, the entirety of Northerly Island, and the northern portion of Burnham Park.[2]
History
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The Museum Campus opened on June 4, 1998, after the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive had been moved west of Soldier Field in 1996, freeing up 36 acres of land.[3] It was created to transform the vicinity of three of the city's most notable museums – the Adler Planetarium, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Field Museum of Natural History – into a scenic pedestrian-friendly area. The area is landscaped with greenery and flora as well as jogging paths and walkways.
A picturesque promenade along Solidarity Drive, an isthmus, links Northerly Island to the mainland. The median of the drive itself is lined with a number of grand bronze monuments: a 1904 sculpture designed by Kazimierz Chodziński commemorating Thaddeus Kościuszko, relocated from Humboldt Park in 1978; a 1911 monument to Karel Havlíček Borovský relocated from Douglass Park in 1983; and a 1973 replica of a famous 19th-century statue in Warsaw, designed by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, depicting Nicholas Copernicus.[4]
In 2014, a consortium of museums in or near the University of Chicago, formed Museum Campus South.[5] Also in 2014, filmmaker George Lucas selected Museum Campus as the location of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which would have cost an estimated $700 million,[6] and expanded Museum Campus south along the city's waterfront. However, these plans were canceled in June 2016 due to opposition from the Friends of the Parks advocacy group.[7]
In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, the Museum Campus was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places by the American Institute of Architects Illinois state office.[8]
The Bears plan to construct their new stadium on the Museum Campus, and is scheduled to open in 2028.[9]
Campus Museums
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"Museum Campus" sign in Grant Park
See also
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References
[edit]- ^ "The Museum Campus". Museum Campus Working Group. City of Chicago. 2022. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024.
- ^ "Grant (Ulysses) Park". Chicago Park District. Archived from the original on October 10, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Kamin, Blair (June 4, 1998). "Gem in the making: The new Museum Campus is Chicago's latest lakefront jewel, but it still needs a little polishing". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. pp. E1, E13. Archived from the original on November 1, 2024.
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- For the Kościuszko monument, see "Thaddeus Kosciuszko Monument". Chicago Park District. Archived from the original on June 15, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- For the Havliček monument, see "Karel Havlicek Monument". Chicago Park District. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- For the Copernicus monument, see Raposo, Pedro (February 19, 2019). "Copernicus: The Astronomer & the City". The Adler 'Scope. Adler Planetarium. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024.
- ^ "South Side Museums Form "Museum Campus South"". CBS Chicago. July 24, 2014. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023.
- ^ Sneed, Michael (June 24, 2014). "Sneed scoop: Chicago lands George Lucas Museum". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021.
- ^ "Lucas Museum's Chicago Plan Now Appears Dead". CBS Chicago. May 3, 2016. Archived from the original on December 1, 2023.
- ^ Waldinger, Mike (January 30, 2018). "The proud history of architecture in Illinois". Springfield Business Journal. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024.
- ^ Johnson, Michael (April 25, 2024) [updated June 12, 2024]. "What to know about the Chicago Bears' new stadium plans". WGN-TV. Archived from the original on November 1, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Museum Campus entry in AIA Illinois 200 Great Places
