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{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox NRHP 
| name =Grant Park
| nrhp_type =
| image =Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, Estados Unidos, 2012-10-20, DD 03.jpg
| image_size = 350px
| caption =
| location= [[Chicago]]
| area = [[Chicago Loop|Downtown Chicago]]
| coordinates = {{coord|41.876|N|87.6189|W|type:landmark_region:US-IL|display=inline,title}}
| architect= [[Edward H. Bennett]]
| architecture= Beaux Arts, Art Deco
| added = July 21, 1993
| governing_body = [[Chicago Park District]]
| refnum=92001075
}}
[[File:Grant Park Chicago map.png|thumb|Grant Park map]]'''Grant Park''' is a large [[urban park]] (319 acres or 1.29&nbsp;km²) in the [[Chicago Loop|Loop]] [[Community areas in Chicago|community area]] of [[Chicago]]. Located in Chicago's central business district, the park's most notable features are [[Millennium Park]], [[Buckingham Fountain]], the [[Art Institute of Chicago]] and the [[Museum Campus]]. Originally known as Lake Park, and dating from the city's founding, it was renamed in 1901 to honor [[Ulysses S. Grant]]. The park's area has been expanded several times through [[land reclamation]], and was the focus of several disputes in the late 19th century and early 20th century over open space use.  It is bordered on the north by [[Randolph Street (Chicago)|Randolph Street]], on the south by [[Roosevelt Road]] and McFetridge Drive, on the west by [[Michigan Avenue (Chicago)|Michigan Avenue]] and on the east by [[Lake Michigan]].  The park contains performance venues, gardens, art work, sporting, and harbor facilities.  It hosts public gatherings, and several large annual events.

Grant park is called "Chicago's front yard".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Millennium Park |last=Gilfoyle |first=Timothy|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2006|p=3|isbn=0226293491}}</ref>  It is governed by the [[Chicago Park District]].

==History==
[[File:Art Institute 1893.gif|thumb|300px|left|This 1893 sketch of the [[Art Institute of Chicago]] shows most of today's '''Grant Park''' still submerged under Lake Michigan with railroad tracks running along the shoreline behind the Museum]]
[[File:Nationalgeograph351919nat.pdf|thumb|left|page=27|Grant Park as seen in the January 1919 issue of [[National Geographic Magazine]].]]
The original plans for the town of Chicago left the area east of Michigan Avenue unsubdivided and vacant, and purchasers of Michigan Avenue lots were promised that it would remain unoccupied. When the former [[Fort Dearborn]] Reserve became part of the townsite in 1839, the plan of the area east of Michigan Avenue south of Randolph was marked "Public ground. Forever to remain vacant of buildings."<ref>Macaluso, p. 12</ref>

The city officially designated the land as a [[park]] on April 29, 1844, naming it Lake Park. When the [[Illinois Central Railroad]] was built into Chicago in 1852, it was permitted to lay track along the lakefront on a causeway built offshore from the park. The resulting lagoon became stagnant, and was largely filled in 1871 with debris from the [[Great Chicago Fire]], increasing the parkland. In 1896, the city began extending the park into the lake with [[Land reclamation|landfill]], beyond the rail lines.<ref name=EOCW>{{cite encyclopedia| last=Cremin| first=Dennis H.| title=Waterfront| pages=864–6| editor1-last=Grossman| editor1-first=James R.| editor2-last=Keating| editor2-first=Ann Durkin| editor3-last=Reiff| editor3-first=Janice L.| url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1326.html| date=October 15, 2004| encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Chicago| publisher=The University of Chicago Press| isbn=978-0226310152}}</ref>   On October 9, 1901, the park was renamed Grant Park in honor of [[American Civil War]] commanding General and [[President of the United States|United States President]] Ulysses S. Grant.  At the [[1868 Republican National Convention]] in Chicago, Grant had been nominated for his first presidential term.

The legal restrictions prohibiting any buildings in the park were ignored in the 19th century, as various civic buildings were sited there. At various times, a post office, exposition center, armory, and even an [[Union Base-Ball Grounds|early home field]] of the baseball club now known as the [[Chicago Cubs]] were built in the park. A 1904 plan prepared by the [[Olmsted Brothers]] recommended locating the Field Museum as the park's centerpiece, an idea integrated into [[Daniel Burnham]] and [[Edward H. Bennett]]'s 1909 ''[[Plan of Chicago]]''.<ref>J. Theodore Fink, ''Grant Park Tomorrow,'' 1978, p. 42</ref> Chicago businessman [[Aaron Montgomery Ward]] ultimately fought four court battles, opposed by nearly every civic leader, to keep the park free of buildings.<ref>{{cite web| title=Ward Case Summaries| url=http://www.neweastside.org/decisions.html| publisher=neweastside.org| date=November 18, 2008| accessdate=May 15, 2011}}</ref>  The one exception Ward consented to was for the [[Art Institute of Chicago]], constructed in 1892.

