Along the Pier
Back to Along the Pier
Back to Along the Pier
First, some background
Navy Pier was a military base and training center during both world wars. During WWII, approximately 60,000 pilots and sailors trained here, including President George H.W. Bush. After the war, the pier served as a satellite campus for the University of Illinois before falling into disuse in the 1970s. The crowds eventually returned in 1995 after major renovations converted it to the tourist attraction it is today.
Just south of the pier is a network of buildings that are important for both commerce and recreation on one of the busiest waterways in the country: the Chicago River. Those are the walls of the Chicago Harbor Lock, the gateway to the city and one of the engineering feats that helps the river maintain its unnatural flow towards the Mississippi.
Just south of the pier is a network of buildings that are important for both commerce and recreation on one of the busiest waterways in the country: the Chicago River. Those are the walls of the Chicago Harbor Lock, the gateway to the city and one of the engineering feats that helps the river maintain its unnatural flow towards the Mississippi.
