Description
Book SynopsisLong considered the showplace and cultural centre of Chicago, Grant Park has been the site of tragedy and tension, as well success and joy. Amply illustrated with maps and images from throughout Chicago’s history, this volume shows readers how Chicago’s ‘front yard’ developed into one of the finest urban parks in the US today.
Trade ReviewGrant Park is Chicago’s storied front yard. If there is one place to see the rich panoply of Chicago history unfold, I can think of no better spot than Chicago’s lakefront park. Dennis H. Cremin has crafted a rich chronicle of Grant Park that highlights its central place in the history of Chicago. Chapter by chapter, Cremin takes his reader from the park’s origins in the shadow of Fort Dearborn to the creation of Millennium Park." - Ann Durkin Keating, author of
Chicagoland: City and Suburbs of the Railroad Age"Cremin provides the first thorough account of the often controversial development of Grant Park, including its many physical and cultural features, the numerous important events staged in the park, and the people involved in its evolution." - Irving Cutler, author of
Chicago: Metropolis of the Mid-Continent"What happens when a historian visits a park and then starts the thought process rolling? What happened here? How has the landscape changed over time? How does the city appear in this showcase parcel of land? Does the real city differ from its ‘front yard’ presentation? Cremin’s answers to such questions, in text and pictures, will provide an enriched vista the next time one walks through Grant Park." - Gerald A. Danzer, author of
Illinois: A History in PicturesTable of Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1. Early Park History: Lake, Land, and Place 1
- 2. Lake Park: A Cultural and Civic Center
- 3. The World’s Columbian Exposition and Chicago’s Cultural Flowering
- 4. Making the White City Permanent
- 5. The New Design
- 6. Gateway and Cultural Center: From a Century of Progress to Postwar Park
- 7. Parking Lots, Protests, and Mayhem: Grant Park in the Daley Era
- 8. The Park Reenvisioned and Renewed
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