{{double image|right|1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago. Sept 68 C15 10 1316 , Photo by Bea A Corson, Chicago. Purchased at estate sale in 2011 by Victor Grigas Released Public Domain.tif|200|1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago. Sept 68 C15 8 1313, Photo by Bea A Corson, Chicago. Purchased at estate sale in 2011 by Victor Grigas Released Public Domain.tiff|200|A speaker with a megaphone (left) addressing a crowd of protestors (right) in Grant Park during the [[1968 Democratic National Convention protest activity|1968 Democratic National Convention]]}}

In the early 20th century, Grant Park was expanded with further landfill &mdash; much of it from the excavations of the [[Chicago Tunnel Company]] &mdash; and developed with a very formal landscape design by Edward Bennett. More [[Land reclamation|landfill]] in the 1910s and 1920s provided sites for the [[Adler Planetarium]], [[Field Museum of Natural History]], and [[Shedd Aquarium]], which were linked together as the [[Museum Campus]] in 1998. In 2004, a section of northern Grant Park, previously occupied by Illinois Central railyards and parking lots, was covered and redeveloped as [[Millennium Park]].

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==Events==
[[File:20070901 Chicago Jazz Festival at Petrillo Music Shell.jpg|thumb|left|200px|2007 [[Chicago Jazz Festival]] at [[Petrillo Music Shell]]]]

The park has been the site of many large civic events.  It served as the staging ground for the city's [[Funeral and burial of Abraham Lincoln|funeral procession]] for [[Abraham Lincoln]].<ref name=Amazon>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Grant-Park-Evolution-Chicagos-Front/dp/0809332507 |title=Grant Park: The Evolution of Chicago's Front Yard |publisher=Amazon |work=Editors notes |accessdate=August 19, 2013}}</ref>  In 1911, the park hosted the major [[1911 Chicago International Aviation Meet|Chicago International Aviation Meet]].<ref name="chicagohj2010">{{cite journal|last=Souter |first=Gerry |date=June 28, 2010 |url=http://www.chicagohistoryjournal.com/2010/06/guts-and-glory-last-great-aerial.html |title=Guts and Glory: The Last Great Aerial Tournament |journal=Chicago History Journal |accessdate=November 9, 2010 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920202621/http://www.chicagohistoryjournal.com/2010/06/guts-and-glory-last-great-aerial.html |archivedate=September 20, 2010 }}</ref>  In 1959, to celebrate the opening of the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]] and a related International Trade Fair, Queen [[Elizabeth II]], disembarked here from the [[HMY Britannia|Royal Yacht ''Britannia'']], giving "Queen's Landing" its name.<ref name=Queens>{{cite news|url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/8744823-418/why-queens-landing.html |title=Why Queen’s Landing? |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=November 10, 2011 |accessdate=June 21, 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214144052/http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/8744823-418/why-queens-landing.html |archivedate=February 14, 2013 }}</ref>  The park was the [[1968 Democratic National Convention protest activity|scene of clashes]] between [[Chicago Police Department|Chicago Police]] and demonstrators during the [[1968 Democratic National Convention]].  [[Pope John Paul II]] celebrated an outdoor mass to a large crowd here in 1979.  Championship celebrations were staged here for the [[Chicago Bulls]] during the 1990s, and the [[Chicago Blackhawks]] after [[Stanley Cup]] victory in 2013.<ref name=Byrne>{{cite news| title=Wet weather has Hawks rally at Soldier Field; free tickets online Wednesday| first1=John| last1=Byrne| first2=Tony| last2=Briscoe| url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-blackhawks-stanley-cup-parade-20150616-story.html| work=[[Chicago Tribune]]| date=June 16, 2015| accessdate=June 16, 2015}}</ref> The park was the location for [[Barack Obama election victory speech, 2008|President Barack Obama's Election Day victory speech]] on the night of November 4, 2008.<ref name=Hogan>{{cite news| first=Liza Kaufman| last=Hogan| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/05/chicago.reax/?iref=mpstoryview| title=Chicago's Grant Park turns into jubilation park| work=[[CNN]]| date= November 5, 2008| accessdate=November 11, 2008}}</ref>  In 2015, Grant Park hosted the first outdoor [[2015 NFL draft|National Football League (NFL) draft and a related festival]].<ref name=Fischer>{{cite web| last1=Fischer| first1=Bryan| title=New, fan-friendly events planned for 2015 NFL Draft in Chicago| url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000476415/article/new-fanfriendly-events-planned-for-2015-nfl-draft-in-chicago| website=NFL.com| publisher=NFL Productions LLC| accessdate=May 4, 2015}}</ref> The [[Chicago Cubs]] held their rally for their World Series Championship win on November 4, 2016 with an estimated 5 million people attending the parade and event.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20161104/downtown/cubs-rally-parade-attendance-5-million |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2016-11-04 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105033112/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20161104/downtown/cubs-rally-parade-attendance-5-million |archivedate=November 5, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Annually, the park hosts some of Chicago's biggest festivals including The [[Taste of Chicago]]—a large [[food festival|food]] and music festival held each summer;<ref>{{cite web| url=http://chicagobusiness.datajoe.com/app/ecom/pub_viewhtml.php?listid=2022&year=2007&htmlkey=maM91S4hq44x| accessdate=August 8, 2007| year=2007| work=[[Crain's Chicago Business]]| title=Chicago's Largest Festivals}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> the [[Grant Park Music Festival]]; ''[[Chicago Jazz Festival]]'' and the ''[[Chicago Blues Festival]]''.  The park is also the site of the start and finish lines of the [[Chicago Marathon]].

