Chicago's Plan for Northerly Island

One of the most infamous events in recent Chicago history was Mayor Richard M. Daley's midnight raid on Meigs Field, the city's downtown airport. Daley had been trying to close the airfield for years, but he was thwarted by the state legislature. One night in 2003, he sent city backhoes out to dig a huge X in the middle of the runway, using the excuse that terrorists might use small planes flying from Meigs to attack the city.

Daley wanted the land for a city park, an idea that went back to earlier mayor who happened to be this mayor's father. I just discovered the plan the city came up with for the property, which they call Northerly Island.

The plan, by landscape architects JJR and Studio Gang Architects, envisages turning the southern half of the island into an island of natural ecology in the city's heart. A cluster of barrier islands will create a sheltered lagoon for kayaking and swimming; a barrier fence would keep out the invasive carp that now dominate this part of the lake, so the lagoon would be home (in theory) only to native species.

The northern half of the island, already home to the Adler Planetarium, would be further developed for entertainment and "active recreation." There would be a new outdoor amphitheater that would host concerts in the summer and in the winter would become a skating rink.

I am not sure about the status of the overall plan, but in August the Army Corps of Engineers approved the first phase, turning the southern end of the island into a more natural landscape.