Navy Pier’s Reimagination: People-Centered Placemaking

Navy Pier, envisioned in Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago and designed by architect Charles Sumner Frost, was built in 1916 to meet demand for commercial shipping and leisure on the lakefront. Called "The People's Pier," it juxtaposed double-decker freight sheds with grand public spaces, evolving through its first century to meet the needs of Chicagoans. Since 2011, Navy Pier has been reimagined to provide its 8M+ annual guests with unique experiences and a built environment connecting the cityscape to the lakefront. A 2010 ULI report spurred the most recent improvements, including Polk Bros Park, a 13-acre green entrance to the Pier, as well as a JCFO-designed waterfront promenade, the Pier's "green spine." Further enhancing the guest experience are the state-of-the-art Yard theater, the iconic Centennial Ferris wheel, the KOO-designed Sable Hotel and Offshore, the world's largest rooftop bar (Guinness World Records). Together, these projects enhance the guest experience, answering the ULI panel's call that the Pier be a "public place to serve the people of Chicago and present its cultural fabric to the world." Drawing from its maritime past and unique location, more changes are envisioned with renewed focus on not only serving millions of annual guests, but also the thousands of employees, artists, and entrepreneurs that call Navy Pier home, supporting the cultural, tourism, and business economies while creating social impacts that reverberate throughout the community.