Since 2005, ''[[Lollapalooza]]'', a popular mutli-stage, multi-day, limited admission, festival of rock concerts has taken place in the park. Lollapalooza is under contract to be staged at Grant Park through 2018.<ref name=Kot>{{cite news |last=Kot |first=Greg |title=Lollapalooza promoters still searching for Chicago identity |url=http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2009/07/lollapalooza-promoters-still-searching-for-chicago-identity.html |work=Chicago Tribune |date=July 31, 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190444/http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2009/07/lollapalooza-promoters-still-searching-for-chicago-identity.html |archivedate=October 29, 2013 }}</ref>

==Features==
{{multiple image
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| image1    = Buckingham Fountain August 2010 2.JPG
| width1    = 250
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| caption1  = [[Buckingham Fountain]] is located in the center of '''Grant Park'''
| image2    = KM 5866 shedd aquarium august 2007.jpg
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| caption2  = The [[Museum Campus Chicago|Museum Campus]] now comprises the southeast of '''Grant Park'''
| image3    = Petrillo lawn.jpg
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| caption3  = [[Petrillo Music Shell]] hosts several music festivals
| image4    = Tulips at Buckingham Fountain.jpg
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| caption4  = Seasonal planting in Grant Park
| image5    = Fountain and garden in Grant Park Chicago100 0026.JPG
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| caption5  = [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux Arts]] garden on Michigan Avenue near 8th Street
| image6    = The Bowman and The Spearman.jpg
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| caption6  = [[The Bowman and The Spearman]] flanking the western entrance at Congress and Michigan
| image7    = Grant Park Chicago Garden.JPG
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| caption7  = Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park near Michigan Avenue
| image8    = Sitting Lincoln Grant Park.JPG
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| caption8  = Lincoln Monument Near Congress Parkway
| image9    = Garden in Northeast Grant Park Chicago2.JPG 
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| caption9  = Bloch Cancer Survivors Garden in northeast Grant Park
| image10   =Buckingham_Fountain_in_Chicago_at_night.jpg
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| caption10 = Buckingham Fountain at night
| image11  =Grant Park Skate Park North View.JPG
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| caption11 =Skate Plaza
}}

'''Grant Park''', with {{convert|319|acre|km2}} between the downtown [[Chicago Loop]] and [[Lake Michigan]], offers many different attractions in its large open space.  The park is generally flat.  It is also crossed by large boulevards and even a bed of sunken railroad tracks.  While bridges are used to span the tracks, and also used to connect with Millennium Park, the rest of the park must be reached by pedestrians at traffic crossings, except for a spacious underpass connection to the Museum Campus.  There are also several parking garages under the park, along Michigan Avenue and east of Columbus Drive.

When it was landscaped in the early 20th century in a formal [[Beaux-Arts architecture|beaux arts]] style, tall [[Ulmus americana|American Elms]] were planted in allées and rectangular patterns.<ref name=Mack>{{cite news| url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-22/news/ct-met-elm-trees-grant-park-20101121_1_ | work=Chicago Tribune | first=Kristen | last=Mack | title=Volunteers want to survey, save elm trees of Grant Park | date=November 22, 2010| publisher=Chicagotribune.com| accessdate=June 15, 2011}}</ref>  While hundreds of these trees still exist, reaching 60 feet tall, they were devastated in the late 1970s by [[Dutch elm disease]].  Hybrid elms have since been used to replace lost trees.

===Millennium Park===
The northwestern corner of the park was renovated between 1998 and 2004 to become [[Millennium Park]], a contiguous area with a variety of artistic features by architects and artists. Millennium Park features the [[Jay Pritzker Pavilion]], ''[[Cloud Gate]]'', the ''[[Crown Fountain]]'', the [[Lurie Garden]] and other attractions.<ref name=LFC>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806EED71E3BF930A25754C0A9629C8B63| title=Letter From Chicago; A Prized Project, a Mayor and Persistent Criticism| accessdate=May 31, 2008| date=July 13, 2004| work=[[The New York Times]]| publisher=NYTimes.com| author=Kinzer, Stephen}}</ref> The park is connected by the [[BP Pedestrian Bridge]] and the [[Nichols Bridgeway]] to other parts of Grant Park.

