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44-585: Navy Pier is a 3,300-foot-long (1,010 m) pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan , located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago , Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over 50 acres (20 ha) of shops, restaurants, live theaters, family attractions, parks (including Polk Bros Park ), gardens, and exhibition facilities and is one of

88-636: A 60-metre (200 ft) high bungee jump over the North Sea waves. The present pier is a successor of an earlier pier, which was completed in 1901 but in 1943 destroyed by the German occupation forces. The first recorded pier in England was Ryde Pier , opened in 1814 on the Isle of Wight , as a landing stage to allow ferries to and from the mainland to berth. It is still used for this purpose today. It also had

132-642: A leisure function in the past, with the pier head once containing a pavilion, and there are still refreshment facilities today. The oldest cast iron pier in the world is Town Pier, Gravesend , in Kent , which opened in 1834. However, it is not recognised by the National Piers Society as being a seaside pier. Following the building of the world's first seaside pier at Ryde, the pier became fashionable at seaside resorts in England and Wales during

176-666: A linear littoral quayside, and such piers are usually much shorter. Typically each pier would carry a single transit shed the length of the pier, with ships berthing bow or stern in to the shore. Some major ports consisted of large numbers of such piers lining the foreshore, classic examples being the Hudson River frontage of New York , or the Embarcadero in San Francisco . The advent of container shipping , with its need for large container handling spaces adjacent to

220-409: A monorail, a 260-foot (79 m) spokeless Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, floating hotel, and a water park with a Great Lakes theme. The plan would have included nearly double the current parking and a replacement theater with a greater capacity. At the time of the announcement, a price tag of $ 2 billion was announced. Following the reorganization of the agency that runs Navy Pier and McCormick Place,

264-477: A new pier was built in 1933. It remained till the present day, but was partially transformed and modernized in 1999–2004. In Nieuwpoort, Belgium there is a pleasure pier on both sides of the river IJzer . Scheveningen , the coastal resort town of The Hague , boasts the largest pier in the Netherlands , completed in 1961. A crane, built on top of the pier's panorama tower, provides the opportunity to make

308-472: A new study was commissioned to reinvigorate the upgrade process. The new study, by the Urban Land Institute, was released on November 11, 2010, and recommended a more modest set of enhancements aimed at retaining the pier's role as a public space, rather than turning it into a theme park. Suggested elements include a concert venue, an enlarged Chicago Shakespeare Theater space, new restaurants,

352-566: A pier has two decks. Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier in Galveston , Texas has a roller coaster, 15 rides, carnival games and souvenir shops. Early pleasure piers were of complete timber construction, as was with Margate which opened in 1824. The first iron and timber built pleasure pier Margate Jetty , opened in 1855. Margate pier was wrecked by a storm in January 1978 and not repaired. The longest iron pleasure pier still remaining

396-456: A pier presents a set of different circumstances to fishing from the shore or beach, as you do not need to cast out into the deeper water. This being the case there are specific fishing rigs that have been created specifically for pier fishing which allow for the direct access to deeper water. In Blankenberge a first pleasure pier was built in 1894. After its destruction in the World War I ,

440-410: A renovated commercial area around the pier's entrance and additional park-like features to bring people closer to the lake. Possibilities, including the enlarged Ferris wheel and a hotel, are mentioned as more remote possibilities. In March 2012, a competition led to selection of a design concept presented by a team led by James Corner of James Corner Field Operations that focuses on the pier's role as

484-688: A short-term, north-side boat docking facility for use by recreational boaters seasonally. There are many outdoor attractions at the Navy Pier Park, such as the Pepsi Wave Swinger, Light Tower Ride, Remote Control Boats (now removed along with fountain around the Wave Swinger), Teacups and the Carousel. New for 2021 is Drop Tower, an S&S Double Shot relocated from the closed Pleasure Island. Amazing Chicago's Funhouse Maze

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528-529: A waterfront promenade. In 2013, the Authority announced plans to carry out the first elements of a streamlined version of that concept, with reworked streetscape and a wider pedestrian space, moving tour-boat moorings to improve the view from a new central stairway centered on the Ferris wheel. Work began on the redevelopment plan, called The Centennial Vision, during the winter of 2013–2014. The purpose of

