3 ACRES ON THE LAKE: DuSable Park Proposal Project
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| photo credit: Chih-Hsuan Lee |
HISTORICAL TIMELINE
since
mid 1600's:
Potawatomi tribe living in area that becomes Chicago
1772
Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, Haitian-French
settler, established first non-native permanent settlement at what was
then the mouth of the Chicago River; married a Potawatomi woman named
Catherine, and eventually built: "a bakehouse, a smokehouse, a poultry
house, a dairy, a workshop, a barn and two stables" (Chicago Public
Library Municipal Reference Collection)
early
1800's - 1850
new land east of Michigan Ave deposited itself by action of lake currents
after lighthouse jetty was built; land was created where before there
was only lake, and the "mouth" of the Chicago river moved east
into the lake (the land that is now DuSable Park was thus deposited, not
having existed prior to this era)
1836
State of Illinois sold unsettled areas near lake to pay for a new shipping
canal, but initially refused to sell lakefront itself
1857
ownership of 40 acres at (new) mouth of Chicago river granted to Chicago
Dock and Canal (a real estate investment trust) to help fund the construction
of the waterfront
later
1800's
Ogden Slip dug by Chicago Dock and Canal to connect cargo boats with railroads
at North Pier, resulting in the creation of the point between slip and
river
1928
birth of the DuSable League, organized around the commemoration of Jean
Baptiste Pointe DuSable and the specific recognition of the contribution
of the African diasporic to the founding of the City of Chicago
1948
Chicago Plan Commission passed resolution opposing in principle any use
of Chicago's lakefront for other than recreational purposes ("except
such uses as may be requisite for harbor or terminal facilities of passenger
and freight vessels between Grand Avenue and Randolph Street..."
- the apparent loophole through which Lake Point Tower emerged)
1964
Chicago Dock and Canal leased land to developers of Lake Point Tower (between
Grand Ave and Randolph St); later, sold land south of Lake Point Tower
to Centex homes, along with option to build two more hi-rise towers on
point that is now DuSable Park
1972
Lakefront Protection Ordinance enacted under Mayor Daley #1 administration,
forbidding private development of lands east of Lake Shore Drive; Centex
took city to court, and won (city bought land from Centex), but Centex
dropped option on DuSable Park; Chicago Dock and Canal kept it, agreed
not to build there
1986
commencement of North Pier development (Plan #368), including plans for
DuSable Park
1987
3 acre parcel on point dedicated as DuSable Park under the Harold Washington
administration
1997
MCL, a private development corporation, absorbed real estate holdings
of Chicago Dock and Canal Trust, including DuSable Park; MCL gave DP lot
to Chicago Park District (again), and agreed to pay $600,000 towards its
development as a park; MCL willing to complete path to connect DuSable
park to "mainland" via river walk, though final completion of
river path remains tied to MCL's development schedule
late 1990's
B.F. Ferguson Fund of Art Institute of Chicago commissions Martin Puryear
to create a sculpture for DuSable Park, commemorating Jean Baptiste Pointe
DuSable, but commission dependent on Park's completion (Puryear's sculpture
is non-representational, "a cube with a feather on it." Members
of the DuSable league call for a representational sculpture that is recognizable
as a Black man.)
July,
1999
preliminary plans for DuSable Park completed, rumored to include pedestrian
walkways from Navy Pier to DuSable Park and from there to DuSable Marina
on south bank of river (but plans not made available to public, initially);
revetment repair called for
July,
2000
Chicago Park District announces plans to lease DuSable Park to Arnes Petrakis'
development company to create a parking lot on site, with 2 year sunset
clause; lot would be "temporary," with berms and pavements and
landscaping to minimize runoff from gas and anti-freeze, and to camouflage
the cars, all of which would be dug up after two short years; this temporary
lease would contribute funds towards eventual construction of the park
August,
2000
Grant Park Advisory Committee with Friends of DuSable Park, the DuSable
League, and other groups hold public hearings critiquing and protesting
the parking lot idea
September,
2000
the parking lot plan indefinitely postponed
November,
2000
coalition of groups meets with Friends of the Parks to strategize how
to push development of DuSable Park in 2000
December,
2000
radioactive thorium contamination discovered on site -- extent of danger
yet to be determined
Feb/March,
2001
Park District promises development plan once costs of revetment repair
and thorium cleanup are determined