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FIRST USE: AS A PIER Even as Chicago Municipal Pier was being built, the invention of mass-produced Car s and Truck s was beginning to wreak havoc on the package freight and passenger steamboat industries of Lake Michigan. The pier proved to be much more successful as a public gathering place. During the 1950s, it is estimated that an average of 3.2 million visitors frequented the pier annually, with peak attendance for the "Pageant of Progress." This decade is sometimes called the pier's "Golden Age." The use of the pier for serious marine purposes reached a temporary peak during World War II , when the city leased the pier to the U.S. Navy . The Navy's air group training arm made the pier a quay for a pair of converted flattops, the U.S.S. ''Wolverine'' and the USS ''Sable'' (IX-81) , which were used as freshwater trainee Carrier s. At this time, 60,000 sailors as well as 15,000 pilots used this area for training. In honor of this service, Chicago Municipal Pier's name was changed to Navy Pier. SECOND USE: AS A COLLEGE CLASSROOM With the war over, Navy Pier went to the campus, and the pier again fell into disuse. THIRD USE: AS A PUBLIC GATHERING PLACE From 1965-1989, Navy Pier was considered an underutilized eyesore. No government agency in or around Chicago wanted to invest money in it. Many advocates, inspired by the Plan of Chicago and the pier's successful use as a public gathering place in the 1920s, called for its reconstruction. In 1976, Navy Pier began its third life as an area for public exhibits, when the East Buildings (furthest into Lake Michigan) were opened as exhibition halls. Special events including music and arts festivals began to draw crowds to the pier despite its aging infrastructure. In 1989, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority took control over the pier. Major renovation and construction followed in the 1990s at a cost of $200 million (USD). As rebuilt in the 1990s, the pier's current layout includes fast-food kiosks, shops, a ballroom, a concert stage, and convention exhibition halls. Centerpiece attractions include a 150-foot-tall Ferris Wheel , an IMAX theater, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater , the Chicago Children's Museum , the Smith Museum Of Stained Glass Windows , and at the entrance to Navy Pier is a statue of Oak Park comedian Bob Newhart , sponsored by TV Land. The pier now features a large front lawn showcasing numerous larger-than-life public art sculptures and an interactive dancing fountain. It continues to be used as an embarkation point for tour and excursion boats. One of its most popular yearly attraction is the Tall Ships Venetian Night festival. The pier and its grounds encompass more than 50 acres of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants and other entertainment. Navy Pier contains 170,000 total square feet of exhibition space, of reception space and of meeting room space. POSSIBLE FOURTH USE: AS A WATERPARK? On January 13, 2006, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the government agency which runs Navy Pier, released plans for a major renovation of the pier which would include a January 14 2006 Forrec Ltd. press release detailing proposed expansion. GALLERY |
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