Navy Pier revitalization plans, Chicago

Navy Pier is home to a number of Chicago attractions, including the Children's Museum. (Antonio Perez, Chicago Tribune / May 13, 2008)

While the Urban Land Institute is in part a developer group, the fact remains that they have a great publishing program, and their "advisory group servcies" turn out some excellent reports. Usually, you have to pay for copies, but sometimes, the organizations that commission the reports also post them in downloadable formats.

The ULI report on the Navy Pier is online. Also see these articles from the Chicago Tribune, "Second crack at Navy Pier upgrade," and "A heroic, if unlikely, vision for Navy Pier" (this piece by Blair Kamin is a good summary of the ULI report), "An olive branch." Because there are machinations to move the Chicago Children's Museum from the Navy Pier to protected lands in Grant Park, this is an important report.

But generally, the report is interesting and makes me think about the opportunities that could be had at Poplar Point in DC. (It's always fun to read planning reports from other places. They are always full of good ideas and good for learning.)

(David Zentz, Chicago Tribune / June 25, 2005) The teeming masses on Navy Pier are a delight to behold, but some feel the commercialization is not.