572-414: Is a part of the pier, with many different exhibits and activities for both children and adults to enjoy. Chicago Shakespeare Theater , a theater that performs Shakespeare's productions, is located there. The original Ferris wheel was sold on September 27, 2015, and moved to Branson, Missouri , where it opened in 2016. The new 196-foot (60 m) Ferris wheel which replaced it is a DW60 from Dutch Wheels,

616-647: Is at Southend-on-Sea , Essex , and extends 1.3 miles (2.1 km) into the Thames Estuary . The longest pier on the West Coast of the US is the Santa Cruz Wharf , with a length of 2,745 feet (837 m). Providing a walkway out to sea, pleasure piers often include amusements and theatres as part of their attractions. Such a pier may be unroofed, closed, or partly open and partly closed. Sometimes

660-537: Is featured as a fictional race track. The album/DVD A Long Day's Night by Blue Öyster Cult was recorded live at Navy Pier/Skyline Stage on June 21, 2002. Pier Piers have been built for several purposes, and because these different purposes have distinct regional variances, the term pier tends to have different nuances of meaning in different parts of the world. Thus in North America and Australia , where many ports were, until recently, built on

704-409: Is on the pier. It is a self-paced, full sensory maze experience where a person navigates their way through 4,000 square feet (370 m) of tunnels and mazes. Crystal Gardens is a one-acre, botanical garden inside the pier. It is a six-story glass atrium with a 50-foot (15 m) arched ceiling. Many schools come here for field-trips to see and experience the attraction. The Chicago Children's Museum

748-468: Is stated that they were abandoned by choice a long time before. The Dauntless members play capture the flag in the park. Tris and Four climb the Ferris wheel to spot the opposing team. In the book, the opposing team hides the flag in a park near Navy Pier, while in the film version, the flag is hidden in a tower of the Chicago Children's Museum building. In the video game NASCAR 09 , the pier

792-477: Is the one at Southend. First opened as a wooden pier in 1829, it was reconstructed in iron and completed in 1889. In a 2006 UK poll, the public voted the seaside pier onto the list of icons of England. Many piers are built for the purpose of providing boatless anglers access to fishing grounds that are otherwise inaccessible. Many "Free Piers" are available in larger harbors which differ from private piers. Free Piers are often primarily used for fishing. Fishing from

836-436: The 1909 Plan of Chicago by Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett . Its original purpose was to serve as a dock for freighters, passenger ships, and indoor and outdoor recreation; events like expositions and pageants were held there. In mid-1918, the pier was also used as a jail for draft dodgers. In 1927, the pier was renamed Navy Pier to honor the naval veterans who served in World War I . In 1941, during World War II ,

880-627: The Victorian era , peaking in the 1860s with 22 being built in that decade. A symbol of the typical British seaside holiday, by 1914, more than 100 pleasure piers were located around the UK coast. Regarded as being among the finest Victorian architecture, there are still a significant number of seaside piers of architectural merit still standing, although some have been lost, including Margate , two at Brighton in East Sussex , one at New Brighton in

924-585: The Wirral and three at Blackpool in Lancashire . Two piers, Brighton's now derelict West Pier and Clevedon Pier , were Grade 1 listed . The Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare is the only pier in the world linked to an island. The National Piers Society gives a figure of 55 surviving seaside piers in England and Wales. James Corner Too Many Requests If you report this error to

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968-507: The health of sandy beaches and navigation channels . Pleasure piers were first built in Britain during the early 19th century. The earliest structures were Ryde Pier , built in 1813/4, Trinity Chain Pier near Leith, built in 1821, Brighton Chain Pier , built in 1823. and Margate Jetty 1823/24 originally a timber built pier. Only the oldest of these piers still remains. At that time,

