Chicago's Loop Lakefront Attractions
A Brief History of Grant Park and its Surrounding Museums
Jan 26, 2009
Chicago got it right when they developed the shore line of Lake Michigan. The land literally rose on the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 to become five of the most popular tourist attractions in one of the most visited cities in the United States. Visitors could spend a week or more exploring and learning at Grant Park, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History, the John G. Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium.
Grant Park
Grant Park is 319 acres buffeting the colossal buildings of the Chicago skyline from the shores of Lake Michigan. The park has attractions for all tastes, from softball diamonds and walking paths to monuments and outdoor theaters. The center piece of the park is Buckingham Fountain, the largest fountain in the world. Most recently Grant Park gained worldwide exposure for being the site of President Barack Obama’s historic acceptance speech.
The Art Institute of Chicago
Located on the Northwest corner of Grant Park is the Art Institute of Chicago. It opened in 1879 as a museum and school. Today the graduate school is ranked among the best in the United States and the museum has amassed a collection that encompasses works from a wide array of cultures over the entire spectrum of recorded history. The lion statues that guard the entrance to the museum have become Chicago icons. Arguably the most famous work in their collection is Georges Seurat’s pointillism master piece “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”.
The Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum opened in 1893 as the Columbian Museum of Chicago. The name changed to its current moniker in 1905 when Marshall Field made a sizable donation. In 1921 the Museum moved to its current location on the Southern end of Grant Park to become the anchor museum in the complex known as the Museum Campus of Chicago, which includes the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium.
Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton known to man, is the first exhibit seen upon entering the North entrance. Among its taxidermy collection are the Lions of Tsavo, featured in the Movie “The Ghost and the Darkness”. Because of the Fields Museum’s history and reputation, traveling exhibits of world-wide interest, such as the King Tutankhamun exhibit, frequently visit Chicago.
The John G. Shedd Aquarium
John G. Shedd, the retired president of Marshall Field and Company, with the help of business friends, formed the Shedd Aquarium Society in 1924. By 1930 the doors of the Shedd Aquarium were open and since then the aquarium has doubled in size. It contains over 2000 species of fish, marine mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. The largest and most popular exhibits are the Caribbean Reef, the Oceanarium, Amazon Rising, and the Wild Reef. The exhibits are designed in such a way as to allow the visitor to feel as if they are in the water experiencing the animals.
The Adler Planetarium
The Adler Planetarium bears the name of its founder, Max Adler, a retired vice president of Sears Roebuck and Company and son-in-law of the company’s controlling family. Adler, the oldest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere was founded in 1930. It contains numerous artifacts related to the growth of astronomy as a science. The main attraction is the Sky Theater, which projects the night sky on a half sphere dome.
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