History
Navy Pier, a 3,300-foot lakefront pier in Chicago’s Streeterville area, opened in 1916 as Municipal Pier, combining shipping and passenger service with public recreation. Designed by Charles Sumner Frost from the 1909 Plan of Chicago, it was renamed in 1927 to honor First World War naval veterans. Over time it served as a draft-dodger jail, a major U.S. Navy training center during the Second World War, and a temporary University of Illinois campus for returning service members. After decline and failed revivals, it reopened in 1995 as a mixed-use public destination. Today it stands as one of Chicago’s defining waterfront spaces, shaped by layered civic, military, educational, and cultural uses.
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Chicago, Illinois · United States
