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73-440: One of Preservation Chicago's first campaigns was the fight against the demolition of the old Chicago Mercantile Exchange Building. Ultimately demolished in 2003, its demolition has been ranked one of the city's most senseless demolitions, and the public outcry that followed led the city to adopt the 90 day demolition delay for certain historic and architecturally significant buildings that do not have landmark protection. The site of

146-799: A contiguous area with a variety of artistic features by architects and artists. Millennium Park features the Jay Pritzker Pavilion , the Cloud Gate (aka The Bean ), the Crown Fountain , the Lurie Garden , and other attractions. The park is connected by the BP Pedestrian Bridge and the Nichols Bridgeway to other portions of Grant Park. Across the BP Pedestrian Bridge from Millennium Park,

219-401: A new focus on commodities beyond butter and eggs, including potatoes, onions, and cheese. In 1972, CME introduced the first financial futures market, offering contracts on seven foreign currencies. By the 2000s, CME had expanded to offer four core financial instruments: commodities, foreign exchange, interest rates, and stock indexes. As of 2022, CME operates under CME Group, which offers

292-673: A number of derivatives products, including commodities, equity indices, foreign exchange, interest rates, and weather. For example, as of 2017, agricultural contracts were offered on products such as wheat, corn, soybeans, and lean hogs . In metal futures, the CME trades precious metals , base metals , and ferrous metals. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is the only market for trading in weather derivatives . It launched its first weather products in 1999. Products include, but are not limited to: futures on rainfall, snowfall, hurricanes, and temperature. Grant Park (Chicago) Grant Park

365-592: A series of formal gardens, including the Tiffany Celebration Garden to the south. The Court of the Presidents is located directly on the north and south side of E. Ida B. Wells Drive, west of S. Columbus Drive and east of S. Michigan Ave.  Manicured gardens and art work help define the Court of Presidents. South President's Court, until recently, has primarily been gardens. However, within

438-475: Is Buckingham Fountain , one of the world's largest fountains . In a rococo wedding cake style, the fountain 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. Chicago's Museum Campus is a 57-acre (23 ha) addition to Grant Park's southeastern end. The Museum Campus

511-645: Is a global derivatives marketplace based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board , an agricultural commodities exchange. For most of its history, the exchange was in the then common form of a non-profit organization, owned by members of the exchange. The Merc demutualized in November 2000, went public in December 2002, and merged with

584-678: Is a large urban park in the Loop community area of Chicago , Illinois . Located within the city's central business district, the 319-acre (1.29 km ) park's features include 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 U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant . The park's area has been expanded several times through land reclamation , and

657-493: 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 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

730-608: Is 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 as well. Leashed dogs are permitted in most areas of the park, but not in Millennium Park . The shaded walking paths in Grant Park cover several miles. A circuit of

803-505: Is popularly referred to as "Chicago's front yard". It is governed by the Chicago Park District . 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

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876-417: Is the site of three of the city's most notable museums, all dedicated to the natural sciences : Adler Planetarium , Field Museum of Natural History , and Shedd Aquarium . A narrow isthmus along Solidarity Drive dominated by neoclassical sculptures of Kościuszko , Havliček and Nicolaus Copernicus connects to Northerly Island where the planetarium is located to the east of the Museum Campus situated on

949-612: 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 winning the Stanley Cup in 2013. The park was the location for President Barack Obama's Election Day victory speech on the night of November 4, 2008. In 2015, Grant Park hosted

1022-544: 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 . The park has been the site of many large civic events. It served as the staging ground for the city's funeral procession for President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. In 1911,

1095-575: The CME SPAN software that is used around the world as the official performance bond (margin) mechanism of 50 registered exchanges, clearing organizations, service bureaus, and regulatory agencies throughout the world. Trading is conducted in two methods; an open outcry format and the CME Globex electronic system. More than 90 percent of total volume at the exchange occurs electronically on CME Globex. Operating during regular trading hours (RTH),

1168-682: The Chicago Board of Trade in July 2007 to become a designated contract market of the CME Group Inc., which operates both markets. The chairman and chief executive officer of CME Group is Terrence A. Duffy , Bryan Durkin is president. On August 18, 2008, shareholders approved a merger with the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. CME, CBOT, NYMEX , and COMEX are now markets owned by CME Group. After