1012-409: The 1986 movie The Color of Money for the 9-Ball Championship. In both Raw Deal and Cooley High , the pier was used as a location for car chases. The fourth season finale of T. J. Hooker , titled "The Chicago Connection", featured a scene in front of the then-abandoned pier. In the film Divergent , the pier and Ferris wheel are shown abandoned and decayed in a future Chicago and it

1056-637: The East End buildings were renovated and for a brief period the pier was alive again, home to summer events like ChicagoFest . But maintenance was not done and the pier went into decline. In 1989, the City of Chicago had the Urban Land Institute (ULI) reimagine uses for the pier. The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) was created; its responsibility was to manage and operate Navy Pier as well as McCormick Place . The MPEA undertook

1100-638: The Helm statue dedicated to maritime captains, and the Crack the Whip sculpture of eight children at play holding hands by J. Seward Johnson Jr . The Festival Halls can be used for sporting events. Festival Halls A and B can be turned into a 170,000 square foot competition arena. Gymnastics meets have been held in the Festival Halls. CTA The halls were used to represent Atlantic City, New Jersey , in

1144-573: The Netherlands-based company that built the pier's former wheel. The state-of-the-art DW60 is the first of its kind in the U.S. with similar wheels currently in operation in Hong Kong and Baku, Azerbaijan. Significant features include two-sided cars that allow for easy loading and unloading, a fortified structure to withstand winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h) and safety glass capable of weathering intense storms. The new Ferris Wheel

1188-552: The development of a seven-story, 240-room hotel, adjacent to the south side of Festival Hall; marquee additions to the East End Plaza, including a proposed arched, elevated overlook walkway and reflective water feature; a Welcome Pavilion in the 13-acre Polk Bros Park with 4,000 square feet for guest services and programmatic space; a seasonal ice rink within the footprint of the Polk Bros Park's fountain and plaza; and

1232-599: The fishing and cargo industries and serves as a port for large cruise ships in the area. Many other working piers have been demolished, or remain derelict, but some have been recycled as pleasure piers. The best known example of this is Pier 39 in San Francisco . At Southport and the Tweed River on the Gold Coast in Australia , there are piers that support equipment for a sand bypassing system that maintains

1276-830: The interior of the Family Pavilion and South Arcade. Phase I projects included the transformation of South Dock into a more engaging, greener space, conversion of the South Arcade indoor walkway into a Chicago-themed food experience and creation of a lighted water fountain/ice skating rink in Polk Bros Park. In November 2016, Phase I development achieved Gold certification under the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) rating system, based on its expanded green spaces, improved pedestrian access, energy efficiency, innovative storm water management, and use of recycled local materials. Phase II projects include

1320-453: The introduction of steamships and railways for the first time permitted mass tourism to dedicated seaside resorts . The large tidal ranges at many such resorts meant that passengers arriving by pleasure steamer could use a pier to disembark safely. Also, for much of the day, the sea was not visible from the shore and the pleasure pier permitted holidaymakers to promenade over and alongside the sea at all times. The world's longest pleasure pier

1364-506: The maximum capacity was exceeded, the school outgrew the pier, the University of Illinois at Chicago was partly founded as a result. After the university left, Navy Pier became underutilized. In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened and increased commercial shipping activity at the pier for a short time, though business died down and left for more modern facilities at Lake Calumet . In 1976,

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1408-455: The multiple pier model, the term tends to imply a current or former cargo-handling facility. In contrast, in Europe , where ports more often use basins and river-side quays than piers, the term is principally associated with the image of a Victorian cast iron pleasure pier. However, the earliest piers pre-date the Victorian age . Piers can be categorized into different groupings according to

1452-518: The newspaper, is the lessee of 45,000 square feet (4,200 m) of space, which has radio and newspaper functions. Navy Pier hosts sightseeing tours from companies such as Seadog Ventures, Shoreline Sightseeing cruises and Water Taxi service, and the tall ship "Windy". There are also dinner cruises by Entertainment Cruises on their ships the Spirit of Chicago , Odyssey II , and Mystic Blue . The pier has fireworks on Wednesday and Saturday nights during