===Maggie Daley Park===
Across the [[BP Pedestrian Bridge]] from Millennium Park, the northeast corner of Grant Park hosts outdoor and indoor activities at what is now [[Maggie Daley Park]], previously called Daley Bicentennial Plaza.<ref name=Daley>{{cite web| url=http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/parks.detail/object_id/21fa6a8a-700a-4206-8080-5fbcbebb108a.cfm| title=Daley Bicentennial Plaza| accessdate=August 29, 2008| publisher=[[Chicago Park District]]| deadurl=yes| archiveurl=https://archive.is/20080907174933/http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/parks.detail/object_id/21fa6a8a-700a-4206-8080-5fbcbebb108a.cfm| archivedate=September 7, 2008| df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://chicago.metromix.com/events/community_venue/daley-bicentennial-plaza-grant-park-museums/142788/content| title=Daley Bicentennial Plaza| accessdate=July 29, 2008| publisher=[[Metromix]]| deadurl=yes| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913015752/http://chicago.metromix.com/events/community_venue/daley-bicentennial-plaza-grant-park-museums/142788/content| archivedate=September 13, 2008| df=mdy-all}}</ref>  Designed by landscape architect [[Michael Van Valkenburgh]], attractions here include, summer and winter skating rinks, an extensive playground, climbing walls, tennis courts, and an activities building, which were redeveloped between 2012 and 2015.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-former-mayor-makes-appearance-at-maggie-daley-park-ribboncutting-20141213-story.html| title=Hundreds Attend Maggie Daley Park Ribbon-Cutting| accessdate=December 15, 2014| date=December 13, 2014| work=Chicago Tribune| last1=Rodriguez| first1=Meredith| first2=Bob| last2=Secter| first3=Marwa| last3=Eltagouri| last-author-amp=yes}}</ref>

===Art Institute of Chicago===
Built in 1893 on the western edge of Grant Park, the [[Art Institute of Chicago]] is one of the premier art museums and art schools in the United States, known especially for the extensive collection of [[Impressionist]] and American art, such as ''[[A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte]]'', and [[Grant Wood]]'s ''[[American Gothic]]''.  The [[School of the Art Institute of Chicago]] has facilities in the southeast corner of the museum's complex.

===Buckingham Fountain===
The center piece of Grant Park is [[Buckingham Fountain]], one of the world's largest [[fountain]]s.<ref name=Buckingham>{{cite web| title=Buckingham Fountain| publisher=Chicago Park District| url=http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/buckinghamfountain.fountainhome| accessdate=February 28, 2011| deadurl=yes| archiveurl=https://archive.is/20060320101226/http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/buckinghamfountain.fountainhome| archivedate=March 20, 2006| df=mdy-all}}</ref> The fountain, in a [[rococo]] wedding cake style, was dedicated in 1927 as a gift to the city from Kate Sturges Buckingham in memory of her brother Clarence. The fountain operates from April to October with water displays every 20 minutes and a light and water display from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm.

===Museum Campus===
Chicago's [[Museum Campus]] is a {{convert|57|acre|ha|adj=on}} addition to Grant Park's southeastern end. The Museum Campus is the site of three of the city's most notable museums, all dedicated to the [[natural science]]s: [[Adler Planetarium]], [[Field Museum of Natural History]], and [[Shedd Aquarium]]. A narrow isthmus along Solidarity Drive dominated by [[neoclassical sculpture]]s of [[Tadeusz Kościuszko|Kościuszko]], [[Karel Havlíček Borovský|Havliček]] and [[Nicolaus Copernicus]] connects to [[Northerly Island]] where the planetarium is located to the east of the Museum Campus situated on the mainland.<ref>{{cite book| last=Graf| first=John| title=Chicago's Parks| publisher=Arcadia Publishing| year=2000| pages=13–14| isbn=0-7385-0716-4}}</ref>

===Petrillo Music Shell===
The [[Petrillo Music Shell]], located at Jackson and Columbus drives, hosts music performances during the Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago Blues Festival, Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza.  The music shell's seating area includes an area called Butler Field, the block bounded by [[Lake Shore Drive]], Columbus Drive, Monroe Drive, and Jackson Drive.  The previous Petrillo Bandshell structure faced Hutchinson Field at the south end of the park, near 1100 South Columbus Deive.<ref name="Loop">{{cite book| title=Then & Now: Chicago's Loop|author1=Janice A. Know  |author2=Heather Olivia Belcher| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wjBh6CmPU9YC&pg=PA14&dq=petrillo+bandshell+designed&lr=&ei=YOEpS7-_GJiSyAS888G2Cg&cd=3#v=onepage&q=petrillo%20bandshell%20designed&f=false| publisher=Arcadia Publishing| year=2002| isbn=0-7385-1968-5| page=14| accessdate=June 15, 2011}}</ref>

===Congress Plaza===
Congress Plaza is a ceremonial entrance located on the park's western edge, at the intersection of [[Congress Parkway]] and [[Michigan Avenue (Chicago)|Michigan Avenue]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/park_district/congress_plaza_gardens.html| title=Congress Plaza| publisher=City of Chicago| work=Explore Chicago| accessdate=November 5, 2011| deadurl=yes| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028091309/http://explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/park_district/congress_plaza_gardens.html| archivedate=October 28, 2011| df=mdy-all}}</ref> Two semicircular plazas flanking Congress Parkway contain gardens, fountains, and artwork, including a pair of large bronze warrior statues, [[The Bowman and The Spearman]] that are positioned like gatekeepers to the park.