1241-648: The Chicago Jazz Festival ; the Chicago Blues Festival ; and Lollapalooza , a festival of rock concerts. The park is also the site of the start and finish lines of the Chicago Marathon . The annual NASCAR Chicago street race is held every year at Grant Park. With 319 acres (1.29 km ) between the downtown Chicago Loop and Lake Michigan , Grant Park offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park

1314-684: The George Floyd protests in Chicago and the deployment of federal forces to Chicago over Lightfoot's objections. At Michigan Avenue and Ninth Street is the General John Logan Memorial , a large equestrian statue of John A. Logan , dedicated in 1897. 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

1387-537: The Great Chicago Fire , increasing the parkland. In 1896, the city began extending the park into the lake with landfill , beyond the rail lines. On October 9, 1901, the park was renamed Grant Park in honor of American Civil War commanding General and 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

1460-667: The Julia C. Lathrop Homes , and the Farwell Building. Pilgrim Baptist Church, which was designed by Adler & Sullivan and was originally a synagogue, suffered a fire the previous year, which only left the outer walls standing. Two other Louis Sullivan designed buildings, the Wirt Dexter Building and the George Harvey House, were also lost to fire in 2006. Preservation Chicago has advocated for

1533-821: The Roseland Michigan Avenue Commercial District. The 2021 Chicago 7 Most Endangered included the Chicago Lakefront, the last Chicago Phyllis Wheatley Home , the Cornell Store & Flats, the South Chicago Masonic Temple, West Loop industrial lofts, the Central Manufacturing District–Original East Historic District , and Roman Catholic churches. The 2022 Chicago 7 Most Endangered included

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1606-555: The Thompson Center . Preservation Chicago continued to advocate for the remaining historic Sears stores in the city, and for them to be considered for landmark status, after the last remaining Sears store closed in the city in 2018. The 2017 Chicago 7 Most Endangered included the Chicago Union Station Power House, Altgeld Gardens , Blocks 11, 12 and 13, Chicago's 20th Century Public Sculptures,

1679-407: The open outcry method consists of floor traders standing in a trading pit to call out orders, prices, and quantities of a particular commodity or its derivatives. Different colored jackets are worn by the traders to indicate what firm they are a part of. In addition, complex hand signals (called Arb ) are used. These hand signals were first used in the 1970s. Today, however, headsets are also used by

1752-698: The 1893 Central Station and includes limestone pieces from the former railroad terminal. The plaza cost $ 2.65 Million to build. 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. Grant Bark Park, located on the corner of Columbus Drive and 11th Street, is a place for dogs to get their exercise. It's an off-leash park of 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m ). The park

1825-904: The Allstate Building, the Century & Consumers Buildings, St. James Church, State Bank of Clearing, Lathrop Homes, Medic Building, and the Guyon Hotel . The 2014 Chicago 7 included the Central Manufacturing District , St. Adalbert Catholic Church, the Jeffery Theater , Francis Scott Key Public School, Madison/Wabash Station House, the Guyon Hotel, and the Crawford and Fisk power houses. The 2015 Chicago 7 included A. Finkl & Sons Steel,

1898-658: The Century & Consumers Buildings, public housing sites, the St. Martin de Tours Church, the Peterson Avenue Midcentury Modern District, Promontory Point, Central Park Theater , North DuSable Lake Shore Drive, and the Moody Triangle . The Century & Consumers Buildings returned to the Chicago 7 after a $ 52 million federal earmark to demolish the buildings was revealed. Threats to the Peterson Avenue Midcentury Modern District include

1971-1082: The Chicago Motor Club, Meigs Field Terminal, old-fashioned wood windows, buildings of the Michael Reese Hospital campus, St Boniface Church, and the Richard Nickel House. 2010's Chicago 7 Most Endangered featured a look back at 7 years of Chicago, featuring seven tragedies, seven tribulations, and seven triumphs. 2011's Chicago 7 included the Century & Consumers Buildings , Shepherd's Temple Baptist Church (originally Anshe Kanesses Israel synagogue), Chicago Theological Seminary , St. Laurence Church, Pullman Historic District , Children's Memorial Hospital , and Prentice Hospital. 2012's Chicago 7 included Chicago movie theaters, Unity Hall, Woodlawn Avenue, St. Anthony's Hospital, Cuneo Hospital, Gethsemane Church, and Prentice Hospital. The following year's Chicago 7 included