1496-567: The pier became a training center for the United States Navy ; about 10,000 people worked, trained and lived there. The pier contained a 2,500-seat theater, gym, 12-chair barber shop, tailor, cobbler shops, soda fountain and a vast kitchen and hospital. Beginning in 1946, as the Navy was winding down from its mission, the University of Illinois held classes at the pier, especially to serve the high demand from returning service members. As

1540-461: The pier stretching far enough off shore to reach deep water at low tide. Such piers provided an economical alternative to impounded docks where cargo volumes were low, or where specialist bulk cargo was handled, such as at coal piers . The other form of working pier, often called the finger pier, was built at ports with smaller tidal ranges. Here the principal advantage was to give a greater available quay length for ships to berth against compared to

1584-473: The pier was announced on June 23, 2015. It is 196 feet (60 m) tall, 46 feet (14 m) taller than its predecessor. Rides now last twelve minutes instead of seven and feature three revolutions. The new wheel has brighter lights and opened in May 2016. The Centennial Vision 's first phase was completed in summer 2016. Work included the redesign of the Pier's public spaces, known as Pierscape, and improvements to

1628-544: The plan is to fulfill the mission to keep Navy Pier as a world-class public space and to renovate the pier so it will have more evening and year-round entertainment and more compelling landscape and design features. The Polk Family Foundation (founded by Sol Polk ) donated $ 20 million to the redevelopment effort; the park and fountain at the entrance to the pier was named the Polk Bros Park and Fountain. The park hosts concerts and screens films. A new Ferris wheel for

1672-418: The principal purpose. However, there is considerable overlap between these categories. For example, pleasure piers often also allow for the docking of pleasure steamers and other similar craft, while working piers have often been converted to leisure use after being rendered obsolete by advanced developments in cargo-handling technology. Many piers are floating piers, to ensure that the piers raise and lower with

1716-482: The redevelopment, incorporating some of ULI's recommendations. In 1995, Navy Pier was redesigned and introduced to the public as a mixed-use venue incorporating retail, dining, entertainment and cultural spaces. Efforts to update Navy Pier for the 21st century began on January 13, 2006, when the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority released a proposal for a major renovation of the pier, which including

1760-504: The shipping berths, has made working piers obsolete for the handling of general cargo, although some still survive for the handling of passenger ships or bulk cargos. One example, is in use in Progreso, Yucatán , where a pier extends more than 4 miles into the Gulf of Mexico , making it the longest pier in the world. The Progreso Pier supplies much of the peninsula with transportation for

1804-558: The summer and Saturday nights during the fall. Navy Pier hosts the Fifth Third Bank Winter Wonderfest from December through January. Many outdoor art installations are displayed on the pier. The anchor from the naval vessel USS Chicago (CA-136/CG-11) is on display at the far end. Other installations include a statue of actor Bob Newhart on a couch as seen on The Bob Newhart Show , the Captain on

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1848-572: The tide along with the boats tied to them. This prevents a situation where lines become overly taut or loose by rising or lowering tides. An overly taut or loose tie-line can damage boats by pulling them out of the water or allowing them so much leeway that they bang forcefully against the sides of the pier. Working piers were built for the handling of passengers and cargo onto and off ships or (as at Wigan Pier ) canal boats. Working piers themselves fall into two different groups. Longer individual piers are often found at ports with large tidal ranges , with

1892-489: The top destinations in the Midwestern United States , drawing over nine million visitors annually. It is one of the most visited attractions in the entire Midwest and is Chicago's second-most visited tourist attraction. Navy Pier opened to the public on July 15, 1916. Originally known as the "Municipal Pier", the pier was built by Charles Sumner Frost , a nationally known architect, with a design based on

1936-555: Was unveiled on May 27, 2016. Around April 2019, the pier’s original carousel that had operated since 1995 was dismantled and removed, after the original carousel’s mechanism broke due to cold weather in early 2019 . Around late May into June, a new carousel was installed in the site of the original. This new carousel had previously operated at Dorney Park from 1986-2016 under the name Chance Carousel. The Chicago Sun-Times has its headquarters in Navy Pier. WBEZ , affiliated with

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