===Gardens===
There are several gardens and flower displays throughout the park.  Millennium Park houses the [[Lurie Garden]], known for its display of tall grass flowers, particularly [[lavender]], and a decorative post-modern water stream.  To the east, across the [[BP Pedestrian Bridge]], Daley Park holds tall grass plantings.  To the northeast in Daley Park, at 375 East Randolph Drive, is the Richard & Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Garden, marked by two huge doric columns from the demolished [[Chicago Federal Building]] and a wrought-iron pergola.  The garden contains numerous walkways lined with planters and is one of several similar spaces created nationwide by R. A. Bloch Cancer Foundation.<ref name="bloch">{{cite web| title=Cancer Survivors Garden| url=http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/park_district/cancer_survivors_garden.html| publisher=City of Chicago| accessdate=June 15, 2011| deadurl=yes| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623060352/http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/park_district/cancer_survivors_garden.html| archivedate=June 23, 2011| df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Flanking the original [[Art Institute of Chicago Building]] are gardens in the north and south McCormick Courtyards; in the south courtyard is the bronze sculpture [[Fountain of the Great Lakes]]. To the south of the art museum, along Michigan Avenue, are a succession of gardens. Two of these are not far from to [[Orchestra Hall, Chicago|Orchestra Hall]] and honor former conductors of the [[Chicago Symphony Orchestra]] ([[Georg Solti|Sir Georg Solti]] and [[Theodore Thomas (conductor)|Theodore Thomas]]).<ref name=Solti>{{cite web| title=Sir George Solti Garden| publisher=Public Art in Chicago| date=January 29, 2013| url=http://www.publicartinchicago.com/chicago-art-in-grant-park/| accessdate=June 16, 2015}}</ref>

To the southeast of the Art Institute, near the ''Court of Presidents'', are demonstration gardens that flank Congress Parkway and surrounding Buckingham Fountain are a series of formal gardens, including the Tiffany Celebration Garden to the south.<ref name="Tiffany">{{cite press release| title=Park District Announces the Grand Opening of "The Tiffany & Co. Foundation Celebration Garden| url=http://www.tiffanyandcofoundation.org/pdf/Parkways%20Garden%20Opening%208-09.pdf| date=August 25, 2009| publisher=Parkways Foundation| accessdate=June 16, 2015}}</ref>

=== The Court of the Presidents ===
The Court of the Presidents is located directly on the north and south side of E. Congress Parkway, west of S. Columbus Drive and east of S. Michigan Ave.&nbsp;  Manicured gardens and  art work help define the Court of Presidents. South President's Court, until recently, has primarily been gardens. However, within the past decade the city has decided to use the area to showcase art work by Chicagoans. While unique artwork has long been a tradition of Chicago’s parks, South President's Court had the added benefit of showcasing "in house" art as its first newsworthy collection, entitled "Artist and Automobiles." The collection, which was organized by the Public Art Program and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, consisted of sculptures composed entirely of parts found on old automobiles. The Court of the Presidents like many of the city’s other green spaces comes with so much potential for use. However, the public has long been able to appreciate and enjoy its current state, "open, clear, and free."<ref>{{cite web| title=Grant Park| url=http://www.choosechicago.com/articles/view/GRANT-PARK/310/| website=Choose Chicago| accessdate=30 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last1=Krauser| first1=Mike| title=Lollapalooza Returns to Grant Park This Weekend| url=http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/07/29/lollapalooza-returns-to-grant-park-this-weekend/| work=[[WBBM-TV]] News| accessdate=30 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last1=Srivastava| first1=Jvoti| title=Chicago: Art In Grant Park| url=http://www.publicartinchicago.com/chicago-art-in-grant-park/| website=Public Art In Chicago| accessdate=30 September 2014| date=29 January 2013}}</ref>

===Hutchinson Field===
Much of the southern end of Grant Park is given over to ≠Hutchinson Field, an open space for large events, with a dozen baseball or softball diamonds named for financier and long-time Art Institute President, [[Charles L. Hutchinson]].<ref>{{cite news| last=Putre| first=Laura| title=Hutchinson Field emerging from Grant Park shadow| url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-hutchinson-field-city-zonemar12,0,4673018.story| accessdate=July 2, 2011| newspaper=Chicago Tribune| date=March 12, 2009}}</ref> 