2044-552: The Cornell Store & Flats, Chicago Water Cribs , Madison-Pulaski District, and Jackson Park & South Shore Cultural Center . The 2018 Chicago 7 Most Endangered included Jackson Park, Midway Plaisance , & South Shore Cultural Center, the James R. Thompson Center, William Rainey Harper High School, Washington Park Substation / Gaitan Building, brick paved streets and alleys, the Woodruff Arcade Building,

2117-624: The Guyon Hotel, and Chicago Union Station . The 2019 Chicago 7 Most Endangered included Jackson Park, South Shore Cultural Center & Midway Plaisance, the Laramie State Bank Building , the Seven Continents Building / O'Hare Rotunda Building, Loretto Academy , Crawford Power Station , Second Church of Christ, Scientist, the Justice D. Harry Hammer Mansion / Lutrelle 'Lu' & Jorja Palmer Mansion,

2190-872: The Hayes-Healy Center. Preservation Chicago successfully advocated for Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, where Emmett Till 's funeral was held, to be granted landmark status. The church was granted landmark status in 2007. 2007's Chicago 7 list included Pilgrim Baptist Church , the North Avenue Pedestrian Bridge , the Rosenwald Apartments , the Archer Avenue District, the Milwaukee Avenue Commercial District,

2263-831: The Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary, the Goodman Theatre , the Hotel Dana, Jacob Riis Public School, and 444 N. LaSalle Drive. Preservation Chicago's fourth annual Chicago 7 list included the Interior Furniture Building, the Pilsen neighborhood, 59th and Halsted and other endangered historic intersections, Promontory Point , the New York Life Insurance Building , Wrigley Field Rooftops, and

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2336-694: The James R. Thompson Center, and Roman Catholic churches of Chicago. The 2020 Chicago 7 Most Endangered included Jackson Park, South Shore Cultural Center & Midway Plaisance, the James R. Thompson Center , the Chicago Town & Tennis Club building, the Chicago Union Station Power House , the Washington Park National Bank Building , Central Manufacturing District – Pershing Road , and

2409-889: The Pioneer Arcade & New Apollo Theater buildings, the Illinois Institute of Technology's Main Building , the Clarendon Park Community Center, the city's neon signs, the South Side Masonic Temple, and the Agudas Achim Synagogue. The 2016 Chicago 7 included the Washington Park National Bank Building , CMH Pavilions, Old Chinatown, the city's historic Sears stores, McCormick Place 's Lakeside Center, St. Adalbert Catholic Church, "L" Stations, and

2482-526: 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. 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

2555-422: The brokers to communicate with the traders. The pits are areas of the floor that are lowered to facilitate communication, somewhat like a miniature amphitheater . The pits can be raised and lowered depending on trading volume. To an onlooker, the open outcry system can look chaotic and confusing, but in reality, the system is a tried and true method of accurate and efficient trading. An illustrated project to record

2628-547: The center of the harbor and park's shoreline, is named for a 1959 visit there by Queen Elizabeth II aboard the Royal Yacht 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. The Grant Park Skate Plaza, designed by Chicago Landscape Architects Altamanu, was opened on December 6, 2014. The Plaza

2701-559: The city. One religious building that Preservation Chicago has long fought to save is St. Gelasius Church in Woodlawn. In 2003, the archdiocese was preparing to demolish the church, but a nun successfully stalled the demolition when she refused to allow contractors into an adjacent building to shut off power to the church. In January 2005, the organization's third "Chicago 7" list was released, which included Lincoln Park 's Sheffield Historic District , Chicago-School Factories and Warehouses,

2774-476: 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. 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

2847-614: The demolition of the Sapphire Building and other demolitions of significant mid-century modern buildings, alterations to buildings that destroy the historic integrity, abandonments, and the fact that the district does not enjoy landmark protection and none of its buildings are included in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey. After the 2022 fire at Antioch Baptist Church, Preservation Chicago has proposed that Chicago pass an ordinance prohibiting

2920-409: The demolition of the landmarked Farwell Building (with the facade of the demolished building removed and reassembled on the new structure), as well as other landmarked buildings that the city allowed to be demolished or radically altered. Grant Park was threatened by a plan to build the Chicago Children's Museum . The museum was ultimately located on Navy Pier . The following year's Chicago 7 included

