What was navy pier originally designed for

Watch the story as told by Chicago Tonight. Chicago made maritime history in June Five countries Great Britain, France, Japan, New Zealand, and Sweden competed in a series of races that would continue around the world. Skip to main content. Search WTTW:. Navy Pier was built atop 20, logs. Photo credit: Chicago History Museum.

The Pier played an important role in World War I. And an even bigger role in World War II. You could go to college here. Photo Courtesy of the Chicago Maritime Museum. At the turn of the 20th century, millions of passengers and millions of tons of cargo were entering Chicago by water annually. He believed the piers could serve as both shipping docks and relaxing, lakefront recreation hubs. When it opened in , it consisted of two-story freight and passenger sheds, bookended by a classically designed head house and a large, elegant ballroom.

Named Municipal Pier No. As cars became more popular and the Great Depression set in, shipping activity slowed and in turn, the pier became less lively. Plans for the other four piers were nixed by the city. Eventually, buildings were added to the pier so it could serve as a military training center during both World Wars. During WWI, the pier housed soldier barracks and a prison for men who dodged the draft.

In , the U. Navy turned the pier into a training facility that more than 60, service members passed through. Following the war, an influx of veterans enrolling in school under the GI Bill resulted in the creation of a University of Illinois satellite campus on the pier. Encompassing almost 55 acres of parks, gardens, and all sorts of shops, sights and attractions, the Navy Pier ranks among the top Midwest destinations , with almost two million visitors every year!

Do you know why it remains so popular? Check 8 things you must know about Navy Pier before spending your next weekend in Chicago! Numbering already more than a century of constant use, the Navy Pier has served the city of Chicago in numerous and quite different ways. It has been a recreation and entertainment venue, a university, a naval base, an army base, a convention centre, as well as a food storage facility.

Back in the days when Navy Pier was an army base, it also served as a pilot training centre! While the shipping part of the pier was doing okay, the entertainment aspect was thriving. In the late s, a streetcar line, a theater and restaurants was built on the pier, and Municipal Pier experienced its best years in and , when Chicago Mayor William H.

The good times would not last, however. During the Great Depression freight and passenger traffic declined, but cultural and recreational use of the pier continued.