===Chicago Lakefront Trail===
A section of the [[Chicago Lakefront Trail]], an 18-mile [[multi-use path]] along the city's [[Lake Michigan]] shoreline, runs along the park's eastern edge.  The trail runs adjacent to Lake Shore Drive from Randolph Drive to Balbo Drive, then along the very edge of the seawall around the Shedd Aquarium.  An underpass carries the trail under Solidarity Drive into Burnham Park.<ref>[http://www.cpdit01.com/resources/brochures/pdf/Lakefront%20Trail%20Map.pdf Chicago Park District Lakefront Trail Map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708201147/http://www.cpdit01.com/resources/brochures/pdf/Lakefront%20Trail%20Map.pdf |date=July 8, 2011 }}</ref>

===Marinas and harbors===
Two Lake Michigan marinas are accessed from Grant Park.  Monroe Harbor provides 1000 mooring cans (served by tender service) and facilities in the expansive harbor east of the park.<ref name=Monroe>{{cite web| title=Monroe Harbor| publisher=The Chicago Harbors| url=http://www.chicagoharbors.info/harbors/monroe.php| deadurl=yes| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719184905/http://www.chicagoharbors.info/harbors/monroe.php| archivedate=July 19, 2011| df=mdy-all}}</ref> It is home to both the Chicago Yacht Club and the Columbia Yacht Club.  ''Queen's Landing,'' at the center of the harbor and park's shoreline, is named for a 1959 visit there by Queen [[Elizabeth II]] aboard the [[Royal Yacht]] ''[[HMY Britannia|Britannia]],'' in conjunction with the opening of the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]].  Du Sable Harbor, created in 1999 north of Randolph Drive, offers 420 boat docks and a harbor store.<ref name=Dusable>{{cite web| publisher=The Chicago Harbors| title=DuSable Harbor| url=http://www.chicagoharbors.info/harbors/dusable.php| deadurl=yes| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719184955/http://www.chicagoharbors.info/harbors/dusable.php| archivedate=July 19, 2011| df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Skate Plaza===
The Grant Park Skate Plaza, designed by Chicago Landscape Architects Altamanu,  was constructed in 2014 and opened December 6 of that year. The Plaza was initiated by Grant Park Conservancy President, Robert O’Neill. The new park occupies {{convert|3|acre|m2}} and has replaced the former skate area near the tennis courts. The Conservancy, sought planning support from local skateboarders and BMX bikers who formed the Grant Park Conservancy & Advisory Council Skate Committee. The Plaza is located in the southwest corner of the park  near the former site of the 1893 [[Central Station (Chicago terminal)|Central Station]] and includes limestone pieces from the former railroad terminal. The plaza cost $2.65 Million to build.<ref name=LaTrace>{{cite journal| title=The Brand New Grant Park Skate Park is Now Officially Open| last=LaTrace| first=AJ| url=http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2014/12/08/the-brand-new-grant-park-skate-park-is-now-officially-open.php| journal=Curbed Chicago| date=December 8, 2014| accessdate=2015-10-14}}</ref>  In 2014, the park hosted both the Mountain Dew Skate Tour for its first return to Chicago since 2010 and the Volcom Wild in the Parks Tour for its first appearance in Chicago.<ref name=volcom>{{cite web| title=Stop #5 of Volcom’s Wild in the Parks – Grant Park Skatepark - Chicago, IL| url=http://www.volcom.com/news/stop-5-of-volcoms-wild-in-the-parks-grant-park-skatepark-chicago-il/| website=Volcom| date=July 30, 2015| accessdate=2015-10-14}}</ref><ref name=Dew>{{cite web| title=Mountain Dew Skate Tour Takes Shape in Grant Park| last=Matthews| first=David| date=June 19, 2015| url=http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150619/downtown/mountain-dew-skate-tour-takes-shape-grant-park| website=DNAinfo Chicago| accessdate=2015-10-14| deadurl=yes| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016064142/http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150619/downtown/mountain-dew-skate-tour-takes-shape-grant-park| archivedate=October 16, 2015| df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Dog park===
Grant Bark Park, located on the corner of Columbus Drive and 11th Street, is place for dogs get their exercise. It's an off-leash park of  18,000 square feet. It's made of asphalt and pea gravel. Members pay a monthly fee to attend the park that helps with the upkeep and maintains the cleanliness. A water fountain for both dogs and humans is provided. Membership fees and any donations go toward maintenance The park hosts benefits and events related to dogs to raise money, too.<ref name=SouthPAC>{{cite web| title=Grant Park Bark| url=http://southloopdogpac.org/south-loop-dog-parks/grant-bark-park/| publisher=South Loop Dog Park Action Cooperative| accessdate=2015-10-14}}</ref><ref name=K9friendly>{{cite web| title=Dog Friendly Areas| url=http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/facilities/dog-friendly-areas/| publisher=Chicago Park District| accessdate=2015-10-14}}</ref> Leashed dogs are permitted in most areas of the park, but not in [[Millennium Park]].