2993-417: The exchange made attempts to cut down on malpractice, but that it is likely that illegal activity still occurs. Chicago Mercantile Exchange was known as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board when it was founded in 1898, and futures available through the exchange were initially limited to agricultural products. In 1919 the Board was restructured and the name changed to Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which reflected

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3066-422: The fight to save the Cook County Hospital Building after the county announced its intent to close the hospital and demolish it at a cost of $ 30 million. The building has since been restored and reopened in 2020 as a mixed use development featuring a Hyatt Hotel along with a food hall and commercial and office space. Preservation Chicago advocated for the preservation of the last remaining Magikist neon sign, and

3139-427: The first outdoor National Football League (NFL) draft and a related festival . 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. The park annually hosts some of Chicago's biggest festivals, including The Taste of Chicago —a large food and music festival held each summer; the Grant Park Music Festival ;

3212-412: The hand signal language used in CME's trading pits has been compiled. CME Group announced in 2021 that it will permanently close most of its physical trading pits, including those for grain trading. They had been closed since March 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic . Operating virtually around the clock, today the CME Globex Trading System is at the heart of CME. Proposed in 1987, it

3285-434: The launch of the second generation of CME Globex using a modified version of the NSC trading system, developed by Paris Bourse for the MATIF (now Euronext ). Traders connect to CME Globex via Market Data Protocol (MDP) and iLink 2.0 for order routing. On October 17, 2006, Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced a merger with the Chicago Board of Trade in an $ 8 billion deal. Shareholders of both companies approved

3358-429: The mainland. Located at Jackson and Columbus Drives, the Petrillo Music Shell 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

3431-414: The merger on July 9, 2007, and the deal closed on July 12, 2007. The overarching holding company then launched as CME Group. On January 13, 2008, electronic trading at the Chicago Board of Trade shifted onto CME Globex. In 1984, the CME was investigated by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. During this investigation, it was realized that the open-outcry system could be abused. The GAO noted that

3504-404: The merger, the value of the CME quadrupled in a two-year span, with a market cap of over $ 25 billion. Today, CME is the largest options and futures contracts open interest (number of contracts outstanding) exchange of any futures exchange in the world. The Merc trades several types of financial instruments : interest rates , equities , currencies , and commodities . CME also pioneered

3577-432: The northeast corner of Grant Park hosts outdoor and indoor activities at what is now Maggie Daley Park , previously called Daley Bicentennial Plaza. Designed by landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh , attractions here include summer and winter skating rinks, an extensive playground, climbing walls, tennis and pickleball courts, and an activities building, which were redeveloped from 2012 to 2015. Built in 1893 on

3650-460: The old Chicago Mercantile Exchange Building has remained vacant. In October 2002, Preservation Chicago released its first "Chicago 7" list of the city's seven most endangered historic places, which included the old Chicago Mercantile Exchange building, the Cook County Hospital Building, the Metropolitan Community Church, the New York Life Insurance Building , St. Boniface Church, and the Lower River North Historic District. Preservation Chicago led

3723-410: The park free of buildings. The one exception to which Ward consented was for the Art Institute of Chicago , constructed in 1892. In the early 20th century, Grant Park was expanded with further landfill—much of it from the excavations of the Chicago Tunnel Company —and developed with a very formal landscape design by Edward Bennett. More land fill in the 1910s and 1920s provided sites for

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3796-446: The park hosted the major Chicago International Aviation Meet . In 1913 the AAU held the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In 1959, to celebrate the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway and a related International Trade Fair, Queen Elizabeth II , disembarked here from the Royal Yacht Britannia , giving the park's " Queen's Landing " its name. The park was the scene of clashes between Chicago Police and demonstrators during

3869-477: The park in 1926. It is located in the Court of Presidents, north of Ida B. Wells Drive 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 (from Greek, for urban meeting place) is an installation of 106 headless, armless sculptures designed by the Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz in southwestern Grant Park near Roosevelt Road . The piece

3942-451: The park was landscaped in the early 20th century in a formal beaux arts style, tall American Elms were planted in allées and rectangular patterns. While hundreds of these trees still exist, reaching 60 ft (18 m) tall, they were devastated in the late 1970s by Dutch elm disease . Hybrid elms have since been used to replace those lost. The northwestern corner of the park was renovated from 1998 to 2004 to become Millennium Park ,

