Newspaper reports don't reflect park's value
Newspaper reports on the Chicago Children's Museum bid to take over the Daley Bicentennial Plaza site reveal little about the popularity of the Daley Bicentennial Plaza and surrounding facilities, or the role of these facilities in the expanding residential community just steps north of Grant Park. An April 4, 2006 article in the Chicago Tribune focused on Peter England, President of the Chicago Children's Museum. That article referred to the Daley Bicentennial Plaza as "a lightly traveled but highly prized site." A February 8 piece in the Chicago Sun-Times called it "a lonely patch of Grant Park." And on January 25, the Chicago Journal called it "the drab Daley Bi."
Neighborhood residents don't share this outlook. Indeed, on February 1, just days after the Chicago Journal called the plaza drab, the same paper reported that the President of The Grant Park Advisory Council, had "been flooded by calls from community members who use the Daley Bi skate rink and appreciate its more low-key ambience compared to Millennium Park’s rink."
The plaza has long been the neighborhood fieldhouse for residents of nearby high-rise buildings - The Buckingham, Outer Drive East, Harbor Point, The Park Shore and North Harbor Tower all lie within two blocks of the plaza, and these have been joined by new buildings completed last year on Field Drive just north of the park. More residential high-rises are under construction on Field Drive and Randolph Street today. The plaza is open to all, of course, and is the nearest fieldhouse and resource for city offerings such as fitness classes, tennis courts and children's activities for residents living much more than one or two blocks away.
Neighborhood residents don't share this outlook. Indeed, on February 1, just days after the Chicago Journal called the plaza drab, the same paper reported that the President of The Grant Park Advisory Council, had "been flooded by calls from community members who use the Daley Bi skate rink and appreciate its more low-key ambience compared to Millennium Park’s rink."
The plaza has long been the neighborhood fieldhouse for residents of nearby high-rise buildings - The Buckingham, Outer Drive East, Harbor Point, The Park Shore and North Harbor Tower all lie within two blocks of the plaza, and these have been joined by new buildings completed last year on Field Drive just north of the park. More residential high-rises are under construction on Field Drive and Randolph Street today. The plaza is open to all, of course, and is the nearest fieldhouse and resource for city offerings such as fitness classes, tennis courts and children's activities for residents living much more than one or two blocks away.
posted by Meta Brown at 6:39 AM
1 Comments:
When I first learned that the City was thinking about replacing Bicentennial Plaza with the Children's Museum, I was stunned. I didn't know what to say, and in a sense, I still don't.
I've lived within walking distance of this area for the last 20 years. It is one of the main reasons I've STAYED in the area. Only recently have we started having access to decent grocery stores, restaurants, and public transportation. I stayed in the area despite the lack of other City services. One thing that always was there, however, was our field house. I would enjoy the gardens and take tennis lessons in the summer. Winter brought ice skating, or ice falling for me. All year round, we walked dogs and interacted with my fellow neighbors. Yes, neighbors, implying a neighborhood. This is the area were we would meet, picnic, enjoy concerts, and get to know each other. I watched kids go from strollers to college. Their parents didn't run to the suburbs.
Don't replace our neighborhood park for another tourist museum, especially when the tourist museum is currently in a perfect tourist location, Navy Pier. A. Montgomery Ward wanted this area as open land for a reason. Thankfully, he could see what happens to cites that loose their green space. He fought for us then, and we will fight for him today.
The City has been getting better and better over the last 20 years. I've been very impressed with Mayor Daley and all that he's done to improve the green spaces in Chicago. I'm very proud to live where I do and I plan to stay. Because of this, I also plan to speak up and be heard as an active member of my neighborhood.
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