===Other facilities===
The shaded walking paths in Grant Park cover several miles.  A circuit of the park's walking paths is estimated to take 4 miles (6.4&nbsp;km).<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.scientificsessions-365.com/Assets/AHA/PDFs/5_BikeWalkTrails.pdf |format=PDF |title=City Guide: Chicago Bike/Walking Trails |accessdate=May 24, 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110051125/http://www.scientificsessions-365.com/Assets/AHA/PDFs/5_BikeWalkTrails.pdf |archivedate=November 10, 2011 }}</ref>

For other sporting activities, the park has 16 [[softball]] and [[baseball]] fields and 12 [[tennis]] courts, open to the general public.

==Public art==
The park holds a great deal of public art, much of it sculpture, in many areas including in Millennium Park, near Buckingham Fountain, the several gardens, and Congress Plaza.  Four individual large installations, in other areas of the park, include:

===''Abraham Lincoln Monument''===
''[[Abraham Lincoln: The Head of State]]'' is a statue by sculptor [[Augustus Saint-Gaudens]] set in a 150-foot wide [[exedra]] by architect [[Stanford White]], honoring the Illinois resident and 16th President of the United States.  The statue was cast in 1908 and was displayed at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] and at the 1915 [[San Francisco World's Fair]], prior to being installed in the park in 1926.  It is located in the ''Court of Presidents,'' north of Congress Parkway and west of Columbus Drive and is frequently called ''Seated Lincoln'' to avoid confusion with Saint-Gaudens' 1887 sculpture ''[[Abraham Lincoln: The Man]]'' in Lincoln Park.

===''Agora''===
''[[Agora (sculpture)|Agora]]'' (from Greek, for urban meeting place) is an installation of over 100 headless, armless sculptures designed by the Polish artist [[Magdalena Abakanowicz]] in southwestern Grant Park near [[Roosevelt Road]].  The piece was brought to the park in 2006.<ref name="Agora">{{cite news| author=Noreen S. Ahmed| title=Walking among iron giants; Gift to Grant Park 'not a decoration'| work=Chicago Tribune| date=October 27, 2006| page=1| publisher=HighBeam.com| url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-153422041.html| accessdate=June 15, 2011}}</ref> The figures are {{convert|9|ft|m|abbr=on}} tall and weigh approximately {{convert|1800|lb|abbr=on}}.  Each is made from a hollow, seamless piece of iron that has been allowed to rust, creating a reddish appearance and a bark-like texture. The figures appear to be milling about in a crowd; some face each other, while others look away.<ref name="beyond">{{cite news| author=Andrew Herrmann| title=Grant Park art is 'beyond words': Some love, some hate headless, armless figures|  url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-1154DEFC0BC2C9B8.html| work=Chicago Sun-Times| publisher=HighBeam.com| date=October 27, 2006| page=6| accessdate=June 15, 2011}}</ref>

===''Columbus Monument''===
''[[Christopher Columbus (Grant Park)|Christopher Columbus]]'' is a bronze statue by Carlo ("Charles", "Carl") Brioschi<ref>{{cite book| last1=Bach| first1=Ira| first2=and Mary Lackritz| last2=Gray| title=A Guide to Chicago’s Public Sculpture| publisher=The University of Chicago Press| location=Chicago| date=May 1983| pages=7–8| isbn=978-0226033990}}</ref> on a monumental pedestal at the southern end of Grant Park. In 1933, Chicago celebrated its 100th anniversary with the [[Century of Progress]] World's Fair.  In conjunction with the fair, Chicago's [[Italian-American]] community raised funds and donated the statue of the [[Genoa|Genoese]] navigator and explorer, Christopher Columbus.<ref>{{cite web|title=Christopher Columbus |url=http://www.cpdit01.com/resources/planning-and-development.fountains-monuments-and-sculptures/Grant%20Park/Christopher%20Columbus.pdf |publisher=Chicago Park District |accessdate=July 1, 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006170834/http://www.cpdit01.com/resources/planning-and-development.fountains-monuments-and-sculptures/Grant%20Park/Christopher%20Columbus.pdf |archivedate=October 6, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

===''Logan Monument''===
At Michigan Avenue and Ninth Street is a large equestrian statue of [[John A. Logan#Legacy|John A. Logan]], dedicated in 1897.<ref>Dryfhout, John H., The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, University Press of New England, Hanover,  1982 p. 230</ref>  Logan was a United States Major General, who had resigned his congressional seat to serve in the U.S. Army during the Civil War.  He led troops in many battles throughout the West and South.  After the war, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois.  The monument mound, with a statue by [[Augustus Saint-Gaudens]] and [[Alexander Phimister Proctor]], was initially intended as a burial site for Logan, but his family declined to relocate the general's grave.<ref>{{cite web| title=General Joseph Logan Monument| url=http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Building/2656/General-John-Logan-Monument.php| publisher=Chicago Architecture Info| accessdate=June 15, 2015}}</ref>