4015-589: 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 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 . Chicago businessman Aaron Montgomery Ward ultimately fought four court battles, opposed by nearly every civic leader, to keep

4088-434: The park's walking paths is estimated to take 4 mi (6.4 km). For other sporting activities, the park has 16 softball / baseball fields and 12 tennis courts, open to the general public. 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

4161-399: The park, include: 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

4234-479: The park. 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

4307-489: 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, organized by the Public Art Program and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, consisted of sculptures composed entirely of parts found on old automobiles. Much of

4380-414: The restoration of Pilgrim Baptist Church, including after wind caused the collapse of one of the remaining walls in 2020. 2008's Chicago 7 included the Booker Building, the Chicago Daily News Building , Old Norwood Park , the city's landmarks ordinance, the American Book Company Building, the Devon Avenue District, and Grant Park . The landmarks ordinance was included due to the city's decision to allow

4453-415: The south end of the park, near 1100 South Columbus Drive. Congress Plaza is a ceremonial entrance located on the park's western edge, at the Ida B. Wells Drive and Michigan Avenue intersection. Two semicircular plazas flanking Ida B. Wells Drive contain gardens, fountains, and artwork, including a pair of large bronze warrior statues, The Bowman and The Spearman that are positioned like gatekeepers to

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4526-407: The south of the art museum, along Michigan Avenue, are a succession of gardens. Two of these are not far from to Orchestra Hall and honor former conductors of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra ( Sir Georg Solti and Theodore Thomas ). To the southeast of the Art Institute, near the Court of Presidents , are demonstration gardens that flank Ida B. Wells Drive and surrounding Buckingham Fountain are

4599-474: 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 . A section of the Chicago Lakefront Trail , an 18-mile multi-use path along the city's Lake Michigan shoreline, runs through the park's eastern edge. The trail runs adjacent to Lake Shore Drive from Randolph Drive to Balbo Drive, then along

4672-405: The use of propane torches on wooden roofs, similar to an ordinance already in place in New York City . The use of propane torches on wooden roofs has been the cause of many other fires in historic buildings, including the aforementioned Pilgrim Baptist Church fire. Chicago Mercantile Exchange The Chicago Mercantile Exchange ( CME ) (often called " the Chicago Merc ", or " the Merc ")

4745-406: The very edge of the seawall around the Shedd Aquarium. An underpass carries the trail under Solidarity Drive into Burnham Park. 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. It is home to both the Chicago Yacht Club and the Columbia Yacht Club. Queen's Landing, at

4818-464: The western edge of Grant Park, the Art Institute of Chicago is one of the premier art museums and art schools in the US, 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 Grant Park complex. The center piece of Grant Park

4891-432: Was brought to the park in 2006. The figures are 9 ft (2.7 m) tall and weigh approximately 1,800 lb (820 kg). Each is made from a hollow, seamless piece of weathering or COR-TEN® steel , giving the pieces a reddish appearance and rough bark-like texture. The figures appear to be milling about in a crowd; some face each other, while others look away. A bronze statue by Carlo ("Charles", "Carl") Brioschi

4964-411: Was displayed 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 Genoese navigator and explorer, Christopher Columbus. It was removed on July 24, 2020 by order of Mayor Lori Lightfoot amid

5037-415: Was initiated by Grant Park Conservancy President, Robert O'Neill. The new park occupies 3 acres (12,000 m ) 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

5110-440: Was introduced in 1992 as the first global electronic trading platform for futures contracts. This fully electronic trading system allows market participants to trade from booths at the exchange or while sitting in a home or office thousands of miles away. On October 19, 2004, the one billionth (1,000,000,000) transaction was recorded. When CME Globex was first launched, it used Reuters ' technology and network. September 1998 saw

5183-410: Was marked "Public ground. Forever to remain vacant of buildings." 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

5256-439: 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 , on the south by Roosevelt Road and McFetridge Drive, on the west by 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

5329-755: Was weeks away from naming it as one of the seven most endangered historic places in the city when the sign was abruptly torn down in late 2003. In November 2003, the organization released their second "Chicago 7" list, which included the Cook County Hospital Building, Prentice Women's Hospital , the Isabella Building, the South Side Masonic Temple, the West Loop Mercantile District, the East Village neighborhood, and religious structures throughout

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