==Additions==
[[File:BP Bridge entry.jpg|thumb|140px|[[Millennium Park]] and the new [[Maggie Daley Park]] comprise the northern end of Grant Park]]

===Children's Museum===
The [[Chicago Children's Museum]] announced plans in 2006 for a $100 million structure to replace its facilities at [[Navy Pier]].  The museum hoped to construct an underground building on the site of Daley Bicentennial Plaza, a plan that Mayor [[Richard M. Daley]] and council members approved in 2008.  Some council members and area residents opposed the project and vowed to fight the proposal.<ref name="move">{{cite news| title='The Bean' gets new neighbors| url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-04-08/entertainment/0904070414_1_pavilions-claudia-cassidy-theater-chicago-cultural-center| first=Blair| last=Kamin| date=April 8, 2009| work=Chicago Tribune| accessdate=June 15, 2011}}</ref>  After fundraising lagged, in January 2012, the Children's Museum announced that it no longer would seek a Grant Park location.<ref name="dead">{{cite news| author=Blair Kamin| title=With Children's Museum plan for Grant Park officially dead, a promising new plan emerges| url=http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2012/01/with-childrens-museum-plan-for-grant-park-officially-dead-a-promising-new-plan-emerges-1.html| work=Chicago Tribune| date=January 27, 2012| accessdate=January 30, 2012}}</ref>

==In the Media==

Buckingham Fountain, the Lake Front, and the Rose Gardens of Grant Park are locations for several pivotal scenes in <i>Never Split Tens!</i>, a novel based on the life of pioneering blackjack probability theorist [[Edward O. Thorp]], by gambling writer [[Les Golden]] of Oak Park, Illinois, published in 2017 by Springer.  The novel includes discussions of the design and architecture of the fountain as well as fountain designer Edward Bennett and city planner Daniel Burnham.

==See also==
[[File:Chicago Downtown Panorama.jpg|950px|thumb|center|'''Grant Park''', Monroe Harbor, and Chicago skyline 2004 from [[Museum Campus]]]]
{{Portal|Chicago}}
*[[Millennium Park]]
*[[Parks in Chicago]]

==References==

{{Reflist|33em}}

===Additional Sources===
*{{cite book|title=Grant Park: The Evolution of Chicago's Front Yard|author=Cremin, Dennis H.|publisher=Southern Illinois University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-8093-3250-2}}
*{{cite book|title=The City in a Garden: A Photographic History of Chicago's Parks|author=Bachrach, Julia S.|publisher=Center for American Places|year=2001|isbn=1-930066-01-5}}
*{{cite book|title=Sounds of Chicago's Lakefront: A Celebration Of The Grant Park Music Festival|author=Macaluso, Tony, Julia S. Bachrach, and Neal Samors|publisher=Chicago's Book Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-9797892-6-7}}
*{{NRISref|2006a}}
*{{cite web | title=Grant Park | publisher=Chicago Park District | work=Parks & Facilities | url=http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/parks.detail/object_id/83AA6305-ADBE-4D8A-B333-004449057EA9 | accessdate=July 23, 2005 | deadurl=yes | archiveurl=https://archive.is/20060320130612/http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/parks.detail/object_id/83AA6305-ADBE-4D8A-B333-004449057EA9 | archivedate=March 20, 2006 | df=mdy-all }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Grant Park (Chicago)}}
*{{official website|http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/grant-park/}}
*[http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/22700/grant-park-the-night-obama-won Grant Park: The Night Obama Won] - image slideshow by ''[[Life magazine]]''

{{Geographic Location
 | Center    = Grant Park
 | North     = [[Illinois Center]] / [[Lakeshore East]]
 | Northeast = [[Chicago Lakefront Trail]]
 | Northwest = [[Chicago Loop]]
 | East      = [[Lake Michigan]], Monroe Harbor
 | South     = [[Near South Side, Chicago|Near South Side]]
 | Southeast = [[Burnham Park (Chicago)|Burnham Park]]
 | Southwest = [[Near South Side, Chicago|Near South Side]]
 | West      = [[Chicago Loop]] / [[Historic Michigan Boulevard District|Michigan Ave.]]
}}

{{Grant Park}}
{{Ulysses S. Grant}}
{{Millennium Park}}
{{Chicago Parks}}
{{Registered Historic Places}}

[[Category:Parks in Chicago]]
[[Category:Central Chicago]]
[[Category:History of Chicago]]
[[Category:Millennium Park]]
[[Category:Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago]]
[[Category:Buildings and monuments honoring American Presidents|Grant]]
[[Category:Urban public parks]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions along U.S. Route 66]]